West Indies-Pakistan ODI series under fixing cloud

Pakistan Cricket team celebrating their victory against West Indies in the controversial 5-match ODI series in St.Lucia on Thursday.

The ‘Gentleman’s Game’ is again facing allegations of malpractices in the recently concluded ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies in the sun-kissed islands of the Caribbean.

According to Daily Mail, the 5-match ODI series which concluded on Thursday has raised suspicions of illegal activities. With the visitors clinching the title, the series saw several instances of unusually slow run-rates followed by unexpected bursts of big hitting, according to some experts.

The third match and the fifth match in particular raised the concerns when the games concluded on the very last ball. The third game in the series concluded in a tie courtesy an elementary run-out blunder which allowed West Indies to draw scores level with Pakistan. The fifth game ended with a thrilling last ball win for the visitors despite a low scoring game.

“There were suspicious betting patterns on a betting exchange,” said betting expert Ed Hawkins, the author of Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy.

“A suspicious pattern, simply, is a flood of money wagered on an outcome just before it happens. There were some noticeable examples of this during the West Indies-Pakistan series. In the tied match, a weight of cash arrived on the tie market before Pakistan’s innings,” he added.

Television commentator Ian Bishop too sensed something amiss after the easy run-out for the final wicket in the final ball of the third ODI was fluffed by keeper Umar Akmal. “There is no way, no way, that you can convince me, whatever happens to this last ball, that Wahab Riaz and Misbah-ul-Haq have had this field right to the length they have been trying to execute. There is no one who can convince me of that. Totally wrong,” he yelled at the time.

The Pakistani cricket team who have had a history of entertaining bookies and indulging in malpractices have added more salt to their existing wounds and the West Indies side too have had their fair share of embarrassment after Marlon Samuels was paid a hefty sum to leak information to bookmakers.

Another stint of play in the final game of the series, where seasoned batsmen Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels scored just 2 runs in 5 overs before belting 16 runs off the 35th over, will be looked into in detail by ACSU investigators.

The ICC’s anti-corruption unit were approached for an official statement but replied: “It is our policy not to comment on any investigation, ongoing or otherwise.” Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board rubbished reports of receiving any information as such while the West Indies Board were unavailable for comment.