Woe is Pakistan! The tragedy of the floods is still unfolding, as if in slow motion. Last week, we had the horrendous lynching in Sialkot. Now cricket, Pakistan's national sport, is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Video footage of money being counted, and the over and ball number when the no-balls will be delivered being described, with further replay from the actual matches showing precisely those balls being no-balls, makes one want to throw up. Even the commentators wonder about the no-balls, asking whether it is inexperience and at one point saying how there have been a few no-balls. It is like an adulterer being caught with his pants down and in a pose that is a lot more than merely preparatory, as they say in legal jargon.
Although there is widespread anger in Pakistan and here, it isn't tinged with surprise. Many have suspected the integrity of Pakistani cricket for a while. We have been here before; the Qayyum report into the last betting scandal cast a shadow over Pakistani cricket in general and certain players in particular.
In cyberspace, people have asked whether there is any wonder about the corrupt state of Pakistani cricket when the head of the state, Zardari, himself is made of the same corrupt material. After all, Pakistan's cricketing management is stuffed with Zardari's cronies.
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