Should Mohammed Amir be able to play again?

[sussexpob]

While the cricketing back pages of the last month have been dominated by the tales of “trust issues” and one man’s quest to find cricketing redemption for his past transgressions, not a single word has been dedicated to a story of equal, if not more poignant, narrative that has been silently playing out in parallel.

The setting is Pakistan, and a 22 year old bowler is preparing to bowl his first ball in a T20 domestic tournament. He looks nervous, surveying the field, takes a deep breath, and begins his run up. The ball fires down the leg side and is called a wide. Many 22 year olds have been here before, embarking on a professional career, a ball of nervous energy trying to control their emotions; but this is no ordinary 22 year old, and his next ball beats the bat with looping swing, condemning the batsman to the embarrassment of a long walk back to the pavilion having registered a duck. As with Kevin Pietersen, there was never any doubt about Mohammed Amir’s talents.

There are unquestioned parallels in the stories of both men, and the journey’s they now face. Pietersen’s rap sheet reads like a letter sent home to the parent of a naughty 8 year old school child. He talked in class, whistled in silent time, got caught passing a note around to classmates calling his teacher and other pupils nasty names. They were a matter of triviality, only given serious form when magnified by the pride or prejudices of others. At this point though, the similarities end.

It could be argued that Amir’s transgressions are of an equal trivial nature. His crime, taken from the most simplistic of angles, was to benefit his teams opponents with two extra runs in a match that ended with the opposition winning by an innings and 225 runs. If actions were judged on their actual effect, then it is doubtful that a suitable punishment would even extend to the magnitude of a smack on the bum and being sent to bed without dinner.

Yet, on that faithful day at the Oval in 2010, Amir’s did not only physically “step over the line”. In putting his foot purposefully 6 inches over the bowling crease, he stepped into the dirty underworld of sports, dragging with him his country, his team mates, and all those neutral observers who put their faith, interest and time in the uncomplicated nature of competitive sport. Sport in itself only serves as entertainment under the pretext that those involved are trying their hardest. When the competitive element is compromised, so too is all achievements, and our appreciation of the skills worse off. To serve as an example, Trott and Broad’s innings that match will be forever tarnished, even if Amir ended up performing to the highest expected level on a personal basis.

I would never argue that Mohammed Amir did not need to be punished for his actions that day, would never attempt to defend those actions. What he did was deserving of a suitable punishment, one that was extremely harsh. Like Pandora’s box, Butt, Asif and Amir all contributed to bring poignant questions about the integrity of their sport. As a cricket lover, forgiveness could not occur without suffering as a price.

I am, though, a great believer in the concept of redemption, and a great believer that punishments only serve to mean anything, or have practical relevance to humanity, if forgiveness for actions is a possibility to anyone. What is the point in any level of society if, in real terms, a punishment extends to indefinitely, or is undefined?

It cannot be forgotten that for his actions, Amir was punished, and very harshly. He had his freedom temporarily removed, was incarcerated in a foreign jail, and was banned from playing in the sport he loves for 5 years. And while it is often argued that sports stars are undeserving of the privilege of stardom and the financial benefits it brings if they break social, criminal or sporting codes, I do not see any justification for singling out a sportsman for this. After all, sportsman have to sacrifice a lot of time, effort, sweat and tears to be as good as they are, it is not handed to them on a plate. In Amir’s case, he has to work harder than anyone to make a second attempt at his career. I cannot see any reason why, if his punishment is served, his extra hard work should not be rewarded?

There are other parts to this story, mitigating factors, ones that I will leave others to read Mike Atherton’s take on (google Mike Atherton Amir and you will find his long, forensic assessment of the details of the story), but it is suffice to say that Amir’s story seems to add up, that he was a victim of undue influence from a captain exploiting his young age, and his gullibility in accepting the wrong type of friends and influences. The ICC seemed to accept his guilt and remorse also, allowing him to continue his career before his 5 years had completely been spent due to his work with their anti-corruption unit.

We often forget that sports stars are fallible, and few stars burn so bright and so early as Amir’s, and test a young man's maturity as much. There are countless examples of younger stars, in all forms of industries (music/film) that cannot handle the pressure, the success, the attention. Comparisons to Tendulkar and his age are often mentioned, that Tendulkar was even younger, was under more pressure. But Tendulkar’s castle was built on the rocks, he was mentored by the right people, had the right influences…. Amir was mentored by a corrupt captain, with corrupt players around him, and a team in institutional crisis of rotating captains being sacked or quitting, of a desperate board, and of players coming from a more troubled culture at home. His castle was built on quicksand, a toxic mix for such a vulnerable age of playing struggling to find a role model. If we cannot extend forgiveness to such a vulnerable and impressionable young man for his mistakes, then I think this reflects badly on society as a whole.

