Can cricket ever get rid of the evils of match fixing?

Spot fixing, or fancy fixing as it is also known, is not new. It has been around for as long as the results of entire matches have been fixed. But spot-fixing gained greater prominence as a result of the Hansie Cronje affair.

Once the scandal of matchfixing by South Africa’s captain became public knowledge, those behind cricket corruption turned their attention to manipulating not results, but the minor details of a match.

The question here is "Can cricket ever get rid of the evils of match fixing?"

Match-fixing has periodically reared its head in cricket and cannot be regarded as a new phenomenon anymore. For almost two decades, there have been whispers in the game about matches being deliberately thrown. But in 2000, the cricketing world was shocked when the Delhi police revealed a conversation between a bookie and South Africa’s captain Hansie Cronje. The fallout resulted in Cronje, Pakistan’s Salim Malik, and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja being banned.

This time, too, Pakistan’s sports ministry has threatened to ban players involved in the scandal. But is this really a solution to the problem? Cricket is not a mere gentleman’s game any more. It’s as much about the money now. Money for throwing matches and indulging in spot-fixing is easy money for players. It might appeal to some cricketers as an easy way to make money rather than try and build a career over 10-12 years and submit to the vagaries of the selection process.