Wie is die krieket verneukers?

Almal vra die vraag of die KRIEKET wereldbeker afgestel behoort te word?

Ek dink dit moet, die rede is heel eenvoudig, groot bedrae geld gaan verloor word, ja dis waar, krieket gaan groot skade ly, ja dis ook waar, maar die gemors in wereldkrieket gaan ook uitgesorteer word, terwyl ek gisteraand sit en die wedstryd tussen Sri Lanka en Indie dophou, wonder ek of ek werklik na twee spanne sit en kyk wat hulle beste lewer en of ek nie maar net 'n klug sit en kyk wat deur professionele dobbelaars gereel is nie.

Pakistan is ongelukkig by nog 'n reeks gebeurtenisse betrek wat die spel in onguns bring en ek is nie seker dat die spel daarvan gaan terugkom nie, wat moet nou nog gebeur en hoeveel mense moet nog sterf voor iets daaraan gedoen gaan word?!

Ek lees in vandag se Sun van Londen dat die Engelse krieket kaptein, Micheal Vaughn se krieket is korrup en hy kyk baie na eendagwedstryde en vind sommige dinge wat op die veld gebeur "snaaks".

Die Engelse spelers het ook blykbaar 'n gly gevang in die Pakistanse span en daar word gepraat van boikotte en dinge wat onlangs in die nuus was, soos byvoorbeeld toe die Pakistani's van die veld gestap het toe Darryl Hair hulle daarvan beskuldig het dat hulle met die bal gepeuter het, wat dink jy het die beroepswedders gewed daarop dat die wedstryd so sou eindig?

Volgens goeie bronne by die wereldbeker lyk dit nou of beroepswedders groot bedrae geld verwed het op die kragmeting tussen Wes Indie en Pakistan, die veronderstelling was dat Pakistan wat die gunsteling was, moes verloor en dat Pakistan in alle geval sou deurdring deur met Zimbabwe en Ierland af te reken, dinge het toe verkeerd geloop toe Pakistan teen Ierland verloor het.

Dit is interessant dat beide spanne wat in die verlede daarvan beskuldig is dat hulle wedstryde knoei, Indie en Pakistan, nou uitgeskakel is.Beroepswedders in die subkontinent wed miljoene ponde op elke eendagwedstryd op verskillende aspekte van die spel, insluitend wie die loot wen, watter 5 boulbeurte die meeste lopies gaan oplewer, watter bouler watter boulbeurte sal boul, selfs watter skeidsregter waar sal diens doen!

Inligting van 'n speler, kaptein of afrigter kan beteken dat miljoene gewen of verloor word.Vaughn het in 'n toets gespeel teen Suid-Afrika waar dit later bekend geword het dat Hansie Cronje geld ontvang het om te verseker dat die wedstryn nie onbeslis eindig nie, Cronje het aan Engeland 'n maklike teiken gestel en die toets is deur Engeland gewen.

Die feit dat Woolmer net 'n handoek om hom gehad het is 'n bewys dat hy sy moordenaar geken het en selfs in sy kamer ingelaat het.Hier is 'n paar feite wat jy dalk nie geweet het nie oor spelers wat al betrokke was by beroepswedders:

- Voormalige Indiese kaptein Mohammed Azharuddin het wedstryde gekook saam met sy spanmaats Ajay Jadeja en Nyan Mongia.

- Brian Lara is beskuldig dat hy $40 000 gevat het om swak te speel in twee eendagwedstryde in 1994/95 teen Indie.

- Die voormalige Engelse kaptein Alec Steward is beskuldig daarvan dat hy 5 000 Pond aanvaar het vir inligting oor die weer, die baanblad en spankeuses.

- Volgens 'n beroepswedder is die voormalige Australiese kolwer Mark Waugh ook betaal vir inligting.

- Voormalige Indiese veelsydige speler Manoj Prabhakar het inligting aan beroepswedders verskaf en heelwat internasionale spelers aan beroepswedders voorgestel.

- Hier is 'n Britse verslag van hoe om krieket wedstryde te kook.

You don't have to persuade all 11 players to throw a match to make illicit money from cricket.Example of a spread betBookmaker says a player will score 40-45 runs.Punter expects a higher result, and "buys" at £5 (he can choose his own stake).

He wins or loses his stake multiplied by the difference between prediction and result.If the player scores 60 runs, the punter wins £75. (60 - 45 = 15 x £5 = £75).

If the player scores only 38 runs, the punter loses £35 (45 - 38 = 7 x £5 =£35).The rise of spread betting makes it much easier for corrupt players, gamblers or bookmakers to make a killing on a match.

In "traditional" fixed odds betting, a punter can usually put money only on which team will win the game, or who will be top batsman.But spread betting allows you to bet on much smaller events, such as how may runs an individual player will score or how many wickets a bowler will take.

This is great fun for fans. It is also harder to predict and therefore potentially more profitable for all concerned.But it also widens the scope for corrupt money-making.Alan Alger, of City Index, says: "It doesn't take a whole team to fix a particular market."One or two players can decide to have an off day and benefit accordingly."

Graham Cowdrey, former Kent batsman and now cricket expert for Sporting Index, agrees."It can only be said that spread betting does encourage corruption, because it has so many more markets," he says.

However, he points out most of the corruption by players which has so far been proved has been relatively venial.Mark Waugh admitted giving pitch informationIn 1998, for example, Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Mark Waugh admitted offering a Sri Lankan bookmaker weather and pitch information."It was a wicked thing to do," Cowdrey explains, "because for a bookmaker, or punter come to that, information like that would be crucial."But there is a huge distinction to be drawn between that and rigging the results of the game."

Disgraced South African captain, Hansie Cronje, who admitted dishonesty, faced the more serious allegation that he rigged an entire one-day match - a claim he has always denied.

Golden boy of Australian cricket Shane Warne tarnished his reputationBut despite all the concerns over spread betting and corruption in cricket, Cowdrey retains his faith."I was involved in playing for 15 years, admittedly at a much lower level, and I never saw anything like that," he says."

And as a firm, if we ever suspected anyone was rigging the results, we would stop trading on the game immediately."Sporting Index suffered one of its biggest losses during cricket's 1999 World Cup.

The firm predicted that there would be between 240-260 wides in the entire tournament.But a number of cricket fans correctly disagreed, realising that the total was likely to be higher since a white ball, more liable to swing than the traditional red ball, was being used.

In the event more than 900 wides were bowled.So if a lucky punter had "bought" the total with a stake of £10 he would have walked away with a profit of over £6,000.

Baie makliker as wat jy gedink het!

Wimpie