Treat Amir more leniently : Brearley

[kingkallis]

Mike Brearley, the former England captain, has said that Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler currently in prison for his role in the spot-fixing scandal, should be treated more leniently. Brearley said the pressure put on young players to fix spots or matches can be "appalling" and, should they admit their guilt and be willing to play their part in the fight against corruption, they ought to be given a second chance.

"We also need to recognise that the pressure put on the young player by criminal bookies or their agents, or by their corrupt team-mates, can be appalling," Brearley said in his Voice of Cricket Lecture at the Raj Singh Dungarpur World Cricket Summit in Mumbai. "As a result, some of those involved might need to be treated with compassion, especially if they admit their guilt and are willing to be enlisted in the battle against corruption. Deterrent and retributive justice tempered with mercy and discrimination is vital in sentencing and punishing.

"I don't think the whole truth has been told yet, or can be told. The 18-year old Mohammad Amir, who was subject to pressure and was, I believe, uninterested in any illegal financial gain, should have been, and I think should now be, treated much more leniently."

Amir was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat during the Lord's Test in August last year. The case was brought to court following a sting operation by the News of the World newspaper, which alleged that player agent Mazhar Majeed had arranged for Pakistan captain Salman Butt to ensure Amir and Mohammad Asif would bowl three pre-determined no balls.

Unlike Butt and Asif, who were found guilty after a 21-day trial, Amir had pleaded guilty before the trial began. Justice Cooke, who presided over the trial, said the early admission of guilt played a part in the reduction of Amir's jail term from nine to six months. Amir's appeal against his sentence, however, was subsequently dismissed.

"Like all secret organisations that recruit the naïve for illegal activities, the criminals linked to gambling draw people in by involving them first in activities that seem of a minor importance," Brearley said, adding that such activities could include information about the pitch or fitness of players in the dressing room. "And once in, threats against the player or his family may make it extremely difficult to get out. In the strenuous search for exemplary punishment, there has to be room for giving a misguided young player a second chance."

Brearley said cheating was cricket's most important issue and called for stakeholders to speak out against it. "Whistleblowing should become an absolute duty for everyone in the game."

Source : Cricinfo

[Agent Nationaux]

I think the ban was fair punishment, even though I really want Amir to be back playing for Pakistan.

[Agent Nationaux]

I think it was good of Mike Brearley to talk about this because no one has yet discussed the pressure Amir must have been facing from bookies, his agent and his seniors. No one is that daft to fix for £2,000, when you can earn so much more from cricket.

[Scaly piscine]

Total load of bollocks is misspelt in the thread title.

Brearley ontradicts himself badly throughout the article. He's basically make an argument about leniency because of co-operation, admission of guilt etc. when the guy he wants to be treated far more leniently didn't do any of that apart from the token plea when it was far too late and when he knew he was boned anyway. Asif was however far more accommodating with his criminal buddies, which is why he was given the prison sentence he got, which included a generous 33% reduction.

[ganeshran]

The ban was completely justified and the ICC was right in setting an example

The jail sentence too harsh though.

[BoyBrumby]

I think if Amir had made a clean breast of it I'd have been more minded to agree with Brearley. As I recall it though the trial judge didn't accept that his admission of guilt was a full disclosure, effectively saying Amir was still being less than candid.

I must admit I'm still in two minds as to whether Amir is an ingenue lead astray or just an idiot. Or a combination of both.

[G.I.Joe]

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

I must admit I'm still in two minds as to whether Amir is an ingenue lead astray or just an idiot. Or a combination of both.

He might just be the shrewdest of the lot.

[Agent Nationaux]

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

I think if Amir had made a clean breast of it I'd have been more minded to agree with Brearley. As I recall it though the trial judge didn't accept that his admission of guilt was a full disclosure, effectively saying Amir was still being less than candid.

I must admit I'm still in two minds as to whether Amir is an ingenue lead astray or just an idiot. Or a combination of both.

But if he or his family is being threatened why would he disclose.

[hazsa19]

Originally Posted by Agent Nationaux

But if he or his family is being threatened why would he disclose.

That argument might work if he were a farmer or a labourer, uncertain of whether he could get asylum. But he's a high-profile professional cricketer. There's no way he couldn't relocate his family to the UK or wherever in exchange for all the incriminating details.

I agree with Brearly. Young and naive cricketers who are led astray, who are truly sorry for their actions, should be given a second chance. Amir is not one of those.

[BoyBrumby]

Originally Posted by Agent Nationaux

But if he or his family is being threatened why would he disclose.

He didn't need to name names (and, in fact, didn't) but could've admitted exactly what he personally had been guilty of up until his unmasking. If I recall correctly the judge rejected the grounds of his confession (which was that The Oval test was an abberation), pointing to evidence of previous contact between Amir and a fixer.

[sledger]

18 is old enough to know the difference between doing right and wrong. He may have been cajoled into the wrong act, but he still did it. Absolutely nothing harsh about the penalty/ban. The harshest thing is that we won't be able to watch him, that's the only tragedy.

[fredfertang]

I believe he should have been eligible for release on Home Detention Curfew last week

[SteveNZ]

The guy was a teenager, not a toddler. He knew the story. Undoubtedly his sentence needed to be lighter than the others but I believe he got what he deserved.

And he showed by playing a league match in England that he had little remorse and no responsibility for his actions.

I don't feel an ounce of sorrow for him as others may.

[Athlai]

Judging from some of the stuff said about him at the trial it just seems like Amir is a very unintelligent young man.

[Naumaan]

I think it doesn't matter what others say, Amir himself should never play the game again. If somehow he manages to play for Pakistan, there will be more haters for Pak Team.