Match-fixing report calls for life bans

Inquiry judge tells Owen Slot that he wants action to be taken against big names

EVIDENCE of malpractice in cricket continues to spring up around the world. There can now be no covering up the match-fixing scandal in Pakistani cricket. Justice Malik Qayyum, the Lahore judge who conducted a two-year inquiry into match-fixing, has finally broken his silence on the contents of his report and confirmed months of speculation and rumour:

Pakistan players were definitely involved in match-fixing and Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed are recommended for life bans from the game.

Meanwhile Bob Woolmer, the former coach of South Africa, has given a television interview which badly sullies the previously untainted image of Dr. Ali Bacher, the managing director of South Africa's United Cricket Board. Woolmer says that he reported condemning evidence "on two or three occasions" to Bacher four years ago. Bacher, however, has always maintained that he knew nothing.

In Pakistan, Qayyum's words completely contradict the statement made last Wednesday by Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Zia claimed that the judicial report found "no planned match-fixing" and he went on to boast that "Pakistan's image will not be stained over this: we are giving a lesson to others."

A bemused and frustrated Qayyum had been honourably waiting for the release of his report - which he completed seven months ago - before discussing its contents. But Zia has put such a strange interpretation on his findings he has now disclosed some to The Telegraph.

Is it true that he recommended a life ban for Salim Malik, the former Pakistan captain? "That is correct." And a life ban for Mushtaq Ahmed, who is involved in the Test series in the West Indies? "I can't say, but the answer isn't no." And Wasim Akram, who captained Pakistan in last year's World Cup? "I can tell you that he has not got off scot-free."

It could hardly be clearer that some of the biggest names in Pakistan are due for a fall. Malik and Wasim have both been tainted by match-fixing allegations in the past, yet this is the first time that Qayyum has openly condemned them. All of which makes Zia's statement exceedingly hard to comprehend.

"It depends on how you look at it," said Qayyum, charitably. "He is looking from a certain angle and there can be another way of looking at it. But I don't know from what angle he is looking. The one thing he is right in saying is that there was no planned match-fixing by the team as a whole."

But was Zia correct when he said that there was no match-fixing at all and that Pakistan's image will not be stained? "That is not the case because there were one or two players who were involved and there are others also to be fined for certain things."

We have thus reached the stage when the PCB and Qayyum are reading from different scripts. This has been the concern ever since pressure was put on the PCB to release the Qayyum report: that when it did find its way into the public domain, after such a long wait, it would be an altered or watered down version.

However, by giving the world a taster of the contents of his report, Qayyum is making it very hard for the PCB to pull off a face-saving cover-up. He has already said that he has a sealed copy of the report and that, were the PCB to publish a different version, he would blow the whistle.

The release of the report has thus assumed monumental significance. After the International Cricket Council's summit meeting 11 days ago, the PCB were given five weeks to release it.

Qayyum says that he met Zia on Wednesday and that Zia "said that he would release the whole report". He remains mystified as to why Zia should be speaking out before its release: "I am surprised because they should release the report and then say these things."

If the report has been altered, and Qayyum remains true to his word and exposes it as a sham, then the ramifications would be huge. The ICC would have no alternative but to suspend Pakistan from international cricket. England's tour, which is due to begin on Oct 16, would then clearly be in jeopardy.

The tension will also be mounting in South Africa this week. The inquiry into the Hansie Cronje scandal was due to get under way anyway, but the picture has suddenly changed dramatically. Suddenly we have another case of two men giving different accounts of the same story.

Woolmer told Australia's ABC about the events before a one-day international in Bombay four years ago, when the South African team debated (and eventually rejected) taking a large sum of money to throw the match. When asked by ABC if he reported the incident to the South African authorities, Woolmer replied: "Yes, I did, yes. I mentioned it on two or three occasions to Dr Bacher when we were talking about various things that happened on the tour."

Cronje's former team-mates, meanwhile, are prepared to give evidence freely to the inquiry. Jacques Kallis said: "Once you put your hand on that Bible and take an oath I can't imagine anyone not telling the truth - certainly amongst the players, anyway. We want it cleared up quickly."

"I'm completely happy to talk," said Mark Boucher. "I certainly don't have anything to lie about and I don't believe any of the guys have, it's gone way too far for that."

On April 30 we reported on the sale of telecast rights for the 1998 ICC Knockout in Dhaka. We did not intend to suggest that Mark Mascaren has or World Tel Inc made corrupt payments or behaved improperly to secure these rights, nor to infer he had any interest in the British Virgin Isles company Lancester Holdings.