LONDON: England skipper Andrew Strauss is determined to see that his players do not harbour any ill-feeling against Pakistan in the wake of spot-fixing scandal, when the two countries meet for a series in January.
Several British players such as Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann have made their resentment public in the backdrop of the spot-fixing scandal, in which three Pakistani cricketers were found guilty and sentenced for varied terms.
Off-spinner Swann has revealed in his autobiography that England players wanted nothing to do with the Pakistan side (in 2010 tour) and that the situation was “vile.”
Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad had said that they felt uncomfortable staying in the same hotel as Pakistan during the World Cup.
Watson bats for life bans
Australia vice captain Shane Watson feels that life bans should be handed out to corrupt cricketers to send out a strong signal to others.
“In the end, I think a life ban is surely enough to be able to say to people that it’s the wrong thing to do. It’s challenging the integrity and taking the game of cricket down,” said Watson.
“Whether it’s jail, whether it’s a life [playing] sentence, there’s no doubt that the punishments are very severe for doing the wrong thing. Since I first started playing, you know that if you do something wrong in that regard you won’t be playing cricket ever again,” he said. (Agencies)