Do I feel let down by Amir’s actions? I would be lying if I was to say no I wasn’t, but the reason my emotional attachment to this case is marked is because I witnessed in 2010 a talent that I had never seen before. A talent that comes round in such rare occasions that you stand up, take notice. I feel let down because Amir let himself down, because his actions may prevent him from eeking out every little bit of his absolutely endless potential. That inside the 11 men on the field were people there to destroy him, when 15,000 people around the field were there to celebrate his talents, regardless of their national identity having his skills bridge the tribalistic nature of patriotic support. I hasten to think that many cricket watchers felt exactly like Michael Holding did when he fought back tears in the sky booth, quite obviously upset that “someone has got to him" and that "he did not do this on his own”.

Mohammed Amir let down his sport, but his skills are also the reason why I turn up to watch sport at the top level and why I spend so much time watching it. Without guys like Amir, sport would not be the same. I think we need to let him continue his career now, at test level if he can get back there.

[Gingerfinch]

Yes. Although he did cheat, he was young, though old enough to do better. If certain Footballers can rape, drink drive and kill, and still return, then he should be able to do his time, and make a return. Shame he did what he did, as had, and may still, the components to become a true great.

[dan08]

I don't see why he shouldn't be able to play again. He got punished, served his time and all the spot fixing is in the past now.

[sussexpob]

Surprised that so far 4/4 positive. I thought the general consensus was negative...

Although polls in Pakistan say 33% of people didn't want him to come back

[budgetmeansbudget]

Yep, he was young and impressionable at the time and it was a hefty ban.

Done his time and all that, will he ever get back to where he was though, looked a cracking talent.

[Alviro Patterson]

Would rather have Mohammed Amir playing professional cricket again than turning to a life of crime.

[yorker_129-7]

With everything that has come out, I think he deserves another chance. But he needs to be mentored and watched closely.

[Durhamfootman]

Aye... take any 18 year old promising bowler, at any level.......talk him into earning some serious dosh on the side by undermining the very integrity of his sport....... persuading him that if he gets caught he will have to serve a ban, but can always come back to resume his career later whilst still a young man, and knowing that if he doesn't get caught, he can always be blackmailed into doing it again and again.

that works for me....... not!

of course, young promising bowlers at any level might be deterred from taking that first dishonest step if getting caught meant it finished their career permanently.

Amir might have been a very high profile case, but I just don't believe that this sort of thing isn't going on around the world at every level of the sport. Giving people a route back into the sport later just helps the bookmakers and their minions to find willing participants.

the spot fixing equivalent of Justin Gatlin..... do the crime, do the time, and come back stronger each time. Where's the disincentive?

[sussexpob]

Aye... take any 18 year old promising bowler, at any level.......talk him into earning some serious dosh on the side by undermining the very integrity of his sport....... persuading him that if he gets caught he will have to serve a ban, but can always come back to resume his career later whilst still a young man, and knowing that if he doesn't get caught, he can always be blackmailed into doing it again and again

He didnt earn any serious dosh, I think the figure they found on him was £1500 of marked money from the sting operation, marked money that Amir says was given to him by his agent who was the centre of the illicit plan with the NOTW journalist. Amir says he gave him the money after the incident in his hotel room, but he did not expect it, and in fact there was nothing in evidence from phone conversations or texts retrieved where money was mentioned at all.... and the phone GPS data confirmed Amir''s versions of event are likely true, because when asked to chronologically give a version of events, he named a series of meetings that took place with certain people that later was confirmed.

Amir claims that he met a "businessman" named Ali in a hotel the team were staying in Dubai in 2009. The business man approached him, introducing himself to Amir on the grounds that he knew Butt, and proved this by phoning Butt on his mobile. Ali then turned up in Lahore a time later and again tried to engage Amir. In England, before the Oval test Amir is known to have received a number of calls to Amir on the basis that this Ali chap was trying to get a hold of Butt, and in his previous meeting had taken Amir's number. IIRC Amir was also asked by Ali to give bank details so he could pass money onto Butt, because Butt refused to pay attention to Amir telling him he needed to call Amir. It seems like this was a rouse to give Ali an excuse to talk to Amir, and before that test Amir was offered a price (he had his bank details now) for bowling two 8 run overs in the 4th and 5th over of his first spell in the match. Amir slightly engages with Ali at this point, but he says he only did it to find out if this was a joke or whether or not Ali was being serious. When he found out it was serious, he seems to stop answering Ali's calls, and he apparently recieved in the next 24 hours, about 40 missed calls plus texts. He responded after this carried on for two weeks with a simple "what do you want"?

