PCB election meets ICC requirements - Ashraf

Source By ESPNcricinfo

Zaka Ashraf was endorsed by ten elected members of the PCB's Board of Governors © ESPN

The PCB has admitted that the endorsement of Zaka Ashraf for next four years as chairman was processed through a "representation process" and not purely a democratic process, but said it complied with the ICC's recommendations. According to the amended constitution, the chairman is still a nominated candidate, though one who is "endorsed" by ten elected members in the Board of Governors.

In 2011, the ICC stipulated that its member boards become autonomous and free of interference from governments by June 2013. Removal of government interference had also been one of the Woolf report recommendations approved by the ICC.

The PCB's 2007 constitution was then amended to change the method of appointing the board's chairman and alter the structure of its governing board. However, the process is still complicated, and the president of Pakistan, who is the patron of the PCB, retains a central role in appointing the chairman. Ashraf defended the transition as "fair and transparent to prevent a malicious candidate to step up to take the office".

"The new constitution complies with the recommendations made by the ICC and has been accepted, appreciated and welcomed by the ICC," Ashraf told a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. "It has been a much-needed transition and a necessary step in ensuring the development and better administration of the game of cricket. The key features of the constitution were also discussed individually with the ICC president and CEO and it fulfills the requirements of parameters laid down by them. The PCB is fully compliant."

The PCB has been criticised in the past because its constitution allowed the chairman almost dictatorial powers. The amended constitution hasn't changed that. The chairman can control and oversee income and expenditure in accordance with the budget approved by the board of governors. The major shortcoming in the new constitution is that the chairman has ultimate power with no recourse to remove him from the post in any circumstances. Also, the incumbent can be nominated for more than one term.

"The new constitution entrusts the board of governors [BoG] with greater responsibility and the power to make regulations for the better governance of the PCB. Previously, most rules had to be approved by the federal government," said Ashraf who insisted that "the constitution has been followed in letter and spirit and the PCB chairman has been appointed through the process defined in the constitution."

The restructured 14-member body includes five elected regional representatives picked on a rotation basis and five elected representatives of service organisations and departments who have the power of endorsement to the nominated chairman. The regions whose representatives accepted Ashraf's nomination were: Peshawar, Islamabad, Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali while the fifth spot is yet to be filled. Punjab - which has 60% of Pakistan's population - doesn't have a representative in the BoG as Ashraf said the regions within Punjab hadn't completed their own elections yet.

The transition, however, was surprising and conducted secretly with the PCB revealing the appointment through a press release, citing it as an internal matter and not a public one. "This is a representative process, that's why the word nominated as per process has been used (in the constitution)," explained the PCB solicitor, Taffazul Rizvi. "There are certain criteria which are defined in the constitution and the word democracy has a wide range. The PCB election is different from the way general elections are conducted."

It is understood that with the general election due on Saturday, a new government could bring in a change in PCB hierarchy. With his future as chairman uncertain, Ashraf implemented the new constitution and was eventually elected for a new term.

"We had to implement the new constitution to meet the deadline given by ICC," said Ashraf, to justify the abrupt move 72 hours before the general election in the country. "It was expected and we were already working on it from last many months. We didn't want to delay it, we have to have the new constitution in place before June to satisfy the ICC requirement."

Umpires Need To Reassert Their Authority

Despite the fact that the few problems with umpiring in the Ashes so far have had to do with the rules of the decision review system, its the umpires who have gotten the bulk of the criticism. It is always more satisfying to blame a human being than a disembodied system. It is also usually wrong. Now it has extended to players expressing dissatisfaction with the umpiring in print in the middle of a Test Match. James Anderson says nothing new in his Daily Mail column, offers nothing that has been suggested many times before. He has simply added his voice to the entirely unaccountable echo chamber of abuse that the Umpires have to put up with increasingly often. I would encourage all of you to watch just the final couple of sessions of the Edgbaston Test of 2005, and then try to imagine the hue and cry that would have followed if the current level of hysteria about umpiring mistakes were around in 2005. The final Australian wicket was not out according to the rules. There was also a very very close LBW shout that wasn't given by umpire Bowden about 10 overs before the end of the match.

