Pakistan cricket spent 2010 in a schizophrenic state of existence. At one level, the national team enjoyed a respectable degree of success. Yet cruel circumstances and an inept PCB conspired to rob the fans of happiness and continued to give a sinister tinge to the nation’s cricket affairs.

The year began with Pakistan nearly beating Australia on its home territory. Granted this match in Sydney was eventually lost amid great heartache, but Pakistan had gone 206 runs ahead in the first innings, outplaying Australia on three days out of four — a remarkable achievement given what a treacherous territory Australia has been for visiting teams.

January was also notable for a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia in ODIs, during which Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi famously and bizarrely decided to bite the ball in full view of everyone. No explanation was forthcoming, and the entire cricket world was left flabbergasted.

February saw Pakistan play three Twenty20 matches, beginning with the lone T20 of the Australian tour (which Pakistan lost) followed by a two-match T20 series against England in Dubai (which Pakistan drew 1-1). The victorious match against England provided welcome relief to fans, who had endured a bitter drought throughout the winless tour to Australia.

March and April were quiet periods for Pakistan on the field, but off the field things became heated. In the wake of the volatile tour to Australia and New Zealand, the PCB held a disciplinary inquiry that came under heavy criticism for opacity and lack of proper procedure. Several key players were handed fines, one-year suspensions, or lifetime bans, although most were later pardoned. The most ludicrous development was lifetime bans for star batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, on flimsy pretexts that the PCB never managed to justify. Yousuf’s ban was reversed a few weeks later, but Younis’ case became an ego issue for the PCB chief Ijaz Butt and took longer.

In May, Pakistan travelled to West Indies for the world Twenty20 championship, where they edged past South Africa at the group stage to land a semi-final berth against Australia. It was a memorable match in which the team played its heart out, but Australia’s middle-order pulled a rabbit out of the hat to help their team chase down an imposing 192. Captain Shahid Afridi’s tactical sloppiness, such as handing the final over to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal when an experienced medium-pacer like Abdul Razzaq was available, was also damaging.

The event for June was the Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka, in which the Asian Test countries competed for ODI supremacy. Pakistan’s performance was mixed, with disappointing losses to Sri Lanka and India in the opening matches, but an overwhelming victory over Bangladesh, in which Pakistan recorded its highest-ever ODI total of 385. Still, Pakistan failed to make the final, and left the tournament with dejection.

The negative feelings did not last long, because a sumptuous summer beckoned. From July through September, Pakistan enjoyed the hospitality of English venues, and savoured some delectable moments.

Activities began in July with two T20 matches at the start of a series against Australia that was due to be played in Pakistan but had to be relocated to England out of security fears. Pakistan won both the games, buoyed by fervent crowd support from expatriate Pakistanis in Birmingham. Pakistan also managed to win a Test and tie the two-Test series that followed, recording its first Test win against Australia in a decade and a half.

August was Pakistan’s busiest month, packed with the four-Test series against England. Pakistani batting crumbled in the two opening Tests, but Pakistan made a spirited fight back in the third Test at the Oval, one of Pakistan’s favourite hunting grounds, and defeated England by four wickets to create the possibility of a drawn series. That hope evaporated when Pakistan lost the final Test at Lord’s, but any disappointment at the cricketing loss got drowned out by the controversy that erupted during this match.

On August 28, British tabloid News of the World published allegations against key Pakistan players that shook not just Pakistan, but the entire cricket world. Fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were accused of bowling deliberate no-balls in a spot-fixing scam. Along with captain Salman Butt, they were questioned by Scotland Yard, and suspended by the ICC pending a tribunal hearing. The shattering accusations hijacked news headlines for days, and remained a dominant topic throughout September.

Some distraction was badly needed, and it arrived in the form of a series against South Africa that was played during October and November. The contest was meant to be held in Pakistan, but got relocated to the UAE due to security concerns.

Lacking star bowlers and reeling from the spot-fixing fallout, Pakistan nevertheless fought bravely. They took the five-match ODI series to a final decider on the backs of two stirring victories, one of which included a fabulous century by Abdul Razzaq that is arguably the best ODI innings by a Pakistani since Javed Miandad’s memorable Sharjah knock from 1986. There was a strange twist to the fifth ODI when Pakistani wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider disappeared from the team hotel, and resurfaced in London citing death threats and seeking asylum. Nevertheless, in the two-match Test series that followed, Pakistan held their nerve and their wickets on the final day in both games, earning two draws that — given South Africa’s pre-eminence — were clear moral victories.

During any other era, these accomplishments would be savoured with joy and pride, but such are the times we currently endure that any happiness to be gained has been buried under controversy and negativism. Pakistan faces an arduous beginning to 2011, with the premier spectacle of the World Cup scheduled for February.

Meanwhile, terrorism continues to preclude international cricket at home, the team remains caught in the maelstrom of match-fixing and spot-fixing, and the PCB keeps lurching from one embarrassing misstep to another. We are going through one of the most turbulent periods in Pakistan cricket history, and there is no clear indication when the difficulties will end.