The World Cup Final and Beyond

From the Observer newspaper - London 27th June 99

Spies trail high-living Pakistani cricketers to casino By Denis Campbell, Kevin Mitchell and Jason Burke Sunday June 27, 1999

Pakistan secret agents spied on the country`s cricketers as they drank, partied and gambled late into the night before their extraordinary collapse in last week`s Cricket World Cup final. The players are now being investigated for unprofessional behaviour and allegedly `throwing` matches, including the final against

Australia. The Observer can reveal that the entire squad was tailed amid fears that their behaviour could taint

the competition.

Pakistan`s anti-corruption squad has launched an inquiry into repeated late-night visits by team members to casinos and nightclubs. Players gambled and drank alcohol, both of which are forbidden by Islamic law, and flouted team curfews during their late-night revelry.

One senior player, batsman Ijaz Ahmed, was in the Barracuda casino in central London at 3.50am last Saturday morning, less than 36 hours before Sunday`s final. The team also enjoyed nights out at the Palm Beach casino in Mayfair.

Investigators are focusing on the team`s abysmal showing in the final at Lord`s. Pakistan looked tired and uninspired as they slumped to 132 all out after only 39 of their 50 overs.

The result prompted claims that Pakistan, who have recently been involved in several match-fixing scandals, had been bribed to lose.

Astonishment, anger and disgust greeted the result and when the players returned home last week they were branded `gamblers and traitors`. An angry crowd at Karachi airport pelted them with eggs.

Pakistan`s earlier defeats by arch-rivals India and lowly Bangladesh are also being examined, as are `charges against the players` conduct and character`.

Three senior players, including captain Wasim Akram, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed, are already the subject of a long-running inquiry into links between cricketers and illegal

bookmakers that began in 1995 after Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May of Australia claimed Salim had offered a bribe to throw a match.

Secret service agents from Pakistan`s Intelligence Bureau covertly monitored players` movements during the six-week tournament. Players were

tailed after suspicions that they had not tried hard enough in a warm-up match against England in Sharjah last month.

During the World Cup, Pakistan players were observed indulging in what the anti-corruption bureau called `merry-making`.

Senator Saifur Rehman, head of the bureau, told The Observer it had received information that `a number of squad members did not follow the proper procedures laid down by the management. They were having late nights and engaging in a number of extracurricular activities.

`They were in nightclubs and in different places in the evenings. We have intelligence that they were going there regularly.` Rehman confirmed that gambling expeditions and the consumption of alcohol were also being investigated.

The team`s official curfew, of 10pm or 10.30pm, was regularly broken. Players often returned to their hotel in the early hours. Rehman, a close aide to Pakistan`s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has appointed a senior officer to conduct the inquiry.

The officer suggested that the match-fixing claims may have substance when he said the players were believed `not to have acted professionally when they went on to the field.

`There are also reports that they were not physically and mentally fit when on the ground or on their rest days.`

Pakistan team manager Zafar Altaf said claims of match-rigging were `baseless`. Wasim yesterday insisted there had been `no indecent

behaviour whatsoever before the final. Everyone was behaving themselves`.

But former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz, who is renowned for exposing match-rigging, said he was sure several Pakistan games,

including the final, were `fixed`.

Additional reporting: Nicole Veash

Hi

Your analysis turned out to be very good, even though the title indicated that the reader was in for considerable rona dhona.

I think it WAS a spirited jesture on the part of

Ijaz to acknowledge the fine quality of Warne`s

bowling. I am glad that Ijaz behaved as if he was engaged in friendly competition. Despite all the commercialism, it is nice to see that the graciousness of the human spirit still survives.

Best wishes

The team lost only to the best. And I believe they recorded the most wins by a Pakistani team in the WC.

Pakistan has shown its potential in quite a few matches in their run to the finals. With players like Razzaq, Azhar, Shoaib and Youhana the sky is the limit. Both Azhar and Razaq can bowl around the 85/86 mark (McGrath`s pace) and have wonderful control and movement of the ball. Shoaib with proper guidance will probably turn out to be one of the best. Youhana and Wasti play with solid technique and after a long time we are seeing players who can hit the ball with the straight face of the bat. The team can (when it clicks) bat up to the 9th position. And that depth is shared by SA only.

I hope that our unforgiving nation, in fury of defeat, does not dismantle this considerable talent and push Pakistani cricket back to the dark days of 97.

Regards,

Faisal

(Pasted here without SR`s permission to get more opinions)

[SR

``Let`s come back to our main subject.

I am so glad this stupidity is finally over and done with, at least for this time around. I`ve heard that the Pakis did make it to the finals but, all the mashallahs, subhaanallas, alhumdulillahs and inshallahs notwithstanding, they got the dog-crap beaten out of them.

Much ado about nothing....and Good riddance! Let`s get on with life.``

...SR]

SR :

Lost a little bit here .. If you have no interest in Cricket, how does that make it ``Much ado about nothing....and Good riddance!`` ? Tsk . Tsk ..

Cricket World Cup is like the Super Bowl to us Pakistanis. Is the Super Bowl too ``much ado about nothing`` ?

There was an excellent article in Fortune Magazine about ``Teams``. Taking a cue from team sports, competetive business now has ``Teams`` instead of `` Departments``. Practically all of silicon valley follows this philosophy of management. Even Miltary Management is based on Teams. Reason being teams are geared towards Leadership, coordination, motivation, Loyalty, and a drive to win. All of which are key elements of success.

Cricket then, is not only a game. It`s a whole way of Life ! And we ARE getting on with LIFE !

Zeemax