IF only the spot-fixing allegations had not surfaced involving Pakistan players, the start of the first of the five One-day Internationals today at Chester-le-Street in Durham may not have been as much clouded with an air of suspicion as it is. There seems to be muted response to wherever Pakistan now play and if the thin attendance in the second Twenty20 at Cardiff is any reflection of what is to follow then it certainly will be a sad indictment on Pakistan’s rapid fall from the top.

By all counts Pakistan`s popularity graph is down at the lowest level and their every movement, whether it is within the field of play or outside, is being taken with a pinch of salt.

The suspended players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir — are not the only ones under the microscope but a number of others too who remain in full gaze of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

The latest being Wahab Riaz who has to appear before the Scotland Yard detectives to answer questions on Tuesday. If anyone thinks that the game is over, then he should forget it. The present investigation is an ongoing process in which the three accused — though not charged after questioning by the police — are still in full view of the ICC.

Whose tribunal is already bracing itself to hear the appeal of the alleged players once the appeal is lodged within fourteen days of suspension. And they may not be the only trio but other members of the Pakistan team too who have been contacted by the ACSU.

The police, I suppose, is highly unlikely to poke its nose and spend millions of pounds on a court proceedings even if they find concrete evidence to prosecute. They know well that a former Scotland Yard chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan as head of the ACSU will be in a lot better position to handle the culprits if anything is proven beyond reasonable doubt.

To my knowledge, there is a huge list of charges the players have to answer when the tribunal comes face to face with the summoned players.

“We have zero tolerance as far as corruption in the game is concerned” is the view of the ICC. One only hopes that they stick to their viewpoint and take severe steps if the players are found guilty. There should be no two ways about it.

It is common knowledge that when money is at stake, dishonesty often follows. The present crisis is not something unusual. There has been suspects and suspicion involving most of sports. Football, tennis, racing, darts and snooker have been part of various scams recently.

Tennis had Nikolay Davydenko allegations and only few years ago the racing jockey Kierren Fallon was taken to court and acquitted like Davydenko before him and only a couple of days ago John Higgins, the snooker champion, was not charged for match-fixing but was fined £75,000 for his dicey involvements.

We need no reminding, however, that spot-fixing and match-fixing in cricket is as old as the game itself and was never as rife as in the beginning of the 19th century. Because of which Lord Frederick Beauclerk, a Hampshire and Kent cricketer, and William Lambert of Sussex, who was the first to score a century in each innings of a first-class match, had to be banned from Lord`s cricket ground for match-fixing.

There was neither ICC then, nor its anti-corruption unit.