For the love of money…

Disappointing news has come out overnight in relation to the corruption scandal surrounding several cricket umpires from the sub continent caught offering to corrupt matches for bribes. Two Pakistanis, Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqi have been banned for accepting the advances of undercover TV reporters. Firstly, the fact that they were found to have engaged in such conduct is disheartening. Furthermore, the bans given out seem far too small (4 and 3 years respectively) given the complete lack of integrity demonstrated. The Bangladeshi authorities recently banned international umpire Nadir Shah for 10 years for his involvement in the same scandal. Given the repeated scandals in relation to match and spot fixing that have blighted cricket, and in light of the more severe penalty for Shah, the Pakistan Cricket Board has missed a chance to send a strong message.