DRS has made cricket fans and players less tolerant of the odd incorrect umpiring decision. It has made professional observers - commentators, writers, journalists - and fans on social media increasingly numb to the nuances of marginal decisions. In the nonsensical partisan world of cricket observer every decision that goes against one's team is "diabolical" or "a howler". Most people don't understand the difference between LBW as a mode of dismissal and other modes of dismissal. What is most frustrating (if I am borrow a favorite phrase of the contemporary English Test player) is that observers today often point out that an appeal is "close", but then completely ignore this fact when they offer their final word on a decision. Michael Atherton is one honorable exception here. Partisanship, and perhaps even just the desire to shout louder than others seems to make logical consistency optional. Yet, these people seem to lack self awareness to such an extent that they seem oblivious to such inconsistencies. And these are not children we are talking about, these are educated grown ups.

If Umpires are to survive in cricket, they have to be above the fray. Umpiring decisions cannot be a negotiation between players and umpires. Today the center of the cricket broadcast - the commentary box, whose influence in contemporary cricket is vastly underrated, cannot be allowed to be the arbiter of virtue, quality or reality. The opinion of the former cricketer peddling completely unaccountable, no-consequence bullshit in the commentary box or newspaper column has to be seen to be just that. The authority of the Umpire has to be respected, especially when he makes the odd mistake. When James Anderson writes that "taking wickets can be hard work and it is frustrating when something you think you have earned is taken away from you through no fault of your own." one is not quite sure what to make of it. Yes of course it's frustrating. But thats part of being a sportsman. It is part of the sporting character to accept decisions. But lets not pick on England. India have been guilty of this too.

After his retirement, Australian umpire Daryl Harper spoke out about his final Test match as an Umpire at Sabina Park in 2011. His comments offer perhaps the most candid view from an Umpire's frustrations with the prevalent setup.

"Three players were reported, and that's above average. Two of them came into the umpire's room afterwards, and they realised they were wrong in what they'd done," Harper said. "They both apologised profusely, they were humbled, they came in and they expressed their disappointment with their actions, they didn't avoid the issue, they owned up.

"One, Darren Sammy, was reprimanded; Ravi Rampaul was fined 10% of his match fee, and those boys were apologetic. In the other case, the first player reported was Amit Mishra, and even on the fourth day of the game he was still adamant that he'd got a bad decision.

"That couldn't be confirmed either way by replays … but regardless of where it came from, for my money that guy missed the point. There's no code of conduct for good decisions or bad decisions. The code of conduct is there to test out the strength of character, and on that occasion his character failed to respond in the appropriate way, and four days later he still hadn't worked out that he'd breached the code of conduct and thought he was quite justified.

"For me that's very sad, and shows a total lack of [a grasp of] what the spirit of cricket is all about."

Harper's point about Mishra applies just as well to James Anderson and every other player who has recently complained publicly about umpiring, not just to dissent on the field of play.

Umpires need to reassert their authority by aggressively reporting players for violations of the Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is currently written broadly and columns like Anderson's could easily fall under the Code's catch all clauses. Even if the Umpires don't get a penalty, they should at least force players to face a hearing. If it is indeed the players job to play and the umpires job to umpire (as the oft repeated argument against walking goes), then comments like Anderson's in the middle of a Test Match are at odds with this dictum.

Part of accepting umpiring' decisions involves keeping one's frustrations about them to oneself. If the players don't understand this, then it is up the Umpires to make it clear to them. I hope they do so soon for their own sake.

