Updated on
Summary
Mohammad Aamer may be poised to turn informant and roll over on the Pakistan teammates and dodgy betting identities, who allegedly corrupted him - making a high-risk roll of the dice that could put his life in danger. Well-placed cricket sources says the disgraced 18-year-old fast bowler is seriously contemplating co-operating with police and International Cricket Council investigations into the spot-fixing and match-fixing dramas that have rocked world cricket. Aamer has returned to Pakistan under heavy security and is believed to be holed up with friends and family near the remote village of Changa Bangyaa, in the Punjab region, where he is considering his next move. But it is believed the teenager wants to tell his story and possibly give evidence against skipper Salman Butt, fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif and the rogue gang of other Pakistani players under investigation. Given his tender age, inexperience and potential co-operation with authorities, there is a high likelihood that Aamer could receive a watered-down penalty compared to the life bans that could be dished out to some of the other alleged cheats in the Pakistan team. However, choosing to save his own skin could have dire consequences for the young fast bowler as it was only last week that former South African captain Clive Rice warned someone would be killed unless cricket was cleaned up. The illegal bookies and Indian gangsters who have approached several international cricket stars including a group of Australian players during the Ashes in England last year would almost certainly not look favourably upon Aamer dishing the dirt on cricket's latest corruption scandals.Aamer was questioned for nine hours by Scotland Yard detectives in London last week but it is understood the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit will not formally interview him and the other players until the police investigation has ended.Regardless of whether Aamer rolls over, former Australian skipper Ian Chappell believes the ICC would do the Pakistani youngster a favour by banning him for life and freeing him from the clutches of cricket's underworld figures.If he were guilty and was to be reinstated a couple of years down the track, he'd still be in the clutches of the crooks, Chappell said on the Cricinfo website.Any outstanding debts or threats to him or his family would still be hanging over his head. The only way you escape the clutches of these unsavoury characters is the same as the mafia exit strategy: in a wooden box.At least with a life ban from cricket, the youngster escapes their clutches and can get on with what remains of his future.And if he's forgiven there's the not-so-minor matter of how he'd be accepted by the Pakistan team. Self-interest is never a great team-spirit builder, and ratting on your mates, no matter how devious they might be, is not the way to ingratiate yourself.Pakistan's on-field woes continued when they lost to England in the second one-dayer at Leeds yesterday, scoring 294 only to watch as England skipper Andrew Strauss (126) led the home side to a narrow victory.
