SIR – Media reports of the circumstances leading to the conviction of three Pakistani cricketers regularly refer to a ‘betting scam’, but in reality it was they who were scammed by the News of the World.
The players would, of course, have known that match fixing was at best unsporting and at worst illegal, and that the only purpose of scamming is to win large sums of money by placing bets on events where the outcome is known in advance.
What they would not have realised was that because the odds against correctly predicting the incidence of three no balls in a 90-over Test Match are around 15 million to one, no bookmaker on earth would accept such a wager without becoming suspicious.
Since the whole thing was set up, the credibility of the scam was never going to be tested, with the result that three gullible young men have had their careers ruined simply because the News of the World chose them to prove a point.
Brian Holmans, Langley Road, Bingley
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article