Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue- Lord's, London [August 2010].
One of the scandals that stunned the cricketing world was the spot-fixing incidence involving Pakistani cricketers. The affair occurred in August 2010 at Lord's, London, during an England vs. Pakistan Test match. Three Pakistani cricket players were found guilty of accepting bribes from bookmaker Mazhar Majeed in order to purposefully bowl no-balls during certain times during the Test match.
The British newspaper News of the World broke a story on the third day of the 4th Test, alleging that an agent who was somewhat connected to some of the Pakistani players—later identified as Mazhar Majeed—had accepted a £150,000 bribe from undercover reporters in exchange for information that two Pakistani bowlers, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir, would purposefully deliver no-balls at specific points during the match. This information could be used by gamblers to place bets using inside information, a tactic known as spot-fixing as opposed to match fixing, which is the predetermined outcome of a match.
In the News of the World video, Majeed, who was counting out the bribe money, said that Amir will bowl for Pakistan in the third over and that the opening ball would be a no-ball delivery. Amir did bowl the third over; he also delivered a no-ball on the opening delivery of the over. After watching the delivery on television, commentators called it a "massive overstep," since it went well over half a meter beyond the popping crease. Asif produced a ball that was likewise a no-ball, fulfilling Majeed's prediction that the sixth delivery of the tenth over would be a no-ball.
Salman Butt, the captain of Pakistan, had planned the intentional no-balls in exchange for cash from undercover reporter Mazhar Majeed, who was posing as a bookmaker. The affair, which was made public by the now-defunct British newspaper News of the World, shocked the cricket world and is still having an impact on Pakistan thirteen years later.
In addition to ruining the careers of three players who were punished and banned after that gloomy morning at the renowned "home of cricket," the incident sparked demands that Pakistan be barred from playing international cricket. In November 2011, Butt, Amir, and Asif were sentenced to prison after being prosecuted in a London court for violating the Gambling Act.
It was a new low for Pakistani cricket, which was still suffering from the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan squad in Lahore a year earlier, which led to the cancellation of home international matches. Due to his age and the fact that he entered a guilty plea before his two teammates, 18-year-old Amir won sympathy from people all around the world. After being granted permission to play cricket for his country once more in 2016, he quickly contributed to Pakistan's victory in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
However that ball of shame still haunts Muhamad Amir and Pakistan Cricket.
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