It's not the time for unwarranted outbursts

To say that these are problematic times for cricket will be an understatement. The game is being confronted by the biggest crisis in its history, its impact has been worldwide and there is still no end to the problem. This is the time for treading carefully on the turf, not making any unwarranted outbursts and not doing anything that would hinder finding a solution to the problem. During the past three months, ever since the scandal blew up, high profile personalities associated with the game - players and administrators - have not helped matters by indulging in irresponsible statements, allegations and counter allegations and personal charges without proof. This played its part in aggravating an already fiery situation. Cricket was burning but these worthies were fiddling.

Belatedly cricket authorities and governments in the affected countries appointed commissions of inquiry. These commissions are on the job and hopefully they will get to the bottom of the mess. The case is so complex that there is no overnight solution. Any answer - even if it is not a watertight one - is going to take time. One must be patient and let the commissions work out a solution, without interfering with their functioning.

Given this background, the utterances of Brig. Md Nasir on Monday were unwarranted and needlessly harsh and one sided. In the last few weeks, things were more or less placid on the match fixing front as the protagonists obviously had decided that it was time for hostilities to cease and wait for the reports of the various commissions. But the manager of the Pakistan team currently in Sri Lanka clearly overstepped all limits. To blame only India and the Indian bookies for the escalation of match fixing is, to put it mildly, a lop sided argument. Comments like ``It all started with your country. You can't shrug off the responsibility for what is now going on. All the bookies are from India. They are the ones who are bringing a bad name to the game of cricket,'' are totally uncalled for.

Contrast this unnecessary aggressive attitude with the marked humility and careful underplaying of the new South African captain Shaun Pollock at the same press conference, called principally to formally announce the launch of the Singer Cup Series. He answered the most ticklish questions with enough charm and sincerity to deflect any possibility of further harm to South Africa, which is currently at the epicentre of the current controversy. ``We realise in South Africa that the game has been tarnished and our job as the South African team is to restore the fact that it is an honour and privilege to play for your country. We do realise that we have to suffer the consequences of what has gone before us and that there will be some people who will be skeptical about cricket and South African cricket in particular. We can talk ahout the issue as much as we want but that is not going to make the issue go to bed. What we have to do is to go out there and play as hard as we can and hopefully by our actions on the field, everybody can be convinced that the South African team is giving 120 percent. I can assure you that no member of my team out here has been involved in any misleading with regard to cricket and that whilst I am in charge there will be no misleadings in South African cricket.''

That is the kind of talk that assuages hurt feelings and does a lot to restore one's confidence in the game. Brig. Nasir would do well to realise that everyone has a valid viewpoint, that there is plenty that is wrong with the game worldwide and not just one country and that the kind of outbursts he made on Monday can only succeed in ruffling a few important feathers all over again instead of helping to solve an already aggrieved situation.