In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Tim May expresses his concern over the ever present danger of corruption in cricket and feels that cricket boards round the world should actively seek information from players to curb this threat.

May 13th 2012

May is a former South Australia and Australia off spinner, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA). May played in 24 Tests and 47 ODIs in an injury-interrupted career between 1987 and 1995.

During the 1993 Ashes series in England, May often bowled in tandem with Warne and they captured 55 wickets between them. His best bowling in Tests was 5/9 in 1992–93 against the West Indies in the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval.

In early 1995, snippets of information about the world of cricket betting and match-fixing began to be reported by the media. It was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that an unnamed Pakistani player had attempted to bribe Tim May, Warne and Waugh during Australia's tour of the country in late-1994, immediately after the Singer Trophy. The player was later identified as Saleem Malik, and it was revealed that the Australian trio had privately reported him for offering them money to throw matches.

In 1997, May became the inaugural CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association and was a significant influence in its establishment as an important organisation in Australian cricket. In June 2005, he was appointed as the CEO of FICA.

PakPassion.net: The spot fixing case was a very sad affair for Pakistani cricket and the sport of cricket in general. Did The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), and possibly yourself, have any indication this was going on within the Pakistani cricket team prior to all the revelations?

Tim May: I don’t think we had any definitive reason to suspect it, but there was a lot of chatter amongstplayers. It wasn't necessarily confined to fingers pointed at Pakistan players, but a lot of chatter that various results and things happening during games that just didn’t seem to be right was present. So there was a reasonable amount of suspicion around and we were also aware that players had been approached by various bookmakers, or associates of bookmakers, which players would then report to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). When the allegations were made in the News of the World article, it certainly didn’t come as a surprise but once again from our perspective, we didn’t have any definitive proof that players from countries A, B, C or D were involved in this. It was just more general chat and suspicion amongst players.


PakPassion.net: When the general chat and suspicion amongst players filtered through to yourself and your colleagues at FICA, did you give the relevant cricket boards or the ICC any sort of indication of what you were hearing, and that this required further investigation? 

Tim May: We’ve always kept an open line of communication with the ICC regarding corruption in cricket, and when we hear various rumours, we’ll go to the ICC. In my time we’ve never had any specific rumours about specific players, it’s always just been that they believe that strange things are happening during games, and are the ICC aware of it. The ACSU are pretty tight with their information, they don’t give us much in terms of saying yes, we’re aware of A, B, C and D. They’ll just say we’re aware of some rumours we’re investigating, and that’s about the extent of the information they’ll give out to us. So we do have an open line of communication, it’s pretty much a one way line of communication, but it’s important for the ACSU that any information that they do receive is kept entirely confidential. That will encourage people who do have suspicions to come forward and not have their names splashed all over the newspapers. This has happened in the past, and there’s been a problem with the ACSU in the past, but the detail of confidentiality has improved significantly in the last couple of years.


PakPassion.net: We’ve seen the evidence and the resulting five-year punishments handed to Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt. Do you think those punishments were adequate, or were they on the lenient side?

Tim May: I don’t think they were lenient. There might be some people who would say for the role that Butt seems to have played, in being the conductor of the orchestra, the penalty for him should have been more significant. I think that in a professional sporting career, five years of not being able to play your profession is a significant penalty, and I believe strongly that significant penalties should be handed out. I don’t care if it’s spot-fixing, match-fixing or whatever - if someone’s found guilty, no matter how young they are, five years is a reasonable penalty because we need to protect our game from corruption. Sanctions are one way of doing that.


PakPassion.net: Do you think the fact that all three went to prison and had to serve prison sentences is a deterrent to other cricketers who may be tempted to fall into the same sort of temptations?

Tim May: Well if it’s not a deterrent to cricketers then I’m obviously concerned about the mental state of the cricketers. Nobody wants to go to jail. As I’ve said before, it’s a fair whack getting penalised and not being able to participate in your profession for five years, but on top of that facing jail sentences and actually physically going to jail, that’s a significant deterrent for cricketers. Whilst we’re aware the laws that exist in England aren’t necessarily replicated in other countries that play test cricket or [any other form of] cricket, we realise that the warning bells, the publicity, the education that this is not acceptable practice to players, is significant. Any jail term has to be a significant deterrent for players.


