Ex-Mumbai player under the scanner
The Mumbai cricket fraternity has been left in shock after a TV sting on a former Ranji cricketer, Robin Morris, claiming his involvement in pitch-fixing, which has led to an ICC probe. His former teammates were not willing to react as the issue is too sensitive. After details of the sting came out on Saturday, Mumbai Cricket Association said it had not received any instruction from the Indian cricket board or ICC.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera television network claims in the sting that Robin Morris admits to his involvement in an alleged bribing of a groundsman at Galle last year to alter the pitch.
An all-rounder, Morris made his name playing for the famous Shardashram High School under coach Ramakant Achrekar. After his graduation to the Mumbai team, he went on to play 42 first-class matches, scoring 1358 runs and taking 76 wickets. A player in the one-day mould, he was an attacking batsman and medium pacer.
His last first-class game for Mumbai was the 2004 Irani Cup match against Rest of India at Mohali, where he had a sixwicket haul in the first innings. During the match he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and had to be operated upon. Only 27 at that time, he didn’t play firstclass cricket after that. That Rest of India side had Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra and Parthiv Patel.
His last game for Mumbai was in 2007, in the West Zone Interstate T20 tournament, where he opened with Ajinkya Rahane with Rohit Sharma batting at No 3. Later, he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League and his career soon ended.
With ICL getting embroiled in controversy with BCCI barring players from it, players like Morris quit the game for good.
Around the same time, he quit his well-paying job at the public sector Bharat Petroleum as well. His last official match for BPCL was in the BCCI Corporate Trophy at Visakhapatnam, in September 2009.
There were many versions why he quit his job in haste. According to one of his former Mumbai teammates, his employers had demanded that cricketers work full-time after their first-class career is over.
He had off the radar after ICL went defunct.
However, on April 9 he started a cricket coaching clinic at a small ground at Seven Bungalows near Versova Welfare High School and Junior College, a friend of his said.
By Saturday evening, Morris deactivated his Facebook profile.
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