Why Cricket Needs Pakistan

I was listening to the infamous "forfeited" Test match between England in Pakistan back in August of 2006 when Inzamam-Ul-Haq's side refused to come out of the dressing room after tea. Pakistan had been penalized five runs for ball tampering by umpires Hair and Doctrove. As an American, I was quite confused...

Why all the fuss over only 5 runs?

As the events played themselves out that summer, many things unfolded. Umpire Hair's career went into ruin. The Pakistan team fell into chaos. And the ICC eventually restored (then unrestored?) the the game to a draw, then back to a victory for England.

As an avid sports enthusiast, it took me a long time to come to grips with the decision to protest the 5 run penalty by staying in the dressing room and the consequences that occurred. Certainly, Inzi was not fully aware of what would happen next, as he and his team eventually took the field, ready to play, only to find that the umpires had removed the bails and there were no batsmen out in the middle.

To be sure, even the Test Match Special team was unsure what was happening, relying on the Oval announcer to relay the fact that play was indeed done for the day.

But amidst all the confusion that reigned on that day, and all the fallout that came afterwards, I finally realized why it happened, and why it had to happen...

They did what they believed was right.

We in the West have lost touch with belief to some degree, especially in how we apply it to sport. Oh, there's certainly a large number of prayers and thank-yous that are said in the heat of a match, after a score, during a victory.

But the conviction one carries to the court, to the field, to the pitch is so much different when there's nothing to gain and so much to lose.

Pakistan had nothing to gain by staying in that dressing room. But what they thought they had to lose - their integrity, their sense of rightness and more importantly their perception as 'cheats' in the eyes of may cricket fans - was worth whatever the consequences.

Americans have lost this integrity, almost completely. We teach our kids 'sportsmanship', but that quickly turns to 'gamesmanship' - winning at any cost, bending the rules, trying to get away with murder. The money that has been poured into sport has completely skewed the sense of fairness and correctness from a very young age. What is your reputation worth if you can sign a $30 million dollar contract? What's a few rules violations if you can be drafted higher by a professional team?

I know that a lot has happened to the Pakistan cricket team in the past few years. Sometimes it seems they are a lightning rod for controversy. From the terrible attacks in Lahore to the spot fixing controversies of this past summer, it may look to many like cricket should cast away Pakistan and rid itself of its most troublesome nation.

But that would be wrong.

A few months ago, my small cricket club in Vermont, USA got an unexpected fan on it's Facebook page. Zulqarnain Haider, a backup wicketkeeper for Pakistan, 'liked' my club's page. I responded kindly, and congratulated him on his being chosen for the upcoming tour of England. After his brave 88 runs at Edgbaston, our club felt quite proud having a fan with actual Test runs under his belt. Little did we know that this knock was not what he'd forever be known for...

As everyone now knows, Haider fled Dubai after being approached by a bookie and threatened with harm to him and his family if he did not help fix a match against South Africa. Rather than comply, (which would have been the easy thing to do) he fled to the UK and told his story to the press. It was not about money, it was not about security.

It was about what he believed was right.

After hearing his story, it is not difficult to imagine the fears that may have led Mohammad Amir to make a decision, under similar circumstances, that led towards safety and away from fear. I cannot say what I myself would have done.

But when an individual like Haider, or a group like Pakistan's Test team under Inzi make a decision that flies in the face of "comfort" and "security" and heads into the deep waters of fear and the terrors of the unknown, perhaps we could all take a moment to try to understand the courage it takes to do so.

Not only would it benefit cricket in these times of almost perpetual crisis, but it might go a long way to benefit the rest of humanity as well.

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