England v Pakistan - day four as it happened

10.34am: Hello and welcome to - what exactly? Suddenly the stuff on the pitch, with England needing six wickets to seal the hollowest of victories all seems largely irrelevant. Terrible, terrible news overnight that Pakistan players may have been involved in alleged spot-fixing. This is of course a matter of sporting principle, but it is also to do with context. this isn't some pointless ODI in Dubai: it's a Lord's Test for Chrissakes. I feel like I've been forced spend three days watching someone giving Nelson Mandela a Chinese burn, or jabbing the Queen in the eye. Very interested to hear your thoughts today. And we will of course have all latest from around the ground from David Hopps as soon as any further news breaks. 10.44am: To date the word is play will start on time as usual. Pakistan have crept in to Lord's and skipped the warm-up. Feelings are already running high. These are mine for what they're worth: 1. These are just allegations so far. Nothing has been proved. 2. Still, this Test Match now seems entirely irrelevant. I feel for Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad, but if it is proven the match - and maybe the series - should be expunged. Just my view, but I'd feel much, much better if it was. 3. Mohammed Amir: innocent until proven. But if so... what a tragedy . 4. You can say the bowlers were clearly trying to get England's batsmen out, and that this is just a side issue, but it doesn't work like that. You can't switch your focus on and off. This is a chronic condition. 10.46am: And just to come on all Guardian for a moment: all crimes have their origin in a combination of dishonesty, weakness and major economic inequity. Why is it Pakistan players who are doing this? Certainly they don't have access to the riches their international colleagues do. Pakistanis are still banned from the IPL. They must, on some level, feel excluded and a little bitter. Cricket is awash with riches for the first time, unless you're from Pakistan. Commensurate to talent their best players are massively under-paid. No excuse at all. But maybe some kind of explanation. 10.47am: James Walsh on the sadness: "I missed yesterday's play because I was at a wedding, so woke up this morning looking forward to working my way through yesterday's OBO in its entirety before eating sausages. Instead I see headlines about 'match-fixing' and my day is ruins. Not that it is actually match-fixing, but still. Oh, cricket." Oh indeed. 10.47am: Keith Flett has another view, but I'm not buying it. "Blimey all is not what it seems in modern capitalism or 'all that is solid melts into air' as Marx noted. I blame the clean shaven Murdochism of the News of the World for fake sheikhery and entrapment." Come off it. 10.48am: Tom England is also anti-Screws: "Possibly the saddest aspect of recent events is that Sky have just shown an MCC member reading the News of the World in the pavillon. That's the real scandal." Don't blame the press. No no no. They just sniffed a weakness, heard the rumours we'd all heard and this is the only way to bring it to light and not get sued. You have to have proof. 10.51am: Michael Vaughan on Twitter: ""Anger is my thought at the moment.. I don't see how they can get out of this one ... it's just a great shame why this has to happen. Very sad." Pakistan have failed to appear at Lord's. No warm-up, just a last-minute creeping in. It's not an admission of guilt exactly, but it's certainly not a denial and it's all just extremely sad. 10.53am: Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports News: ": "Part of me says you've got to make a statement, and say: 'Right, ban for life'. If you come down tough maybe it says to everyone, 'Don't get involved, that's the end of your career'. But another part of me says, 'Should you give a person another chance?'. Let's give all these guys the benefit of doubt that they deserve." I would ban anyone with any previous form on this sort of thing for life. Someone like Amir: you've got to give him another chance. 10.55am: David Mayo writes: "You can't expunge it. It would be nice if you could, but how far back do you go? This test? This series? The recent Australia series over here? The series in Australia, where there were murmurs of match fixing? Every match for the last two and a half years? Without any hard information about every incident, you're just guessing. And the historical precedent, I believe, is to let the result stand." Yes you can. If this is proven - ie you have hard information - then expunge it. And any other game where dishonesty is proven (not just suspected) then take it out of the record books. Seems very clear to me. 10.56am: The umpires are out on the field, looking a little rueful. I think everyone just wants this over and done with now. Pakistan's bowlers, remember, still have to bat. 10.58am: Robert Scott writes, and he's right: "The ECB should refund all ticket money for today's test. It is no longer a cricket match and even if it does start it will be over quickly. There is no way the Pakistan team(or England) can focus on cricket. The ECB, PCB and ICC have no balls of their own. If proven guilty there should be life bans on the players concerned. But it wont happen; they will get a ban and then get re-instated in 12 months. That is the history. The whole summer series looks tarnished : For instance how about the 11 dropped catches at Edgbaston? Most if them easy." 10.59am: Ravi laments, and I'm sure many of you will agree: "The last two days have been among my favourite two days ever of test cricket. Today I feel as if there's no point. Should I watch the F1 instead? What a way to take away any joy I've taken in all this..." Well, not perhaps F1 if you want a proper sport, but I know what you mean. Finn will open the bowling. 