Bob's blood Pakistan in the dock?

The murder by strangulation of Pakistani cricket team coach Bob Woolmer has given rise to a legion of conspiracy theories. But the ones that are difficult to discount involve Pakistan's passion for the game, and the retribution that could have been visited upon him when Pakistan came a cropper—because he might have known too much about match-fixing.

By Norris Pritam

A gentleman's game? Cricket? There have been scars on the body politic of international cricket for more than a decade now—betting, match-fixing, and doping. But with coach Bob Woolmer's murder, the sport has reached its lowest ebb. No longer is cricket a game—or at least for the moment—that any gentleman would like to associate with. Unfortunately, most of the damage has been done in Asia (read India and Pakistan), where cricket is considered religion and the players virtual demigods.

In both Pakistan and India, cricket is a microcosm of their society, which has seen drastic ups and downs. Corruption, particularly in Pakistan, is rife, as is nepotism, factionalism, regionalism and any other “ism” you might care to mention. Cricket there has not been immune to these forces. The Pakistani team, despite having some of the most talented players in the world, has not been as purposeful, and many big names have assumed leading roles in the match-fixing scandal of the past decade. South Africa's Hansie Cronje may have been the only one to own up to those crimes, but his ill-gotten gains look far smaller compared to the benefits that accrued to those involved from India and Pakistan.

For Pakistan, an otherwise great cricketing nation, it will surely take a long time before it finds an ethical footing in the game. At the time of writing, Jamaican police had established that Bob Woolmer had indeed been murdered by strangulation. There have been rumours of the involvement of some Pakistani players, too. If this is found to be true, it will take years for the team to re-establish itself as the most colourful team in the game.

Leave aside the reputation of the team—the cricketing trade has also gone for a six in Pakistan. Like in India, cricket in Pakistan is a major industry, and the early exit of its team from the World Cup has hampered the busy business of cricket goods, with the traders facing huge losses. On other occasions, their business blossoms, with cricket bats, balls, national flags, lookalike uniforms of the national team, and caps becoming the most sought after items for both retailers and manufacturers. A trader, quoted in the local press, said dryly, “We are thinking of putting tomatoes for sale at our shops because [they are] cheap these days and people might want to buy these in bulk to pay historical welcome to the national cricket team.” It seems that with the team seemingly involved in Woolmer's icing, people expect the worst.

Woolmer was a man of the world, born in India, playing in England, based in South Africa, and coaching in Pakistan in a career spanning 40 years. An enthusiast, he liked a challenge. But some challenges are insurmountable—and Pakistan cricket, with its shifting agendas and hairy-tempered personnel, proved beyond even him.

Pakistan's two defeats at the World Cup would have hurt Woolmer deeply, but not to the extent of the fanatical grief evident in Pakistan, where mobs burnt his effigies and those of captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to the chants of “Death to Bob Woolmer, Death to nzamam.” Tragically, half that wish has now been granted. But worse will come if his passing is linked either to the team he coached or to illegal bookmakers: then, all of Pakistani cricket will be in a deep crisis. One may recall a 1999 World Cup match that Pakistan played against Bangladesh. To the utter surprise of everyone concerned, Bangladesh won the match, which has long been felt to have been “thrown”. Led by its suspicions, the International Cricket Council (ICC) placed a security guard with a register on the floor of the Pakistani team's hotel, a check imposed on no other team. The move allowed the ICC to keep tabs on everyone visiting the Pakistani players. The ICC's anti-corruption unit has been closelymonitoring Tests and one-day matches since 2001. And Pakistan's two defeats in Jamaica to West Indies and Ireland have fuelled further speculation. Former Pakistan pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz even questioned the veracity of the match on March 13 against Brian Lara's side. One may chose to brush aside Nawaz's claims, as he is the most outspoken follower of the game in Pakistan, but he is hardly a lone voice in a country brimming with conspiracy theories.

There exists paranoia in Pakistan that the world is out to humiliate it. It was a feeling that manifested itself at the Oval last year, when the team was docked five runs by the umpires for suspected ball tampering. Outraged at the slight to its honour, Pakistan forfeited the Test. Woolmer, frustrated at the team's intransigence, offered to resign, but was turned down by Shaharyar Khan, chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCC) and a moderate voice until his own resignation late last year.

The recent presence, confirmed by an independent laboratory, of banned steroids in samples from Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif was quickly swept under the carpet by the PCC when the pair's bans were lifted within weeks of their having been imposed. It is a different matter that the two did not make it to Jamaica.

The scandals in Pakistan cricket go back to the previous decade. On the 1992-93 tour of the West Indies, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Aaqib Javed were detained for possession of marijuana. According to one senior Pakistan journalist, they threatened to walk out of the tour if prosecuted, a tactic that saw them released without charge.

The general impression about the Pakistani team is that many of the players are a law unto themselves. Woolmer would have known this before he accepted the task of coaching the players. Ever the optimist, he probably believed he could change it, too—but his optimism has now been silenced forever.