The evidence compiled by British tabloid News of the World's undercover investigative team is watertight. Some sources in Pakistan are complaining about "dirty tricks" of racist British media, but we can brush all such grumbling aside. The no-balls were made at the exact moments predicted by Mazhar Majeed, the fixer at the centre of the scam who was arrested by Scotland Yard and later released on bail.

Many people might wonder, what is the big deal about predicting a no-ball? It is a trivial slice of the whole match and has negligible chance of impacting the outcome. Well, it turns out that gamblers following cricket do make huge bets on such trivial events as whether there will be a no-ball in the next over, or if it is going to be a maiden.

But more importantly, by making these predictions Mazhar Majeed was demonstrating his tight control of the players on his illegal payroll and his ability to make them do things on demand. In so-called spot-fixing, you get gamblers to make bets on otherwise trivial events such as these. Punters make bets, but since you control the outcome, you can price the odds in such a way that you end up making boatloads of money.

This scandal has been burning like a blazing spotlight that clarifies a number of things. All the official posturing aside, there has continued to be a good deal of background noise about Pakistani players being in cahoots with match-fixers and spot-fixers.

Many ex-players, journalists, and even members of the public have been making such allegations. A colleague of mine from work, who has no official connection with Pakistan cricket but avidly follows the game and is proud of his ability to keep his ear close to the ground, told me as much at the start of the summer.

I mention it here because I had laughed it off but his prediction has proved laser-accurate. Events, he had said back in June, are being maneuvered towards the coronation of Salman Butt as captain, as he is the ringleader of a match-fixing cabal within the team, he alleged.

Now can we confirm that where there is smoke there is a raging fire, and the fire has created a meltdown?

Some would now say this was why a self-respecting man like Younis Khan was excluded from the team, why players had underperformed during his captaincy,sometimes blatantly, and why precious little was done about it. There is also the question as to why the nucleus of the team has continued to revolve around Salman Butt and the Akmal brothers despite erratic performances. The mystery surrounding the inexplicable return of wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, on the apparent pretext of a sudden, strange finger injury despite a fine performance in the 2nd Test at Edgbaston can also be questioned.

Although the charges are still just allegations, the evidence available in the public domain is heavily incriminating. Their body language on the final day of the fourth Test also was a giveaway. If, as appears likely, the allegations are confirmed, then the boys at the centre of this storm will have brought great shame to themselves, their team, their homeland, and indeed the sport itself.

Questions now arise, what else have they been up to? All substandard performances by the team in which they have been involved are tainted, at the very least. How deep does the rot go? It is difficult to ascertain if there was any collusion from cricket officials. Even the possibility of involvement of high-placed actors within the government can come in for scrutiny.

Where do we go from here? The ICC Code of Conduct is unambiguous that any player involved in such activities will be banned for life. This almost certainly means that the careers of many current faces in the Pakistan team will come to a premature, tragic and permanent end if they are proved guilty. This is a colossal tragedy, particularly for as promising a talent as Mohammad Amir, who was tipped to win the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award this year.

If Pakistani officials have any sincerity to the national cause, they should view these developments as an opportunity to be availed. The deeper issue is how to use this disaster to make institutional corrections in Pakistans cricket structure.

Unfortunately, the PCB and its related cricket establishment have become such a cesspit that even with such outrageous exposure and humiliation, it is still possible that no heads will roll. One cannot put it past the likes of PCB chief Ijaz Butt and team manager Yawar Saeed to hang the boys out to dry while they themselves hunker down to try and ride out the storm.

One really has to thank the clever investigative team at News of the World. They have done Pakistan cricket a huge favour by potentially trapping its criminal elements in a sting and publicising it for the world to gawk at.