Have pity on Pakistan

Cricket is often said to be a game of inches. An inch is the difference between a fatal edge to the slips and a safe play-and-miss; an inch is the difference between being clean bowled and a mere dot ball; only an inch separates a no-ball from a legitimate delivery that could take a wicket.

But for Mohammad Amir, just a few inches have taken on a far greater significance than the question of winning or losing. It is alleged that the 18-year-old Pakistani prodigy bowled deliberate no-balls so that illegal gamblers could manipulate ‘spot’ betting. Had Amir’s foot stayed behind the line, we would still regard him as the most exciting fast bowler in the world. Instead, a photograph of his boot looks set to cast a shadow over his whole career. Rarely, even in cricket, has a matter of inches separated so much hope from such despair.

If Amir is found guilty, he will be punished; his actions condemned. Yet he deserves sympathy, too. Look again at those photographs. Compare the picture of Amir’s no-ball with that of his colleague Mohammad Asif, also accused of spot-fixing. The 27-year-old Asif, who has already failed two drugs tests and faced recurrent bans, was able to creep just over the line, inducing the umpire to call no-ball without arousing suspicion. The 18-year-old Amir, in contrast, doesn’t seem to have taken any chances with delivering his side of the betting deal. His foot was about eight inches over, an unlikely degree of error for a bowler of his class.

Such unambiguous evidence works in Amir’s favour. Such cluelessness, such a lack of savvy, won’t help prove his innocence. But they are testimony to his naivety. The whole episode suggests he never weighed the risks. A brilliant teenager — who could look forward to a glittering career in the richest era in cricketing history — appears to have laid his future on the line for what was probably not a very large sum of money.