London, Nov 2 (IANS) Former England captain Ian Botham said the conviction of Pakistan players for spot-fixing should serve as a ‘warning’ that cheating and corruption will not be tolerated.
‘The guilty verdicts handed down to Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif for their part in cheating and corrupting the sport have sent the loudest and clearest message that you will now be hunted down and caught,’ Botham wrote in his column in the Daily Mirror Wednesday.
‘Let it be a lesson that cheating and corruption has no place in the game, full stop,’ he stressed.
‘It is a warning to every cricketer and that is why part of me is delighted at the outcome of the trial.’
Botham said that now corruption should be dealt with more seriousness.
‘It is in the open now and must be tackled head on with a renewed hunger to root out those who want to toy with the game for their own ends.’
‘The stench of spot-fixing and match-fixing has hung around the game I love for too long and this verdict must be the point at which enough is truly enough. There can be no more burying of heads in the sand as the authorities have done for years.’
He said that International Cricket Council should be constructive. ‘Everyone seems to pretend the issue isn’t there. It is and must be addressed.’
‘You have to put fear into the players and make them realise, ‘This is my career, this is my future, is it worth it?’.’