16th over: Pakistan 45-4 (Azhar Ali 3, Umar Akmal 1) Akmal gets off the mark with a gentle pull for one and Azhar follows with a nudge through midwicket. Pakistan players and officials are out on the balcony reading a printed statement. Wonder what it is. They look very very sombre. Rohan Grove writes: "Tom and Keith: pathetic. You're the sort that give guardian readers a bad name. Talk about shoot the messenger. I'm no fan of some of the Murdoch empire's tactics but fair play to the paper today. A sad day for cricket." 17th over: Pakistan 52-4 (Azhar Ali 3, Umar Akmal 5) Swann from the other end and as usual he is bang on first ball, a beauty that beats Ali's prod and there's a big appeal for a stumping but his foot was anchored. Hurray for England and they're unambiguous, undiluted desire to win. Ali then drives nicely for another three. I wonder if there will be any chat out there. Bet they've all been told to keep it clean. Umar Akmal reminds us that Pakistan can also play by driving the last ball of the over for a lovely easy four to the cover ropes where there is a huge gap. Finn was just finishing from last night. Here's Anderson to take over. 18th over: Pakistan 56-4 (Azhar Ali 10, Umar Akmal 5) Anderson jags a couple away, bowling at 83mph and then sees Ali push an ambled couple through the covers. A bit wide from Jimmy, a bit of swing and seam but not making the batsman play enough. On expunging Graham O'Reilly writes: "Entirely agree with the posts at 10.44 and 10.46, except expunging the Test Match. I can't see any reason to penalise Trott and Broad for this." For the good of the game - how about that? But Trott and Broad are victims too, no doubt. WICKET! Azhar Ali b Swann 12 (Pakistan 63-5) And there we go: Swann has gone for a couple of boundaries but gets Ali with a ball that goes on with the arm and he's bowled in defence playing for the spin. A very tame way to go, and now we have the Akmal brothers out there together at the end of a rocky Test tour for both. 19th over: Pakistan 64-5 (Kamran Akmal 1, Umar Akmal 5) One lovely shot from Umar Akmal, leaping back very quick on his feet and cutting very hard for four just backward of point. He looks like he really wants to attack the spinner today - and who knows maybe one of these batsmen can go out there and just play with a kind of open-minded freedom and give us something to remember Pakistan by warmly. I'm not sure if that was a deliberate over-spinner from Swann but it's certainly very confusing for the batsman. That ball went straight on. The first one to Kamran Akmal turns viciously. David Carslake wonders:"Are there really honest punters out there who want to bet on such pointless, arcane details as when a no-ball is bowled? If I were a bookie, I'd smell a rat if anyone wanted to put money on something like that. "What do they know, that I don't"?, I'd wonder." Pakistan, by the way, still trail by 308 runs following on. This is a proper walloping . WICKET! Kamran Akmal c Prior b Anderson 1 (Pakistan 64-6) It's worse now. Oh dear Kamran Akmal. 85mph, little bit of away nibble, decent line in the corridor outside off, a tame prod, a nothing shot and Prior takes a simple catch. Kamran is off in no time at all and guess who's coming out to bat now? Mohammed Amir walks out to one or two boos, but otherwise a potent silence. 20th over: Pakistan 64-6 (Mohammed Amir 1, Umar Akmal 5) Amir leaves and prods and misses at Anderson's away-nippers while some wag in the crowd shouts no-ball repeatedly (how long will this go on you wonder?). A good start for Jimmy today and these are his conditions: I reckon he'll go through Pakistan this morning. WICKET! Mohammed Amir b Swann 0 (Pakistan 65-7) And now he can go and hide back in the pavilion again. On the up side - that was an absolutely wonderful delivery from Swann, beating the forward push on the outside and hitting off stump. A match that started with such vim and life for Amir ends with a shame-faced pair. This is hurrying along now towards a very early end. Three wickets for Swann. 21st over: Pakistan 67-7 (Wahab Riaz 1, Umar Akmal 5) Actually that was a genuinely lovely, ball-of-the-century-esque style off-break from Swann to the left-hander. What a way to get your man, pitching on middle and leg, opening the batsman up, and then turning sharply to clip the off stump. That was good enough to get even a batsman (and a proper one) who was - what shall we say - supremely motivated. Jordan Hackney says it all: "The involvement of Amir in this is obviously the saddest part of the whole affair. I remember in the days after the olympics worrying that there would be news of Usain Bolt failing a drugs test, and how disappointing that would be in light of his achievements and the subsequent affection from the public. Had it been Saeed Ajmal for example, it would have still been massively damaging but you could almost have tolerated it, Amir had been the real success for Pakistan in this series and it was exciting to think how good he might be and what records he might break." 