Interestingly, I think one of those overs was an 8 run over, but it was accepted in court that the nature of the last boundary made it impossible for Amir to have thrown the over intentionally. It was an inside edge from a full, swinging ball right at the stumps, that flew past the keeper after hitting his inside thigh pad. It was no intentional buffet ball, it was a whisker away from being a brilliant piece of bowling to get the batsman out. In fact, the ICC corruption unit even say that they had huge suspicions on the team and had been monitoring them, and they conclude that despite the offer to bowl to order, there is simply no evidence of any wrongdoing at the Oval.

Meanwhile, before the Lords test the agent (Amirs and several of the Pakistan players personal agents) was meeting the journalist in the sting operation, trying to organise a fix for the Lords test. There is lots of detail, but to skip to the relevant parts, it seems that Butt and the agent were involved in trying to prove they could set any result that journo wanted, and tried to prove this by saying that Butt would bat out a maiden in the first over of the first innings. Butt actually scored a run, and at this point the agent was being made to look stupid towards the journalist, posing as a representative of a very high wealth bookmaking syndicate. As a desperate measure, he mentioned the possibility of two no balls being bowled, and pretended that he had the power to make it happen, but could not say when they would be bowled or whom by... for the simple reason, as evidence heavily leans to, they had no player willing to actually do it.

The morning of the game, Amir was summoned by the agent as a client to a meeting in his car. Amir would later be proved right as to the whereabouts of this meeting, its time, and the synchronization of its attendees by the GPS data from their phones, even though the others argued it did not happen. Amir was told by his agent that the ICC's anti-corruption unit had a dossier on him courtesy of his dealings with Ali, and that his career was over because he would be charged with match fixing due to the approach that Ali made that was not reported to the ICC (actually, Amir did confirm the approach, but he did so to the captain of the team... a captain who did not esculate it because he was in on it).... he was told that his agents had contacts that could make the charge be dropped, but only if he bowled two no balls for them. At this point, the agent called Butt to attend for his advice, and Butt came into the car and apparently aggressively told Amir that his only option was to bowl the no balls.... out of nowhere, the agent got someone to bowl his no balls for his syndicate, and Amir thought he was saving his career.

After the deed was done and the police arrived to seize his mobile phone for evidence, its interesting that Amir actually found his agents brother in the hotel lobby, who had come to see what was happening, and he text Ali to warn him that their conversations had been monitored, and that he shouldnt text his phone anymore because the ICC police had seized it.....While it might sound dumb, gullible or downright stupid, why would he have done that unless he actually believed his agent and Butt were being truthful?

The text confirms that Amir truly believed that he was being charged not for the no balls at Lords, but for the approach at the Oval from Ali. That in itself proves that Amir didnt know about the actual deal between the NOTW journo and his agent, and proves therefore that money was not any of his concern. He properly believed that he was losing his career for his dealings with a possible bookmaker, even though its accepted by the court that those dealings where in noway criminal on his part.

[sussexpob]

the spot fixing equivalent of Justin Gatlin..... do the crime, do the time, and come back stronger each time. Where's the disincentive?

Butt got two and a half years in prison, the others got initial sentences of about 12 months. The lowest sentence was also losing a livelihood for 5 years, assuming that anyone would hire him, or that he will ever be able to maintain his form and fitness at the top level again. The other two will never play even a village cricket match again in all likelihood. You dont think a jail sentence and potentially losing your career, your reputation, and your freedom is a disincentive? If not, then should we have hung them?

They have been jailed for cheating at sport..... they didnt kill, rape, injure or hurt anyone physically!!! When you think about the reality of it, being jailed for purposely losing a match is quite a serious reaction, for giving away 2 runs for 12 months of your freedom I think is pretty much adequate a punishment

[Durhamfootman]

My dad would have them all hanged

I'm not that right wing, but I am over 50, so while hanging them would be very inapprpriate, I would have them all flogged!

just kidding, but I do despise cheats, whether it's match fixing, spot fixing, drug taking, handball to get to the WC finals, diving in the box and I wouldn't give any of them an inch of leeway, whether it's life bans for fixing or drug taking, team disqualification for the handball, or sendings off for diving.

Zero tolerance, that's me

[andy]

Would rather have Mohammed Amir playing professional cricket again than turning to a life of crime.

this..

I would like to see Amir come back and play for Pakistan..done his time, and think he deserves a second chance

[yuppie]

I think part of the rehabilitation process should be having the chance to play the game again. But a suitable punishment needs to be applied as well. I think Amirs punishment was suitable relative to his crime. So if he is good enough, and Pakistan feel the player is rehabilitated and has learnt from his previous mistakes i see no reason why he should not play the game again.

[shankycricket]

Would love to see him back.

BTW if and when he does return, will he be allowed to play in England? Without that, his comeback is pretty redundant as the next 2 big ICC events are in England as well as a 4 Test series next year.

[andy]

yeah i think he would be able to play in England again, there shouldn't be an issue with it... he might not get a great reception, but he should certainly be allowed to play in england..