Gambling and cricket have gone hand in hand probably since the very first county bowler hit his stride, and perhaps no game is more given to betting, what with its constant stoppages in play resulting in a set of discrete mathematical events. Factor in the wide and unpredictable range of outcomes on any bowled ball, and you’ve got one thrill ride for spectators and punters alike.
Heck, even the primer-level Wikipedia entry on notes the key points on the dateline as follows: cricket known to be played by children, 1548; cricket played by adults, 1611; gamblers known to be “making large bets,” 1660; Gaming Act of 1664 limiting cricket bets to £100 (today worth about £150,000.
So why does it seem like cricket is so susceptible to match-fixing? How does essentially selling-out happen, especially by players who should be earning enough pay so as to render irrelevant the possibility of participation in illegal cricket-betting activities with disreputable bookmakers.
The good news for those into cricket betting is that thrown matches are indeed incredibly few and far behind – particularly given the actual number of cricket matches taking place somewhere in the world at any given time. Most accusations of match-fixing in cricket end up declared as mere idle grousing, probably by bitter cricket bettors on the wrong end of the bat.
Since the formation of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit in 2000, just 11 Test and/or One Day International cricketers have been banned for match fixing, perhaps most notably South Africa’s Hansie Cronje. Also of note is that six of these banned cricketers were banned during the general house-cleaning in 2000. No Australian or UK cricket players have been disciplined for involvement in cricket betting operations, though formation of the ICC unit was surely inspired by the case of all-time great Shane Warne and his involvement with crooked gambling interests during the Ashes in 1994/95 – accusations of match-fixing that weren’t truly substantiated until 1998.
The latest buzz about corruption comes from India, but the cricket-gambling controversy there is about non-bookmaking activity. While an accusation of match-fixing in an Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore is being investigated, the real (negative) hype is about a game sponsored by the IPL itself.
The IPL championships are currently being played out in South Africa, due to fear of violence in India. The league commissioned a SMS-based game on the cricket matches. Though IPL officials claimed their promotion was a skill game and that they had procured legal advice on its permissibility, a charge levied by the Hindustani Times newspaper that the game constituted illegal gambling won out.
“This is viewed as openly encouraging gambling and betting which official bodies do not resort to even in countries where betting is legal,” said India sports minister Manohar Singh Gill, “all this to make money and enlarge their TV viewership base.”
So what’s the moral of the story? For the punter: Bet on cricket only at trusted and reputable bookmakers. For leagues in the Southern Hemisphere: Greed kills and regulation is the only way.
For the cricket players themselves: Crime doesn’t pay in the long-term.
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