Former Kent cricket star Min Patel calls for tough action

A cricket club captain and ex-Kent star says players should be banned for life if found guilty of bet-fixing and warned that it threatens to undermine major tournaments.

To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below.

The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up.

Email address

  Send link

To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in.

Hartley captain Min Patel urged for tough action after police questioned four players at Pakistan team’s hotel in London on Sunday following a claim that some players had been bribed to fix incidents during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s.

The allegations centre on three no-balls from Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif which a tabloid newspaper claimed had been bowled on purpose at pre-determined times in a spot-fixing coups after a “middle man” accepted £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter.

The duo alongside Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal have all been questioned by police, although Akmal is no longer part of that investigation, following the alleged incidents leading up to the weekend.

Mr Patel, 40, who played for England in two Test matches against his birth country India, said: “It doesn’t come as a great shock as it’s been lurking around for a while whether there’s been any concrete evidence or not. Rumours have been rife in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

“I’m a bit shocked and disappointed that young Amir has been dragged into it, at only 18, and a phenomenal talent. This could ruin the future of Pakistan’s brightest bowling talent.

“If the accused players are found guilty then you have to say we need them out of the sport, so a life ban is not out of the question. It cannot be tolerated, because it is the paying public that are being deceived and test match tickets are not cheap.”

Mr Patel, from Bexley, warned there was potential for huge repurcussions if cricket becomes “black-balled” by the sport’s major financial backers.

“The way the county sides are struggling financially, the rewards are much greater for those cricketers who do make it: the IPL (Indian Premier League) for example,” said Mr Patel. “All these opportunities, like the IPL, are totally reliant on the fact that there are corporate sponsors willing to stump up huge sums of money to attract the world’s best stars.

“I’m not sure that if this [spot-fixing] carries on that many of the corporate brands involved in the IPL and beyond will want to stay involved in cricket.

“The sooner Pakistan take a stance on it and make an investigation then the better it will be for everyone.”

Kent’s head coach, Paul Farbrace, a former Sri Lanka assistant coach, was in agreement.

He said: “There’s no place for it in the game, in any sport and I think that is something players, coaches and administrators would very much support. It doesn’t look good and it’s a shame that cricket is in the news for what could be all the wrong reasons as opposed to talking about great test matches and England winning a test series.”

Simon Willis, Kentish Times columnist and performace director for Kent County Cricket Club added: “The bottom line is it’s not good for the game, any negative atttention is not good. That’s the biggest issue here, we don’t want a situation where the spectators, players and sponsors don’t want to be associated with the game.”

In a press conference Pakistan’s team manager, Yawar Saeed, told reporters: “No allegations are true til they are proved.”

Hartley narrowly missed out on the Kent Cricket League’s Premier Division title, pipped by Bromley, who cannot be caught going into the last round this weekend.