South Africa cricket has strict measures in place to protect cricketers from bookies, including the screening of phone calls and contact with players, top officials said this week in the wake of the betting scandal that has engulfed the Pakistani national squad.
Ten years after the Hansie Cronjé scandal, player involvement in “spot betting” — on individual incidents during a game, such as when no-balls are bowled — was again in the spotlight this week after an exposé by the British tabloid News of the World.
Pakistani captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have been dropped from the squad touring England and face possible life bans and prosecution for fraud. The International Cricket Council and Scotland Yard are investigating.
Amir, a phenomenal player who has taken 50 Test wickets more quickly than anyone else in the history of the game, is just 18 years old.
South African officials said that since the Cronjé scandal, Proteas team managers have been particularly vigilant about protecting vulnerable young players.
Mohammad Moosajee, the South African team manager, said that to management’s knowledge no approaches had been made to players in the past few years. But constant vigilance was needed, particularly during overseas tours.
One of the leading strategies in combating bookies, officials said, was to pay proper attention to the financial position of cricketers.
Pakistan’s lack of structured contracts and poor pay make them prime targets for the bookies. It has been reported that the $4Â 000 Amir received as a Pakistan player in the series in England is three times the monthly retainer he receives from the Pakistan Cricket Board and half of what Indian fast-bowling star Ishant Sharma received for each ball he bowled in the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Obligation to report corruption
According to Tony Irish, head of South Africa’s Cricketers’ Association, a junior South African player can earn “several hundred thousand rands” a year, while the contractual earnings of South Africa’s big guns, such as Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, stretch to several million rands.
Irish said proper contracts and education also gave South African players greater protection than their Pakistani counterparts, who do not have structured contracts.
“It is written into every South African player’s contract that they are obliged to report corruption and attempts by bookies to contact them,” Irish said.
Michael Owen-Smith, South African team spokesperson, said most provincial players in South Africa were paid more than Pakistan’s stars. South African players also received 20% of Cricket South Africa’s revenue stream.
Since the 2008 Mumbai bombings and last year’s terror attack on the Sri Lankan side in Lahore, the Pakistan squad has been forced to play all its matches abroad. Owen-Smith estimated that this had drained up to 50% of the country’s cricketing revenue, as it had lost both gate money and television deals.
In addition, India does not allow any Pakistanis to play in the IPL, a huge cash cow for top players.
Indian cricketers are thought to be the world’s best-paid cricketers, followed by the Australians and Englishmen and, not far behind them, the South Africans.
Moosajee also said the ICC had mandatory anti-graft measures in place, including the establishment of a regional security manager — responsible for South Africa and Zimbabwe in this region — and corruption hotlines for players. It had also produced a video to be shown to all new players highlighting the dangers they face.
A retired police officer, Arrie de Beer, is Southern Africa’s regional manager.
Moosajee agreed that young players could sometimes be naive about striking up friendships with people who had ulterior motives.
“If a new player comes into the team, we sit the player down and explain to him the threats of corruption,” he said.
“The player also meets the ICC regional security manager officer and the video is played to him. Afterwards players are handed an ICC anti-corruption booklet, which has all the hotline numbers if they should be approached.”
Moosajee said that when the team travelled abroad, calls to players’ rooms were screened and only family members were allowed direct access. Management was constantly on the lookout for characters loitering at the hotels where the team was staying. “If we are suspicious, we call security,” he said.
The ICC’s regional security manager also stays with the team in the hotel to be on hand to deal with any incidents.