LAHORE: When Pakistan trio – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – committed spot-fixing in 2010 in England during the Lord’s Test, the consequences were disastrous not only for these best players of the contemporary sport but also for Pakistan cricket. Though their misdeed and dishonesty did not affect the result of the match but they did face lengthy bans, served jail terms and remained as outcasts for a very long time. But it seems what happened in Cape Town – ball-tampering – during the recently concluded Test between Australia and South Africa is a lesser offence, and, above all, the players involved in an attempt to influence the result of the Test are of ‘superior race’. The punishment of a one-match ban for Australian captain Steve Smith, and three demerit points for Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera trying to tamper with the ball, is, no doubt, inadequate and outlandish. This unfair punishment has shown all and sundry – despite big talk of equality – that sports are also divided on racial lines. The justice system for whites is something else and for Asians, well, the criteria is entirely different. To be precise, more damning. In 2010, all cricket playing nations condemned the trio in particular and Pakistan cricket in general. There were talks of morality, ethics and professional honesty. Now with involvement of white players in ‘calculated cheating’, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has shown its soft corner towards the guilty. Isn’t this double standards? Shame on the ICC! The ICC has clearly missed a big opportunity to show leadership over the Australian ball tampering controversy. The world governing body has had two players who have admitted guilt for cheating, and it should have taken a stern action just like in 2010. The ICC should have set the example. The ICC itself has ruined the ‘spirit of the game’. The ICC is responsible as it is the stakeholder. The ICC has clearly taken the George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ route: “some cricketers are equal but some are more equal than others”. Being labelled a cheat is the worst name one can get in sport. It’s not necessarily the captain’s job to be popular, but it is his job to ensure his side are playing within the spirit of the game. The position of Australian cricket captain is even locally referred to as the second most important position behind the Prime Minister. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the sole authority on the laws of cricket since it was founded in 1787, called for better leadership across the global game. “The time has come for a major shift in attitude and culture of all those with responsibility for leadership within the game, to give young players the kind of role models who will uphold standards, preserve cricket and, vitally, the Spirit of Cricket for future generations,” John Stephenson, MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket), said in a statement. Australia have messed up spectacularly; their actions cannot be condoned. There has to be a punishment that deters and it feels like the side’s chief executive, James Sutherland, is in a mood to deliver one. The ball-tampering scandal that has engulfed the country has made Australia’s major cricket sponsors, including Qantas Airways, breakfast cereal maker Sanitarium and brewer Lion, to assess their relationship with the country’s favourite pastime as the fallout from a ball-tampering scandal escalates. The incident, which Australian captain Smith said involved senior players hatching a plan to tamper with the ball, also threatens to upset current negotiations over broadcast rights. The sport’s past heroes, including the late Sir Donald Bradman, are revered for their conduct as much as their victories, helping create a clean, attractive brand to attract corporate sponsors. But the ‘leadership group’ of the current Australia team has ruined the concept of playing “hard, but fair” that has always been integral to their national identity. Published in Daily Times, March 28th 2018.