The match-fixing story: More than just meets the eye

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So the match fixing saga has returned yet again, after one whole decade of the ugly Hansie Cronje and Co. incident. It has been reported that upto seven Pakistan players are involved in match-fixing with pacers Mohammed Aamer and Mohammed Asif named at the forefront for bowling deliberate no-balls at predetermined times. The whole controversy centers around the arrest of an alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed who has reportedly been arrested from the team hotel.

Now we are not trying to deny any of the facts that have been reported in the media - it may ultimately be true - the manner in which all this has transpired raises quite a few questions.

All's not well that ends well

Pakistan have made an astounding comeback to level the series, after a series of inspiring performances coupled with the string of disappointing ones. But before anyone starts celebrating that everything's perfect since Pakistan won, they better think again.

Firstly, the captain Mohammed Yousuf proved his inability to assert himself as captain yet again with the undue changes. No less than three changes were made, only one of which paid off to an extent. Yousuf took the easy route - dropping the fresh blood. When the case was perfectly ready for Imran Farhat or Shoaib Malik to face the axe, luck ran out for the poor Khurram Manzoor and Fawad Alam. Imran Farhat's technique has been so badly exposed over all these years, no less in the first test either. Yet he continues to stick around, just because his father-in-law is a selector. Khurram Manzooor, although not technically perfect, is still better. Then there's Shoaib Malik. A tendency to take things casually is deep-rooted in his blood. That was extremely evident from the mode of his dismissals in the first test. Yet he managed to stick around as Yousuf decided to take the safe path and avoid criticism by dropping the so-called 'experienced' players. This is what happened before the match started. The quality that was so synonymous of Younis Khan's days - promoting young talent - disappeared in no time. Should the trend continue, we might not see another Mohammed Aamer-like talent in the near future.

Let's now look at what happened during the match. If the fielding was the cause of Pakistan's narrow 32-run defeat in the first test as Yousuf puts it, you would think it was an altogether different side that managed to clinch a 141-run victory. Not really. No less than eight catches were dropped, most of which were easier than what came Pakistan's way in the first test. So that really proves the point I made in the previous post - that Pakistan's fielding has always been inconsistent, it is the exploits in batting and bowling that enable these victories. And Wellington proved that again. It will be interesting to see which department Mohammed Yousuf attributes this win to.