Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Mob demands jail for Pakistan team jarrested

Arifa Akbar
Thursday 24 June 1999 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

FOUR DAYS after a humiliating defeat in cricket's World Cup final, Pakistan's brilliant but erratic national cricket team slunk back home yesterday. They were greeted at Karachi airport by angry crowds shouting "cheats and bastards" and demanding that the whole team be arrested and put on trial.

Wasim Akram's extraordinary team, which includes perhaps the fastest bowler (Shoaib Akhtar) and the slowest runner between the wickets (Inzamam- ul-Haq) in cricket history, went down in flames on Sunday when Australia bowled them out for 132. Australia then cruised to the easiest of eight-wicket victoriess.

No nation would be happy with such an outcome. But in a country such as Pakistan, rich chiefly in troubles, cricketing success is the great national consolation. Failure, on the other hand, is the stuff of mass despair. And Pakistan's defeats are always made worse by the suspicion that they are rigged.

A long-running inquiry in Pakistan into match-fixing published an interim report last September in which Wasim, and his team-mates Ijaz Ahmed and Salim Malik, were accused of taking money to play poorly. Salim, whose oddly diffident performances had drawn suspicion before, was dropped from the team for a second time. Wasim somehow brazened it out.

But suspicion again descended during the World Cup when on 31 May Pakistan were trounced by Bangladesh, the tournament's tiddlers. During the game, Wasim seemed to be enjoying the humiliation.

Afterwards he said: "I am glad that we have lost to our brothers. The better team on the day won the match." One Indian newspaper put it: "Wasim Akram hands it on a platter to `our brothers'." Newspaper reports that thousands of Pakistanis smashed their televisions in fury were much exaggerated. But every tea-shop with a television resounded with bitter curses.

On Tuesday, donkeys were paraded through Lahore carrying effigies of Wasim and his vice-captain, Moin Khan. Yesterday a rumour swept the country that a team of top intelligence officials had been assigned to investigate the team's performance.

"They are as shrewd in making money as in playing," one fan said yesterday. "But this time they have gone too far."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in