How ironical! Just as the good judge in Lahore was to hand down his verdict on the match-fixing scandal in Pakistan, the whole thing has been blown apart. And why? "Stupidity and naivete" if we are to believe our Aussie friends.

But then, can we believe them? After all, these are the guys who were pointing fingers at Salim Malik and co. And now he is no doubt dancing on the streets of Lahore. Well, Malik was always known for his fancy footwork!

Now who could be that mystery bookie from Madras, that guy who trapped our poor "stupid and naïve" Aussie mates during the Singer tournament in Colombo in 1994?

Come on, can't you guess… Madras bookie, Colombo! …put two and two together. And in this case you get four and not 22.

It's our man from Madras, the ex-cricket correspondent from "one of Madras' leading dailies". Here's a hint: Madras only has two dailies and naturally, only one is leading.

Yes, it's the same guy who got the sack for getting mixed up in the murky world of cricket's underworld and underbelly. Need I say more?

Now whatever will happen to those so-called sports journalists who put down in sacred print that only cricketers from Australia and England were never involved in shady practices? Mind you, this one quote was picked up gleefully by 'white' cricket publications all over the world.

Still, let's get one fact clear here. There's a world of difference between passing on 'insider information' and match fixing and bribery. This line has been muddied, methinks deliberately by the same so-called journos in order to create a story where there isn't any. So what if Indian cricketers call up Rashid Latif at home (if indeed they did) to get information on pitch and weather conditions for a series in Pakistan? How can this possibly be equated with match-fixing?

That brings us to one of the biggest culprits in this whole mis-information campaign, the main culprit actually. Word has it he received a telephonic death threat from the big daddy of TV cricket, Mark the Muck himself.

Now the so-called journo has been brought over to the mark the Muck camp. The result? PR pieces galore and loads of colour photos of M the M. No wonder his trips around the world are funded from the US of A. It takes just one call and a few freebies to buy this man up. And then he talks of lack of morality among our cricketers!

The two-page 'profile' of M the M complete with full-page colour photo, in which every allegation was coyly brought up and then neatly brushed aside was the greatest PR stunt in the history of Indian journalism.

This guy was part of the 'advance party' for that farce of a tournament, the Will International Cup that was held in flood-ravaged Bangladesh. Now why Bangladesh of all places?

The answer is obvious. The whole thing was stage-managed to line the pockets of not just the ICC, but a couple of parasites that are busy squeezing the life out of world cricket. I'm talking about Mr 'Jughead' Chairman and M the M. One plots the tournament, the other grabs the moolah (with generous kick-backs naturally) through his convenient TV contract with the Bangladesh board. What a happy coincidence!

Illustration by Siddhartha Mitra