No sympathy for Amir

It's likely Butt approached Amir in the first place because he saw in him a susceptibility to temptation © PA Photos  Enlarge

Related Links Ian Chappell : Make captains allies in the fight against corruption News : Amir must focus on rehabilitation - Lorgat News : Full transcript of Mohammad Amir interview News : I was tricked into spot-fixing - Amir News : PCB chairman wants Amir return News : Treat Amir more leniently - Brearley In Focus: Corruption in cricket | The spot-fixing case Players/Officials: Mohammad Amir | Mohammad Asif | Salman Butt Teams: Pakistan

If the spot-fixing saga were ever made into a Bollywood film, you can be sure that the centrepiece will be a hushed scene in which Salman Butt coercesMohammad Amir. In his interview to Michael Atherton, Amir spoke of being duped in a hotel parking lot, but for Bollywood a more appropriate setting would perhaps be a dark alley. There would have to be a build-up, with sinister camera angles and a creepy musical score, as Butt takes pains to get himself and Amir well away from earshot. Then a whispered conversation would ensue.

The scriptwriter would have to decide how much guilt to ascribe to Amir. In this he or she would hardly be alone, for it is something the entire cricket world has been struggling with. After his confession and conviction, there is no longer any doubt that Amir committed the act. But was he a reluctant and naïve pawn in Butt's manipulative hands or a willing participant eager to cash in?

Ambiguous characters often make for great cinema, so the scriptwriter might get away with infusing Amir's character with tantalising hints of both postures. Yet in real life this would be most unsatisfying. Where Butt carries a perpetual smirk on his face and Mohammad Asif comes across as a bit of a seasoned jailbird, Amir's youth, talent and innocent looks appeal to the nurturing streak within us. We want a precise assessment of his guilt and intentions. We want to read his mind. If he did indeed rush into the spot-fixing scam with excitement and glee and the smell of money overpowering his senses, then we'll spare him no mercy. But we want to be absolutely certain before we take that step.

People keep pointing to Amir's humble background as an explanation for why he might have succumbed to the temptation of quick riches. But corruption is hardly a monopoly of the poor; the wealthy fall prey to it just as much. There are also suggestions that Amir somehow did not appreciate the scale and significance of his act, that the bowling of two deliberate no-balls in exchange for money did not strike him as being particularly criminal. This is laughable, because by the time of the ill-fated Lord's Test, Amir had already been in the thick of international cricket for over a year, having played 13 Tests, 15 ODIs, and 18 T20 internationals.

In fact, like all international players, Amir had been explicitly communicated the ICC's code of conduct by the PCB, and been lectured on it at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He had played under the captaincy of Younis Khan, a scrupulously honest role model. If he still did not realise that deliberate underperformance was horribly wrong, it shows callous arrogance, insensitivity and cold-heartedness, not naivety or innocence.

There is no question that Butt was the mastermind. He could have picked others for accomplices - and may well have tried - but in all likelihood he solicited Amir because he sensed the right of kind of permissive ingredients in Amir's character. To understand the psyche of these spot-fixers, it helps to refer to the context of Pakistani society, which is deeply permeated with a culture of corruption. "Innocent is he who does not get caught," go the lyrics of a socially conscious song that is a favourite of local FM stations. The subtext is that there are many visible examples of people who bend the rules, get rewarded, and get away with it. This is probably why Butt's approach appeared attractive and Amir did not rebuff him.

	To understand the psyche of the spot-fixers, it helps to refer to the context of Pakistani society, which is deeply permeated with a culture of corruption. "Innocent is he who does not get caught," go the lyrics of a popular song

Amir's mindset is also betrayed by the fact that he passed up opportunities to come clean. He could have confessed right away, called a friend in the media, spoken to someone in the family, opened up to his boyhood coach and mentor. He did none of that. Even during the ICC hearings held in Doha early last year, he chose to plead innocent. He lied well and with conviction.

If we are fair and do not allow ourselves to be charmed by youthful looks and boyish manners, we will not shed any tears for Amir. We should appreciate that he does not deserve sympathy and concessions any more than do Butt or Asif. There should be no lessening of his sentence, no shortcut for his return to international cricket. The value of deterrence in this scenario cannot be underestimated. No stone should be left unturned to ensure that would-be spot-fixers are not seduced by the possibility that they might get away with it.

