By **Nasser Hussain **
It’s been a long summer and one that will probably be remembered for the wrong reasons.
We’ve had spot-fixing scandals, a scrap in the Lord’s nets and now these pictures from last night.
But my feeling is this: after all the one-sided stuff we saw against Bangladesh earlier in the season, you’ve got to admit that watching Pakistan is never dull.
No one is condoning any of the controversies that have taken place in the last few weeks and the Pakistan team and their administrators would be easier to love if they didn’t keep shooting themselves in the foot.
But the atmosphere at the Rose Bowl last night was a timely reminder that these blokes remain box office.
Like them or loathe them, they know how to electrify a crowd. Deliberate no-balls or not, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were great to watch during the Tests.
There’s Saeed Ajmal with his doosras, the theatrics of Shoaib Akhtar, the reverse-swing of Umar Gul and the late hitting of Abdul Razzaq. And we haven’t even mentioned Shahid Afridi.
Have I been exhilarated by what I’ve seen in the last few weeks? Yes I have. That isn’t to say, however, that everything can continue now as normal.
I’m not arguing Pakistan should be banned, but a period of reflection is needed before the game decides how to proceed. And if that means them missing the next series against South Africa, so be it.
***The ICC need to sit down with Pakistan and ask them a few questions. Why is it that so many controversies seem to revolve around them? Why do their players seem to keep such questionable company? Why do their administrators seem to be such loose cannons? And how do we best proceed from here? ***
Too many damaging things have happened to the game on this tour for Pakistan cricket simply to continue to its next tour without a proper analysis of what’s going on.
Otherwise we’ll have the public turning on their TVs for Pakistan v South Africa out in the Middle East and wondering what exactly they can trust.
The same rules apply to every country, of course. But after this tour Pakistan must be under no illusions that they apply to them too.