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| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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Betting ruled cricket in early days too! by A.C. De Silva Match-fixing and betting is nothing new to the game of cricket. There have been many match-fixing scandals in the recent past and some of the top cricketers in the world have been involved. In the past, it was straight forward betting that was closely connected with the game and it led to endless corruption. Betting or gambling at cricket, whatever one may call it, according to available records started in the single-wicket competition at the Scarborough Festival at the end of the English season. If gentlemen wanted to bet, just under the pavilion sat men ready, with money down, to give and take the current odds. These were by far the best men to bet with because, if they lost, it was all in the way of business; they paid their money and did not grumble. Still they had all sorts of tricks to make their betting safe. To say that a thing is not cricket means that it is not fair and above board, but in the early days of the game this was not so. The jiggery-pokery that went on would make racing or professional football seem like hop-scotch for innocent school girls for cricket was once the most corrupt of all sports. Almost every ground was thronged with bookmakers and their touts and if a team was backed heavily to win, the backers resorted to every trick available to ensure that their side emerged victorious. Telling a player that his wife was dead and so keeping him from appearing, was only one of many devices ! Often prominent players would be waylaid and locked in lonely barns till the match was over and it was no use for marooned men to complain to the authorities. No excuse was accepted for not putting in an appearance. Direct bribery and other forms of corruption were so rife and things grew so bad that often, when a perfectly innocent player dropped a catch, the crowd would yell that he was bribed ! It was as much of a man's reputation was worth even to misfield a ball. On one occasion when a Surrey eleven were playing All-England at the Oval, the visitors needed one for a draw and two for a win - but the last batsman had been paid to lose the match. So, he would not hit the ball. To complicate matters, the Surrey bowler had been "squarred" to let All-England win. So for two overs he sent down wides till the Surrey supporters howled abuse at him and tore their hair. The batsman wouldn't be tempted and the bowler refused to aim at the wicket. Ultimately one ball came closer to the wicket than the others, so the batsman hung out his bat in the hope that he would snick it, give a catch and throw his wicket away not too obviously. Unfortunately, he pulled the ball on to his stumps, and it looked so much as if he had done it on purpose that he was hauled before the Committee and told that he would be thrown out of the club. Matches against twenty-twos were most of the time played for money and it is on record that Tom Lockyer, the finest wicket-keeper of his day, was not above a little sharp practice when money was at stake. On one occasion when the ball had passed the wicket and was safely in his gloves he suggested to the batsman that he should remove a piece of turf that had been dislodged. But when that gentleman obligingly stepped out of his crease and bent down, Lockyer whipped off the bails and howled, "How's that,?", "Out", said the umpire, sticking up a finger. Betting was rampant on visiting teams to Australia. But there was betting almost everywhere. On one occasion at Christ Church against the Eighteen of Canterbury, Pooley the English wicket-keeper, offered to take 1 sterling pound against one Shilling that he would name the individual score of every member of the local side, a familiar trick worked against the Eighteens. It was easy for the nominator as the individual scores can be judged from the bowling record which had been credited to Pooley shortly before. Unlike professional footballers, cricketers usually don't sell matches today, but, there have been occasions when there have been match-fixing allegations against some top cricketers and some stray cases have been proved and penalties imposed. But sometimes partisanship is extremely strong and apt to overcome the desire for fair play and impartial judgement. |
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