Date-stamped : 29 Jul94 - 10:50
Pakistan boss says Atherton must go

Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam has joined the chorus  of  leading
cricket  figures  calling  for the resignation of England captain
Mike Atherton. And in a further twist to the "dirty  deeds"   af-
fair,  an  English  newspaper  published pictures on Wednesday of
South African fast bowler Allan Donald  appearing  to   interfere
with  the  seam  of the ball during his team's 356-run first Test
victory at Lord's.

Intikhab said it was indisputable that Atherton  had  broken  the
rules  when  he pulled dirt from his pocket and appeared to rough
up one side of the ball. He told The  Sun  newspaper:   "Atherton
has been  caught  red-handed.  He  has to be replaced.  What more
evi- dence do people want?

"It's just not acceptable behaviour from somebody who is supposed
to  be  the leader of the team. He, above all else, is the person
who should be setting the example."

Intikhab managed the Pakistani touring team to England  in  1992,
when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were called cheats for alleged-
ly tampering with the ball. The former leg-spinner, speaking from
his  team's  hotel  in Sri Lanka, said: "We have had to live with
that label for some time now despite no other country re- peating
the allegations.

"Just think if this had happened to a Pakistan player in a  Test.
The whole world would have gone crazy."

Intikhab, however, stopped short of suggesting Atherton be banned
from  Test  cricket.  "Losing  the  captaincy  of your country is
enough punishment," he said.

The Sun's compromising pictures of Donald are published beside  a
headline  that  reads: "Is this what it seams?" In the first pic-
ture Donald is looking intently at the ball, while appearing   to
dig  the tip of his thumb into it. In the following two pictures,
his thumb remains cocked over the ball as he  prepares  to  start
his run-up.

The former Pakistan captain Imran Khan caused widespread  contro-
versy  earlier this year when he admitted using a bottle top on a
ball during a county championship game in 1981, and also  claimed
tampering was widespread in the English game.

But Imran told Britain's Independent  Television  News:  "I  know
what  he  (Atherton) is going through and I hope he can cope with
the pressure.  The main thing is 'did he tamper with the ball  or
not?'   He  says  he  is  innocent.  Ray Illingworth  says  he is
innocent, and the um- pires have never said he tampered with  the
ball.    If  these  incidents  had happened  two  years  ago, the
television cameras wouldn't even have picked them up.   But  ball
tampering   has  become  a major issue, and the problem is nobody
really understands what it is.  For instance if a ball is already
roughed  up  on one side, is it an offence to keep it roughed up?
The International Cricket Council needs to  define  exactly  what
ball tampering is."

Key Test and County Cricket  Board  figures  Ossie  Wheatley  and
Frank Chamberlain, along with Illingworth, insist Atherton should
stay skipper.

However, his resignation has already been demanded  by  many  in-
fluential pundits, including former Test players turned broadcas-
ters Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew.

Atherton has received backing from cricket officials. Former cap-
tain  Mike  Smith,  who  will be tour manager when the side go to
Australia in October, said on Wednesday he hoped Atherton   would
carry on.

"I am a supporter of Mike and would be very happy to have him  as
captain this winter if the selectors choose him," Smith said.

(Summarized from an AFP report)
<END>  Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)