On September 7, nine days after the spot-fixing scandal erupted and threw the cricket world (including conspiracy-mongering Pakistani cricket fans) into a whirlwind of speculation, accusations and haughty judgments, theAssociated Press reported the following:

“Pakistan’s cricketers were being investigated by the ICC for fixing in a one-day series even before their contentious fourth test against England last month.

The International Cricket Council suspended three players last week after charging them under its anti-corruption code but had already written to two players to ask for telephone records as part of an investigation into possible contact with bookmakers.

Britain’s newspapers widely reported that test captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal were the players contacted.”

The manager of Pakistan’s cricket team, Yawar Saeed, brushed aside the accusations by saying, “They [the allegations] are there and we are here, getting on with our jobs on the tour.” His comment won’t make the latest news disappear, nor will it make the prying eyes of the media go away, but it shows some calm existential acceptance on the beaten manager’s part: we have to share the world with all sorts of things, it doesn’t mean we have to deliberate over all of them. Perhaps he wants us to treat it like a fart in a crowded room: some people will pick up on the gas spotting the atmosphere, others won’t. If you pretend like you don’t notice, others may not either, and like all things, it too shall, well, er, pass. Except that these allegations are potentially much more than hot air.

Vote in the Poll:

Is the spot-fixing controversy involving Pakistan’s national squad a conspiracy to tarnish Pakistani cricket?

• No (52%, 150 Votes)
• Yes (46%, 131 Votes)
• Undecided (2%, 14 Votes)

Total Voters: 286