CRICKET ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL:TO THE relief of everyone Pakistan and England completed the final match of this crisis-ridden tour last night. At the Rose Bowl there was almost a capacity crowd, some of whom were present because of a grotesque fascination about what might happen next when these teams are thrown together.
They witnessed an unusually passionate contest, in which Eoin Morgan cracked another brilliant century and which fluctuated wildly before England ran away with it and won by 121 runs to clinch the series. Both sides certainly appeared to be desperate to win. Here was a fine advert for the game – to anyone who had just landed from Mars.
It seems impossible for England to have a tranquil series against Pakistan. This summer the detritus of another acrimonious series will linger long, the only consolation being a renewed urgency to assault the ogre of spot-fixing in the international game.
Shahid Afridi’s sudden resignation as Test captain after the Lord’s Test against Australia seemed quite sensational until the next Lord’s Test – against England – came along.
Salman Butt, Afridi’s replacement as captain, soft-spoken, articulate and urbane, won universal applause for the way he dedicated the Oval victory over Australia to the victims of the floods back home. Pakistan were winning a few friends.
But by the end of the Lord’s Test Butt had become a shadowy, vilified figure. Along with Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, he came under grave suspicion after a sting alleged deliberate no-balls, an exchange of €200,000 and a game undermined by seedy underworld agents.
In between all this and almost completely forgotten there has been some outstanding cricket played in the one-day series that reached its climax last night, by Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Morgan and Andrew Strauss. But it has given little pleasure. We have all had enough.
Guardian Service
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