The eyes of the cricketing world were fixed on the recently concluded Twenty20 matches between Pakistan and England but for all the wrong reasons.

The cricket itself was relegated to second place as everyone watched to assess how the Pakistan team would respond on the field to the traumatic revelations of the last two weeks. Perhaps the way they played could be taken as a representation of how they were dealing with the crisis.

The answer should surprise no one: badly.

You have to feel for the Twenty20 squad. By all rights, they shouldn’t even be out there. There was a feeling of uncertainty and dread surrounding the build-up to this part of the tour. It was too early, too rushed, too unnecessary. More time was needed to come to terms with the acrimony generated by the spot-fixing allegations.

However, the PCB seemed hell-bent on a more gung-ho approach. They insisted on forcing more cricket down the throat of a public which had already started to gag at the mere mention of it. Innocent until proven guilty is a fair enough principle but due consideration needs to be given to context and sensitivities. Yes, I suppose it’s unfair to condemn Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammad Amir as cheats unless a tribunal judges them to be so. But isn’t it also disrespectful to expect a jaded and wary public to pretend like nothing ever happened? Would you ask a friend for a favour the day after he accused you of stealing from him? Of course not.

However, logic is not the PCB’s forte, a fact substantiated by the inclusion of Wahab Riaz in the first game and Kamran Akmal, in both. I groaned with embarrassment each time either player appeared on the screen. There is video evidence of Riaz accepting a coat packed with cash from Mazhar Majeed, the man orchestrating the spot-fixing deals, and Kamran was initially associated with the spot-fixing allegations, not to mention featured in pictures with Butt and Majeed. So what if the two have escaped reproach? They still carry with them the stench of the entire ongoing episode which we’re supposedly meant to ignore during this Twenty20 series. How am I supposed to banish thoughts of deliberate under-performance from my head when I see Kamran’s obnoxious face behind the stumps, not to mention when he plays the same ungainly shot in both games? Their inclusion was in bad taste and, simply put, stupid.

If we’re going to talk about all things stupid, an honorable mention must go out to Mr. Yasir Hameed . Only an idiot would casually cast accusations about the morals and credibility of one’s team members to a complete stranger and it takes someone exceptionally moronic to do that mere days after similar allegations rocked the foundations of the sport. Hameed’s defense is that he thought he was speaking to a representative of a potential sponsor, which makes him look even dumber since one might question the relevance of queries regarding match-fixing for an airline sponsor. We’re lucky Hameed doesn’t work for the ISI or he’d be liable to leak our nuclear secrets to the CIA and RAW over coffee under the impression that he is speaking to a cell-phone salesman.

I have absolutely no sympathy for Hameed here. Whether his accusations are true or not, there is a relevant time and forum for them, which would not include over sheesha. I see his comments as that of a disgruntled Pakistan cricketer frustrated by his exclusion from the team and anxious to justify it. Hameed’s big mouth won’t score him the airline sponsorship he wanted and it certainly won’t do him any favours when it comes to ingratiating himself within the team. What it will do is add to the dark cloud forming over three of our players and extend it over the rest of the team.

In the face of such adversity, the Pakistan team took to the field with the captain promising to play good, entertaining cricket. They didn’t. In fact, aside of a few days during this tour, they generally haven’t.

It would be misleading to blame our abysmal performance during the Twenty20s on off-field worries, internal discord or even deliberate machinations. These two matches should be seen for exactly what they are – a further illustration of the limitations plaguing our team all summer. Mohammad Amir’s availability would have made no difference to the outcome as scores of 126 and 89 are simply laughable in this format. Both games showcased a complete lack of application and skill on the part of our batsmen who continue to let us down. I suppose in a twisted way its heartening to know that their incompetence probably has nothing to do with rigging and monetary interests. They just suck, plain and simple. In fact, I could make a killing as the next Mazhar Majeed. How hard would it be to guarantee or predict that several Pakistani wickets would tumble within the first couple of overs? Why waste cash paying players to deliberately under-perform; just bank on the inevitable.

Frankly, watching every game on this tour is incredibly awkward. A dropped catch raises an eyebrow. Each batsman’s dismissal carries multiple connotations. No-balls are cringe-worthy. Even the famous unpredictability of Pakistan, those “mercurial” fighting qualities, seem tainted. When Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul combined to bring us back into the first game one was forced to wonder whether there is another, more sinister explanation for our inability to maintain such a tempo for sustained periods.

Hence, the one-days can’t be over soon enough as far as I’m concerned so that we can move on to more pressing matters: house-cleaning.

Afridi’s apology, while well-intended, was incommensurate to the gravity of the situation. Innocent or guilty, a thorough shake-up is required even if carried out for purely cosmetic purposes. Pakistan cricket has lost the trust of its followers and the wider audience and a simple apology will not address the prevailing concerns. Too many fingers have been pointed from different sources and the cloud of suspicion may hover over us indefinitely unless we take steps to eradicate it. The PCB instituted a purge of sorts earlier this year which was completely needless and ineffectual. Now may be the time for a more well-directed disciplinary action of that nature to spell out to the world that we mean business in clearing up our affairs.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.