At the same time, cricket as a sport owes it to Amir to keep the door open for his rehabilitation. In psychiatric medicine there is a fine tradition of drug addicts becoming addiction counsellors after getting treatment. This is an ideal parallel for Amir, in that he could become a crusading champion in the fight against cricket corruption. The ICC, the PCB, and the cricket establishment generally would do well to embrace him as such. Mohammad Amir the confessed spot-fixer, who was once a celebrated heir to Pakistan's fast-bowling dynasty, now going around warning young talent to stay clean: his credibility will be unmatched.

Let us therefore forget about hastening Amir's return to the bowling crease, for he must be fully punished if the gains from the spot-fixing convictions are to have a lasting impact. But we must give him this reforming opportunity to contribute to the health, welfare and future of the game. Amir had ambitions of joining the ranks of Pakistan's grand masters, but this alternative legacy will be no less important.

Young champions start afresh against hosts

Match facts

Sunday, June 30
Start time 0930 (1430 GMT)

	Will the Shikhar Dhawan show continue in the Caribbean? © International Cricket Council  Enlarge
Related Links Matches: West Indies v India at Kingston Series/Tournaments: West Indies Tri-Nation Series Teams: India | West Indies

Big Picture

Six months ago, Indian cricket was supposed to be at its nadir. On the back of those eight successive overseas Test defeats came a shocking home Test series loss to England. Reeling in the face of doomed conquests and fallen bastions, MS Dhoni and his men managed to come up with the ultimate public relations disaster - a home one-day series defeat to Pakistan. There was nowhere to hide. Australia had arrived to play four Tests. Fortunately for India, the visitors had no clue about facing spin and had plenty of demons of their own to handle. Then came the IPL to distract everyone. And then India went to England - where their mighty had begun to fall in 2011 - and won the Champions Trophy with a squad so young and inexperienced the major justification for its selection was that planning for the 2015 World Cup had already started.

Suddenly, it is India this and India that, Dhoni this and Dhoni that. So what do the No. 1 ranked ODI side, the World Cup and Champions Trophy holders have to gain from a tri-series arranged primarily so that the other participating boards could gain from their financial clout? To appreciate that, we have to recall what Dhoni often says about young players in the squad. As a World Cup approaches, he wants them to have played around 100-150 ODIs so that they have been exposed to multiple situations and have gained enough experience to tackle them. About half of the current squad have not even played 30. Yes, they won the Champions Trophy, but taking that as anything more than a start is to forget what state the side was in just six months ago.

The opening combination is nascent. The fast bowlers, barring Ishant Sharma, are new to international cricket. India need them to gain as much exposure as possible in the next 18 months or so, provided the selectors show their faith in this set of men can last longer than a couple of series.

India's opponents, West Indies, showed against Sri Lanka in the opening game why an ODI ranking of No. 8 does them no justice, especially when they actually use some of their enormous potential. West Indies have done little more recently than to terrorise Zimbabwe and New Zealand at home. A bonus-point win over Sri Lanka was a refreshing start but, as always, the question with West Indies will be, can they reproduce that kind of performance all through this series?

Form guide

West Indies WTLWW (most recent first, last five completed matches)
India WWWWW

In the spotlight

India's openers had a dream run in the Champions Trophy, their partnerships reading 127, 101, 58, 77 and 19. Shikhar Dhawan returns to the venue of a failed comeback to the India side in 2011, while Rohit Sharma returns to the place where he was Man of the Series in 2011. Dhawan is the man who can do no wrong at the moment, while - despite successive fifties at an unfamiliar position in the Champions Trophy - Rohit is still walking around with the familiar tag of the underachiever. Both would have developed some sort of understanding during the Champions Trophy. How will they build on it in this series?

After 57 ODIs, Darren Bravo's average is similar to Rohit's, with a strike-rate from the 1990s. The aesthetic comparisons with his great uncle will probably continue for as long as he plays, but after four years of international cricket, it is time Bravo starts to draw comparisons in the areas of consistency and impact. He has shown glimpses of that at the Test level, and a 71-ball ODI hundred against Zimbabwe earlier this year was a sign of what he is capable of in this format.

