The shocking news from the weekend concerning yet more allegations involving Pakistani cricketers is a desperate shame for all involved, from the England team whose win at Lords wrapped up the test series 3-1 thanks to two outstandingbatting displays from Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad,plus Graeme Swann's now usual haul of wickets, to the majority of the Pakistani team who proved, spasmodically, what a world-class team they are, especially with the ball in hand, and to the great game in general.But, for me, the greatest shame, is what the scandal has done for Pakistan, a country still suffering greatly from the worst floods in living memory and the constant threat of terrorism. I once spent a week in Peshawar as the guest of Jansher Khan, the former world squash champion, and saw for myself the huge passion for sport in this part of the sub-continent. No sport, not even squash in the Khan family, beats cricket, though. One day I ended up playing in an impromptu game of cricket in the Khan's back garden, a game that began with five or six youngsters and me, and soon exploded into a competitive competition involving up to 20 locals.The joy at the fall of a wicket and the celebrations that followed underlined their love of the game. Today all these players will be feeling extremely disillusioned with their test heroes.If the allegations are true concerning spot-fixing then the perpretators need to be thrown out of the game. But I'd add two caveats to this. First, compare the salaries of Pakistani test cricketers with those received by English and Australian cricketers. They arederisory and lead to temptation. Second, I hope the career of young Mohammad Amir can be spared. At 18 he is still just a kid, a kid who has made a bad mistake. He is also the best thing to happen to test cricket in two years and has a truly wonderful career ahead of him.