22nd over: Pakistan 72-7 (Wahab Riaz 1, Umar Akmal 10) Anderson continues, in search of some cheap mopping up scalps and Umar continues to play attacking shots, crunching a wide short on through square point for four. Like a young Robin Smith, that one, only without all the twitchy bicep flexing grrr stuff. Eoin Morgan is off: he's lost a contact lens. And Ali Shurmahi is on the full-expunge side of things: "Hi Barney, this surely is a terribly sad day for cricket. If those in question do turn out to be guilty, surely the whole series has to be expunged. Doubt lingers on in my mind about all those miss fields and especially those dropped catches. How many 1st class international teams drop that many simple catches? You have to feel for Broad and Trott especially." 23rd over: Pakistan 73-8 (Saeed Ajmal 0, Umar Akmal 11) Swann continues to find turn and Wahab looks a little out of his depth starting against this and swishing stiffly from his crease. And there we are it's a WICKET! Wahab Riaz c Pietersen b Swann 0 (Pakistan 65-7) as Wahab lofts a weak attempt at a very loose on drive straight to Pietersen. That was really a very lame appearance at the crease. Some analysis from our man at Lord's. "This might not be a very sensible day for Guardian readers to parade some of the knee-jerk anti News of the World sentiments already displayed on the OBO, writes David Hopps. Like it or not, if the allegations are true then it would be far wiser to put the focus entirely on the true state of Pakistan cricket and thank the NOTW for doing a service to the game. I bought my News Of The World from a newsagent on Finchley Road, where the guy behind the counter, a Pakistani lad as it happens, was poring over the story. "These are my heroes," he said. "No-one teaches them how to behave." He said a lot of other things as well, but they cannot be printed. But that's his dream destroyed. he deserves to know the truth, whatever the truth might be. Some more points for discussion arising from the News of the World allegations: (i) Match-rigging, or spot-fixing, is harder than it was, but if a cricket agent who claims to be responsible for managing ten players really is involved then how can you possible stop that? (ii) Shahid Afridi, who is returning as one-day captain, has an undamaged reputation as does the bowling coach Aqib Javed - the man who complained about match-fixing to the Qayyum Enquiry between 1998-2000, an enquiry which resulted in Salim Malik being banned for life. (iii) The defence that the cricket betting mafia can be frightening, and that the players have reason to be cocnerned for their safety, would not be so convincing were it proved that they were actively involved in a scam with their own agewnt. (iv) Pakistan's astonishing collapse from a winning position in the Sydney Test - a Test when Kamran Akmal missed four catches and a run out - looks ever more interesting in light of today's allegations. (v) Can Pakistan really field some of these players in the upcoming one-day series on the principle of innocent until proven guilty? (vi) What of the so-called Essex police investigation into spot-fixing allegations made by Essex players against Danish Kaneria and Mervyn Westfield (since released)? What is the priority of this investigation? Slightly higher than putting it at the bottom of a drawer somewhere? (vii) Will these allegations impact upon charities working in Pakistani flood relief? Would any players involved in spot-fixing therefore be tarnishing the image of their nation so much that they could be putting lives of the needy at risk? 24th over: Pakistan 75-8 (Saeed Ajmal 1, Umar Akmal 18) Anderson continues to move the ball both in and away from the right-handed batsman. And as Nasser Hussain points out the real sadness today - in isolation - is the come down from those two greta days we've had, both of which now seem tarnished. Joe Ludlum wants a bit more levity: "Come now Rohan (16th over), let us play nice. Keith Flett has previous for blaming anyone clean-shaven for anything, and Tom was clearly cracking wise about the stereotypical Times-reading Lords geriatric. Sad day as this is for cricket, surely the OBO of all places can provide sanctuary to make the odd joke through the tears?" Yeah, maybe. Just doesn't feel that funny. My joke bag is empty this morning. Anyone got any humour to spare? 