Put aside the ineffectual attempts by the ICC to remove corruption from cricket, ignore Lord Condon’s warnings regarding Asian betting syndicates and their influence and even allow the disturbing accusations that players’ families were threatened to pass and you are left with only one thing really – that three Pakistan players cheated for personal gain (allegedly).

Innocent until proven guilty is right and proper and as such the remaining games of the tour should go ahead. Those three under suspicion should not play a part simply because it would cast doubt on any result but they shouldn’t be prematurely pilloried by the public or press. They may be innocent.

However, if they are found guilty they should receive far more than a lifetime international ban. They should not be allowed to play professional cricket of any kind ever again and they should be prosecuted and jailed. Harsh? Damn right. How else will the message that corruption and cheating will not be tolerated get through not only to players but those influencing them?

I wrote a piece about corruption in sport a while back in which I pointed out the rather obvious fact that the more money there is in sport the more corruption there will be. Cricket and Hanse Cronje in particular were touched upon.

The introduction of Twenty20 cricket and the Indian Premier League have only increased the opportunity for shady characters to influence results and incidents.

The fact that this latest scandal has hit Test cricket is odd but hardly surprising. The question now is what can and will be done about it?

The three players in question – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – have been charged and suspended, yes, but how they are going to be investigated is what concerns me. Clearly the ICC did little last time despite Condon’s warnings and their public announcements of non-tolerance are hollow.

I think they worry too much about the public image of cricket. To undergo a thorough and likely damning investigation right across the sport would tarnish it, of that there is no doubt. But surely it is better to do that now than to have every result in doubt forever?!

A clean sport would receive far more public support than one suffering from even a suspicion of corruption. Right now, the cricket watching public are disgusted. It can’t go on.

It has to start with the ICC taking a stand now, in conjunction with the police and other authorities in every cricketing nation. Arrests, prosecutions and jailing should take place and that HAS to include the players found guilty too. Often sportsmen get away with actual criminal charges simply because of who they are, but that can’t continue.

Yes, the dodgy bookies and dealers need to be taught that they can’t influence sports but the players also need to learn that, whatever the related circumstances, they simply cannot agree to assist them.

As a fan of many sports, not just cricket, it would put me right off if I thought there was any chance what I was watching was somehow tainted and I would rather see my sporting heroes banged up than have the whole sport ruined.

If, for example, Ryan Giggs was found guilty of match fixing I would gladly though sadly see him punished to the fullest extent of the law. Giggs is my ultimate sporting hero. That’s how strongly I feel about it and imagine most sports fans would feel too.

So come on…let’s put a stop to this in cricket and every other sport now before the whole thing is rendered pointless. Investigate, charge, prosecute and jail. Enough is enough, especially in cricket.

England won their seventh one day international in a row, beating Australia comfortably by four wickets – the same as they did in the first match earlier in the week.

A two-nil lead in the series against Australia builds on the World Twenty20 title England won in the West Indies and they can wrap it up early with victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The perhaps surprising success of England’s limited overs side in the last year or so can be put down to picking the right players in the right positions for the right matches, something that hasn’t always been done. The selectors have at times been ruthless, leaving established Test players out in favour of young, promising players like Craig Kieswetter and Michael Yardy.

Bringing those players in alongside more experienced players like Collingwood and Pietersen has worked and England are reaping the rewards now.

There were no heroics from Eoin Morgan this time, England having to rely on a team performance with solid innings from captain Andrew Strauss (51), Pietersen (33) and Paul Collingwood (48). Morgan, however, still top scored with 52 as England successfully chased down 240 target set by Australia in Cardiff.

Special mention must go to Stuart Broad who took 4 wickets for 44 runs to keep Australia’s total down on his 24th birthday. When taking Tim Paine’s wicket he became the youngest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets. Happy birthday and congratulations to Broad!

The one downside on the day was the failure of Kieswetter with the bat, scoring just 8 runs. If he wants to keep Matt Prior out of the side he will need to do better. Fortunately for him the selectors aren’t as inclined to chop and change on a match to match basis for reasons of form and he will remain in the side for the next game.

Watching England play cricket is a joy at the moment and long may it continue – especially into the Ashes Series Down Under this winter…

England, led by a South African partnered by a South African  and whose star player is a South African, had to rely on a brilliant innings from an Irishman to achieve a well deserved victory over Australia in the first of of a six game one day series.

Set a target of 268 by Australia in their 50 overs, England opened with captain Strauss and new discovery wicket keeper batsman Craig Keiswetter. Strauss hit two fours in the opening over but was out soon after for just 10 runs with England on 16.

