Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Players => Topic started by: Buzz on January 12, 2012, 01:24:08 PM
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Former Essex fast-bowler Mervyn Westfield has pleaded guilty to spot-fixing in a domestic limited-overs game, becoming the first English cricketer to be convicted of on-field corruption and plunging the game into fresh debate over its integrity.
The prosecution claim that Westfield agreed to concede 12 runs in the first over of his spell. In the event he only conceded 10, and Westfield’s defence counsel said that this demonstrated he did not go through with the plan.
The maximum penalty for the corruption offence is seven years, and the recent case of the jailed Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir offers a recent precedent. Amir pleaded guilty to his part in spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test.
Westfield’s barrister, Mark Milliken-Smith, asked the judge to consider suspending any custodial sentence.
He could be going to jail - presumably looking at the previous spot fixing cases he is going to get about six months to a year (for a lousy £6,000) although the lawyer has put in a bid for a suspended sentence.
Who will be next??? :o ???
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I think that question at the end is a little insensitive and leaves things open to wild allegations.
On the Westfield case - didn't it pre date the Pakistan tour? What's happened to Kaneria, who was implicated at the same time? Has his name been cleared?
Wondering where this begins ends is like trying to count a pile of sesame seeds.
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fair point perhaps if should say...
what if there are more how will this impact the county championship - which is being hammed up by Mr Morgan ggrrr?
Kaneria provided evidence and has been cleared/not charged by the police, but the Pak board still wont pick him. he recently picked up his 1000 first class wicket. (just the 250 in tests...!)
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Ashes 1881/2
Betting scandals have been part of cricket from its earliest days, and it was in a match against Victoria before the first Test of the tour that they surfaced. There was very heavy betting on the match. Victoria needed 94 runs to win in the last innings when the tourists' boat was due to leave, meaning that the match would be a draw. The Victorians, anxious for a win, asked Shaw and Lillywhite to play out the game. They agreed, but only if the sailing of their boat was delayed till 7pm after the match; to their surprise, the boat company consented. However, there were rumours that two Englishmen had tried to throw the game. In response Shaw bet £1 on an England victory and made every other member of his team do likewise. Remarkably, the Victorians were bowled out for 75, leaving Shaw's side the winner by 18 runs. But the rumours of match-fixing did not go away: On the boat journey to Adelaide, Billy Midwinter, who is the only man to play Test cricket for England against Australia and Australia against England, made accusations that led to a scuffle with the two men believed to have been implicated. Discretion from those reporting the tour means that the names of the alleged match-fixers cannot be identified with any certainty, but it was suggested that one of the players had dropped the simplest of catches, the other taken a catch only after the ball got into his shirtsleeve and became stuck.
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Saw the over on sky sports news earlier, he bowled 6 length balls and a wide. Blackwell hit two fours off length balls so it did appear as if he did't go through with it. Surely we would have bowled full tosses or short balls?
Still, it makes you wonder how much of this stuff goes on behind the scenes.
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Would just say its yet another disgraceful day for cricket. The silver lining is that with the previous verdicts/sentences handed over in a spot fixing scandal, the law finally has a template to work with and hats-off to the English judicial system.
I hope other cricket playing countries take a learning from this and have a zero tolerance towards such cases and investigate thoroughly and prosecute the guilty.
Zero tolerance need to be implemented and just accepted by boards.
ICC being the governing body has to be more forceful and authoritative in such matters (at least). (the problem is the judicial system in the country of crime).
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Will he be banned from all cricket or be ok to play for his club side after this?
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Will he be banned from all cricket or be ok to play for his club side after this?
I think he will not be able to play any cricket which is under MCC
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Will be a massive loss for his club side as he smashes it to all parts in club cricket.
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Will be a massive loss for his club side as he smashes it to all parts in club cricket.
Another league title for Brentwood
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With their batting lineup and their track i dont think they would have been bothered, more thinking of BHCC will be happy.
I recon he will be allowed to turn out for them, but i am guessing there would be verbals every match towards him.
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Will he be banned from all cricket or be ok to play for his club side after this?
Why should he be treated any differently? Law has to be imposed uniformly.
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With their batting lineup and their track i dont think they would have been bothered, more thinking of BHCC will be happy.
I recon he will be allowed to turn out for them, but i am guessing there would be verbals every match towards him.
Why would he be allowed to play for bhcc? When did he leave wanstead?
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i think he will have a similar ban to the pakistani's and be banned from all cricket that is under the ECB umbrella.
there is of course the possibility someone takes him.
He has effectively ruined a pro career which is a waste
but it's totally his fault and he should be treated the same as butt/asif and amir
think he will do a spell i jail i reckon
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Why would he be allowed to play for bhcc? When did he leave wanstead?
Sorry mate, i didnt come across right there. BHCC would have been happy as their lineup struggled against our pace attack, let alone Merv.
I agree he shouldnt be treated any different, but just got an funny feeling he may be allowed to play for his club. With athletes now being allowed to come back after drug cheating, what is stopping this in cricket form of cheats?
I for one think that any form of cheating / match fixing should result in a lifetime ban, and lifetime meaning 'for life'. The public paid his wages for that game with ticket money and wanted to see a fair game, not for him to bowl dross in the first over.
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ECB announce a Spot Fixing amnesty up til April, I doubt any details will be released if any come forward.