PakPassion.net: We’ve seen Mervyn Westfield here in England also has to serve a prison sentence and there’s the upcoming trial with Danish Kaneria as well. That was county cricket in England - do you think cricket is clean around the world, or have you still got suspicions that untoward activities are taking place on the cricket field?

Tim May: I’d like to think that cricket was clean at the moment, but I think I’d be naive to think that. There’s always chatter amongst players that something is not looking appropriate. If cricket was clean, I don’t think we’d have the ACSU there anymore, but the ICC’s ACSU is still there, they’re busy. People are still approachingplayers, we’re well aware that people are still approaching players to conduct themselves in these activities. I think we’d be naive to think that some player somewhere hasn’t accepted that, whether by being forced into that situation by some sort of blackmail, or he has decided that he’ll take that risk. I don’t think that we can be naïve so to say that it doesn’t exist in the game. Again, I don’t know that as a fact, but I think it would be naive to think otherwise.


PakPassion.net: The ECB set up a confidential phone line for players to report any instance they though may have been suspicious. Do you think the rest of the world should follow suit with such helplines?

Tim May: I think the confidential process is supposed to be there, with the ACSU. I think the thing the ECB did as well, was that they basically provided an amnesty if you came forward to report information, either that you may have been involved in or that you suspected. The code that exists within the ICC and the anti-corruption code, and the codes that should exist at this stage in all countries actually say it's an offence not to report any suspicion or knowledge of match-fixing or corrupt practices as defined by the code, to the authorities. What they did was they provided an amnesty to the players and said you won’t be subject to the various laws and sanctions under the anti-corruption code if you come forth with any sort of information. My understanding is that they didn’t really gather a great deal out of that exercise, but I think it is a worthwhile exercise for other countries to do. Just because the England players didn’t have much to report doesn’t mean that Australian, New Zealand, Pakistani, Indian, and Sri Lankan players haven’t got much to provide either. I think it’s important that if we really want to attack these issues, we know what is going on. I think there are players out there that are holding a great deal of information from the past or even the current that would assist the people who are put in charge of reducing, minimising or eradicating corruption from our game. I think there is some information out there and we should make it as easy as possible for players to come forward with it.


PakPassion.net: The ACSU came under the spotlight after the spot-fixing investigation in relation to their role in clamping down on the activities that the likes of Butt, Asif and Amir were involved in. What are your thoughts on the ACSU? Should more ex-professional cricketers be involved?

Tim May: The ACSU are doing a very difficult job. I agree that cricketers or people who can relate better to cricketers should be involved but that's related more to the educational side of things. The ACSU are in a position where they basically have to police the players, but they are also there to be the players' friends in terms of, “you can feel safe coming to us with information”. So at the same time as being the people who are educating the players - which is on the good side - they are also prosecuting them, which is the bad side. So some players feel uncomfortable with the ACSU and are not building the trust they need in the associationbecause of the way the ACSU is defined in terms of its responsibilities. 

I believe one could separate the education and the reporting of approaches in different areas of the ACSU - have the investigative part separate. I think this will go a long way in increasing the trust of players in the ACSU and when it comes to the education and reporting side of things, I think that's where one could advocate the introduction of ex-cricketers because there's an instantaneous link between the two. We always believe that a message to players - whether it's an education message or instructions to players - is much more worthwhile and effective if it comes from one of your own, rather than someone who you think is a police figure or a teacher. 

I think if there can be segregation in the functioning of the ACSU, it will be a far more effective body. 


PakPassion.net: Not all cricket boards around the world recognize The Federation of Internatiolal Cricketers' Associations (FICA). Why is this, and do you envisage a day when all boards will incorporate FICA?

Tim May: Well, not all the cricket boards recognize FICA for a couple of reasons, the first one being that FICA is a body of players association for full members and an associate members' players' association. So if there isn't such an association in a particular country - which there aren't in Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe - then those countries will automatically not recognize FICA. If there was a players' association in Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe, they still wouldn't acknowledge them because player representatives can provide professional advice to the players - players will be more knowledgeable about their legal rights, rights that pertain to their image, and they will have a fair understanding about their worth in the marketplace. At the end of the day, what it means is that boards which have typically been able to deal one-on-one with players, which is a very easy exercise and as there is a chasm of power there in the favour of the board. Now if they do recogniseplayers' associations, their chasm of power would be lessened and it would actually be far more equitable. So they don't want to recognise players' associations because they just want to continue enjoying this unhealthy and inequitable chasm of power that possess at the moment.