It won’t be the innings Strauss wanted, as his position as limited overs captain is under scrutiny following Collingwood’s brilliant captaincy when England won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. The England hierarchy will keep faith in him for a while yet, but Strauss is in desperate need of a decent score soon.

Pietersen, England’s third South African on the day, came in to share a partnership of 50 with Kieswetter but again fell short of his own high standards, getting out for just 29. When Kieswetter went for 38 and Paul Collingwood quickly followed for only 11 England looked in serious trouble at 97 for 4.

But they needn’t have worried. Up stepped Eoin Morgan to share partnerships of 95 with Luke Wright and 71 with Tim Bresnan to take England to the brink of victory. Bresnan fell for 27 with England just five runs short of victory, Michael Yardy clipped a single to get Morgan back on strike and the Irishman duly wrapped up his century and victory with a four.

It was a mature innings from the man who is fast overtaking Kevin Pietersen as England’s premier batsman, at least on the one day stage, and it is surely only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the Test side.

England take a 1-0 lead in the series, with the second game scheduled for tomorrow in Cardiff.

There are questions to be answered still, however, not the least the issue of who should captain England’s limited overs side. Strauss remains undisputed Test captain, and rightly so, but he will be feeling pressure over his role in this team. Without runs he is a liability as an opener and there are several players waiting in the wings to take his opening place. That would mean a new captain would have to be selected, likely to be Collingwood despite his claims he isn’t interested in captaining the one day side again.

The other question mark is over the wicket keeper batsmen position. There’s no doubt that Kieswetter is up to the job whereas Test player Matt Prior has found himself out of the side due to lack of runs. Kieswetter is the better batsman, Prior, at the moment, the better keeper. But whereas you can learn to keep wicket, you cannot learn to be a better batsman than than the skills you were given. Is Prior’s tTest place under threat then? Time will tell.

For now, England can celebrate taking the lead in this series and will look to push on in Cardiff. Strauss, though, is going to have to play better.

Pietersen: Just not up for it

The only thing that’s certain when one of cricket’s top teams plays Bangladesh is that Bangladesh will lose – unless it rains. The questions I want to try and answer here are – what’s the point in a team as poor as Bangladesh even playing in these Test matches and what’s the point in the better teams playing Bangladesh? Who learns anything?

Geoffrey Boycott was asking the same questions on Test Match Special after the first Test at Lords. He came to the conclusion that it can’t be good for an emerging nation to continually lose at Test level. I agree. Bangladesh, obviously, don’t.

Yet it must damage confidence, will, desire and just puts an air of negativity amongst the players. There will always be the argument that testing yourself against your betters allows you to grow and improve and that is true to an extent. But surely you have to have a hope of inflicting defeat on your opponent for that to be the case.

For Bangladesh, playing against the likes of England and Australia is counter-productive. It’s a test, sure, but only of their player’s will to continue turning out for their nation.

And what of the better team? Today saw the start of the second Test between England and Bangladesh at Old Trafford – what will England get out of it? You would perhaps think that a chance to really swing the bat and rack up a huge score would inspire, but it’s the opposite. Just look at Kevin Pietersen for example. He can hardly be bothered playing.

Far from allowing the batsmen and bowlers to expand on their skills it deadens them. There is no challenge, no risk, no fear of defeat. And so they become lazy. Witness the morning session today – Strauss and Trott gone in just four balls. Why? They simply did not bring their A game. Credit must go to the Bangladesh bowlers, of course, they did their jobs well. But I believe England allowed them to do so by simply not being ‘up for it’.

It is hardly worthy preparation for an Ashes series Down Under either.

Mr Boycott’s suggestion that Bangladesh should not be troubing the international elite but should instead by facing County sides around the world until they are more prepared to handle the rigours of the full Test arena. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not the money spinner that various cricket boards would want. Ah, money again. Always crops up doesn’t it.

A better idea would be to create a second tier of international sides. Bangladesh, Zimbabwe (when possible), Ireland, Scotland all battling it out for promotion to full Test status for the following 12 months perhaps. It has its flaws but could be worth a try to help the lesser nations find their feet within the game.

Given enough time, of course, Bangladesh could establish themselves as a serious cricketing nation. As could Ireland, Scotland et al. But why not help them along the way with a better structured international set up. Just a thought…

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments.

England have finally won a world limited overs title with a thoroughly deserved victory over Australia in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. We’ll let a single picture do the talking.

CONGRATULATIONS ENGLAND