Stephen Fleming, a respected voice in the cricket world, expressed sadness at the latest spot-fixing controversy and stressed that the game’s quirky touches would now be a subject of needless speculation.
The former New Zealand captain and current coach of Chennai Super Kings said that he hasn’t spoken to M.S. Dhoni about the latest unsavoury episode that has affected cricket’s image but he added that the game’s charm has been dented.
“I haven’t really spoken to Dhoni about it; there was no need for that. I think the players reflect my feeling and that is a lot of sadness. We are sad that these kind of things happen in cricket.
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“Every quirk in cricket will now be over-analysed and accusations will fly. The game of cricket is quirky but the events of the last two days does add a sinister approach, doesn’t it? The beauty of cricket is the unknown and that has been sullied,” Fleming said here on Friday.
He was firm that corruption in cricket can be weeded out only if the players stay firm. “It comes back to the players. Yes there are processes and players are under watch and movements in the team hotel are observed but you cannot watch a player 24x7.
“The players themselves govern the game. Players are well educated and the naivety around match-fixing has been somewhat dispersed. What else can we say, let’s keep our fingers crossed for the next few days,” Fleming said.
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He also emphasised on patience. “At this stage let the process take its due course as well, let us not talk as if it’s done and dusted.
“Anything that sullies the game and the quirks of the game is a concern. One hopes it is not a bigger picture, we all know that in cricket more than the bigger picture the isolated incident can be dealt with firmly by the law,” he said.