Team news

The big win against Sri Lanka should encourage West Indies to go in with the same XI. Kemar Roach was a bit of a letdown in that match, but he earned backing from his captain, who said while West Indies were glad to have someone like Tino Best in the reserves, there was no issue with Roach's performance.

West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach

The conditions might have changed completely, but that does not mean India will be rushing to change the combination that won five successive games in the Champions Trophy.

India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

Angelo Mathews thought the toss was crucial on Friday, as the Sabina Park pitch eased out in the second innings. Sri Lanka had been put in on what Mathews called a two-paced surface, which had a few dark patches suggesting uneven distribution of moisture. However, there was no alarming swing or seam.

The expected rain didn't arrive on Friday though skies remained overcast for large parts of the game. There is some chance of rain again on Sunday.

Stats and trivia

• Amit Mishra's last ODI was in June 2011 against West Indies in Kingston
• West Indies lead India 3-2 in completed one-dayers at Sabina Park
• Chris Gayle is only the third batsman to hit 200 sixes in ODIs. MS Dhoni is the next current player on the list, and eighth overall, with 152

Quotes

"That's a big advantage. It gives me, as a captain, and the team a better insight into how individual players think and how they play."
Dwayne Bravo on another positive of the IPL

"If I'm happier than the person who has actually scored a century or a fifty, you understand that's the kind of atmosphere you want, because at the end of the day, what we play is a team sport.".
MS Dhoni on the vibes in the India dressing room

Butt admits to fixing, apologises

Salman Butt has accepted the finding of the ICC tribunal on his involvement in spot-fixing © AFP  Enlarge

Related Links News : Butt ready to begin rehabilitation process News : Butt, Asif asked to admit fixing News : Ashraf suggests route back for Butt and Asif In Focus: The spot-fixing case Players/Officials: Salman Butt Teams: Pakistan

Salman Butt, the banned former Pakistan captain, has publicly admitted to his part in spot-fixing for the first time and issued an apology. He has also indicated his willingness to participate in PCB and ICC rehabilitation programmes and said he still retains ambitions of returning to international cricket.

Butt was given a five-year ban, with another five suspended, from all cricket by the ICC for his part in a scam during the Lord's Test in August 2010. He also served time in prison in England.

In April, Butt and his former team-mate Mohammad Asif lost their appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the suspensions to be reduced and Dave Richardson, the ICC's chief executive, called on them to admit their wrongdoing and cooperate with the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU).

"I admit the decision of the ICC tribunal," Butt said in a brief statement to the media in Lahore. "I said it before and am saying again, that to all those who have been disappointed by my actions I do apologise for them. Also, the [negative] effect it had on cricket's integrity, I would like to apologise for that.

"I want to insist, to all those playing and wanting to play cricket, they must stay away from such wrongdoings because it negatively effects them and the game of cricket."

There will be no immediate implication in the wake of the apology. Butt will have to serve the five-year ban, compulsory under the ACSU code. The remaining five years of his 10-year ban is suspended. After the apology he has to start rehabilitation. In addition to doing that, he has to tell the whole truth to the ACSU and PCB. If he can do all that then he could resume playing, provided he has satisfied ACSU and agrees to further monitoring.

Butt also made another request for a softening of his ICC ban, so that he could play domestic cricket before a possible return for Pakistan. Zaka Asraf, the currently suspended PCB chairman, had previously indicated that there could be a route back for Butt and Asif, once their suspensions had been lifted.

"I want to give my availability for any PCB rehab programme and from the ICC," Butt said. "Since I have only two years left of my ban, I request the ICC to allows me to play in domestic cricket. So by the time my ban ends, I can be available for national selection."

Mohammad Amir, the third Pakistan player found guilty of conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls at Lord's, also served a custodial sentence in England and received a five-year ban from the ICC. The PCB's interim chairman, Najam Sethi, said earlier in the week that he would request that the ICC consider reducing the suspension. Amir is still only 21, while Butt is 28 and Asif 30.