PakPassion.net: You mentioned players' associations and there not being one in Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board and players have had numerous run-ins with each other over the years that have been well documented and well publicised. Do you think the time has come now, where Pakistan cricketers should set-up their own player's association?

Tim May: I think the time came about fifteen years ago to be honest. If ever there was a body of players that would benefit the most, and not just the players, it would be Pakistan cricket. A players' association binds theplayers together. Pakistan cricket for too long has consisted of different camps within the team, and this is an outsider's point of view. From my conversations with Pakistani players, also an insider's point of view. There have been different camps within the team and they need something which unifies the players and that’s what a players' association is. It represents the common interest of the players, the players will rally behind theassociation, and it brings about unity and accountability amongst your own players. That's good for Pakistan cricket - Pakistan cricket doesn't need players fighting with the Board all the time and the Board thinking that they are totally unaccountable to the players - it just breeds a hot bed of tension and at the end of the day, this will transpire into non-optimal international performances which is not what you want at the end of the day. Aplayers' association in Pakistan should have been there ten or fifteen years ago. There's probably a multitude of reasons, but it hasn't happened. Some people sitting on the outside who have experienced a players'association know its benefits. Everyone sort of shakes their head and we just don't understand why there isn't one in Pakistan. 


PakPassion.net: As a former off-spinner yourself, what do you think about the standard of off-spinners in the world today? We have Graeme Swann, Saeed Ajmal and there are others out there, so it seems like a good period for off-spin bowling at the moment.

Tim May: Absolutely, there's a decent resurgence and it comes in cycles - there was leg-spin bowling, then fast bowling, and I think people get used to facing after a while whatever was in vogue. Then those crafts which weren't in vogue, they sort of become a little different for batsmen to face because the players have actually been concentrating on facing fast bowling or leg-spinners etc. But there's no doubt at all that Ajmal, Swann and Lyon from Australia are sort of leading the way and bringing back the art of off-spin bowling into vogue. I think the first two are outstanding bowlers, completely different in their craft but nonetheless, they are outstanding bowling. I think Lyon has the ability to be a very good, if not an outstanding, bowler. 


PakPassion.net: We have seen the ongoing IPL where the players are earning millions in comparison to the domestic competition in Pakistan where the players were reportedly getting 25 pound sterling per game. This sort of difference in wealth and these huge inconsistencies in salaries, what are FICA doing in regards to this? Is there anything that you can do? 

Tim May: There's not a great deal we can do, certainly not in Pakistan because there is no players'association so we can’t assist with it. But let's say there was a similar situation in Sri Lanka where domestically, the players were getting next to nothing and internationally or overseas, they were getting a reasonable amount. It's just the way of the world - the ability of a player is the function of the revenue that you can bring in. Now, if you have a purely domestic market where the television revenues are minimal, well then you can’t pay the players much - that makes it difficult for players if you aren't able to travel outside of your country to actually play in the better-paying leagues. I think this is where Pakistan cricket is alone and it is an issue, where domestic and international players are unable to play in the Indian Premier League. We have terrific sympathy for the Pakistan players. The BCCI, they don't converse with us, won't communicate with us, they don't recognize us - so I can't tell you what the reason is, whether it's a security reason or 'we just don't want Pakistani players playing in our league', I don't know the answer to that. 

The issue from a player's perspective, I think, will gradually lessen with the advent of more T20 leagues that can be played in a short period of time, and they actually come to a conclusion. It is a competition and it generates a significant amount of interest, rather than just this ongoing boring, ad hoc series of one-day games that don't mean anything outside 'that series against Australia' or whatever. There's far more commercial diversity with T20 leagues. We’ve seen more and more sprout up, whether it's the IPL, the Big Bash League which has gone to another level, we have just seen the Bangladesh Premier League, the Sri Lankan Premier League which will hopefully kick off this year, my understanding is there will be an Emirates Premier League - I don't know exactly what it will be titled, and there's also going to be a USA premier league where players from all over the world can participate. That's very advantageous for these domestic players, especially within Pakistan who are unable to procure a decent living through just domestic cricket. This T20 format of the game is giving them a chance to travel and be paid significantly more funds - to play in what is essentially domestic cricket in someone else's territory.