25th over: Pakistan 82-8 (Saeed Ajmal 2, Umar Akmal 24) Swann carries on and both Akmal and Ajmal have a bit of a waft at him. He won't mind. The ball is still turning. Tom Wootton is extending a qualified olive branch with full reservations:"This is not a defence, but cricket has been peculiarly susceptible to crooked practice since it began when it was heavily betted on back in Victorian times (wonderful scene at the beginning of Flashman's Lady, as always impeccably researched). It's not new, and it's not local to Pakistan (although it's again sad that the allegations are so easy to believe). There should not be finger pointing but soul searching. Pakistan have been marginalised in so many ways, and yet they're such a wonderful cricketing nation - this should not be an excuse for further marginalisation, but for inclusiveness and help." 26th over: Pakistan 86-8 (Saeed Ajmal 2, Umar Akmal 24) Ajmal defends stoutly as Anderson runs the ball in to him, then edges one on the bounce to Collingwood, who stops it but seems to have stung his finger a bit. Ajmal then glances nicely as Anderson drifts one in too far and picks up four. Ajmal actually looks a lot more solid in defence than some of those higher up the order. Peter Flanagan wonders: "Who is Pakistan's man of the series now? At close last night it would have had to be one of Mohammeds Asif or Amir. Now what? Can't be a batsman surely?" Salman Butt. He has captained with an exasperated dignity. 27th over: Pakistan 89-8 (Saeed Ajmal 7, Umar Akmal 26) Swann carries on and tosses up a beauty to Umar that turns too much, hitting him on the defensive pad and probably missing leg stump. Lovely hard-spun off-break. Umar slog-sweeps violently at the next ball and whaps Alastair Coook on the foot, the ball rolling out to deep square leg for a single. Tom England points out: "First point: being labelled 'anti-screws.' That's what my mates generally say as well. Second point: I wasn't having a pop at the NOTW's reporting, but the sight of an old, blazer wearing man in a grand old building reading the screws struck me as incongrous. I made a cheap joke about it. Sorry." Fair enough, sorry about that, just not really got past the terrible, creaking solemnity of the whole thing. 28th over: Pakistan 96-8 (Saeed Ajmal 8, Umar Akmal 32) Here we go. Umar Akmal Twenty20-swats Anderson's first delivery of the over for a double-bounce four over mid-on, then swipes a single to deep square leg. Anderson doesn't like it and he gives him an angry stare. Akmal is batting with - if not exactly freedom - then a kind of desperate impatience. He has 32 off 28 balls so far. Dan Holt writes: "While I'm devastated by the present allegations, I think we should be cautious about extending suspicion to all the dropped catches. Given that the fielding team can't control the number of chances that come their way, it's quite a stretch to imagine this is something worth trying to influence. Unless most England teams of the 90s were also on the take..." They might be trying to chuck the whole thing. They might just be distracted by remembering when to bowl their no-ball or whatever. We're through the looking glass people. WICKET! Saeed Ajmal run out 8 (Pakistan 97-9) Ah - a pointless run out now. Ajmal tries to scamper a single that was never there, Broad throws the ball in from extra cover and hits the stumps. Ajmal carries on running. This is all but over. The only remaining moment of potential match-drama: Swann can still get his fifth wicket. 29th over: Pakistan 98-9 (Mohammed Asif 0, Umar Akmal 34) Akmal takes a ginle and leaves Asif with one delivery to face. He blocks stoutly. Guy Hornsby sighs, along with the rest of you, "Like many previous emailers on here, this has turned overnight from one of the best Test matches I can remember in a long time to one of the saddest. It had everything, and I guess, if the allegations are proven, it really will have had everything. So many great things - Broad and Trott's partnership, Swann's fantastic bowling, but more than anything, Amir and Asif's fantastic morning on Friday." Seems quite a while ago, all that. 30th over: Pakistan 103-9 (Mohammed Asif 0, Umar Akmal 39) The 100 is up for Pakistan as Akmal plays a lovely lofted drive over extra cover for four. The next ball he plays a wild, slashing attempted pull and edges it into his pad. Anderson tries to look cross, scary and also forbiddding. It doesn't work. Two ball later Akmal thrashes the ball absolutely miles up in the air over mid off and just about beats the desperate charge back by Cook. More unhappy staring by Jimmy but this is at least entertaining in a slapstick kind of way. Ant Pease yawns: "I've just woken up. Have I missed anything?" 31st over: Pakistan 117-9 (Mohammed Asif 0, Umar Akmal 53) Oh yes, that's pure talent: Umar Akmal comes down the pitch and launches Swann for a big six over cow-ish corner. That was a very easy, free-flowing hit. Then he gets to his 50 with a square slog-sweep for four that beats the man out there. 50 off 40 balls with seven fours and a six. Not exactly what Pakistan needed today, but it's all they've got and he has played with great freedom and verve. Neal Geach asks: "How can it be Salman Butt when he is alledgedly the team's ringleader in this whole sorry episode. If we overlook this then it should still be Amir as he has bowled beautifully." Yeah, I know - embittered sarcasm. I just feel particularly let down by him: all summer he has seemed genuinely frustrated by his team's performances. I've talked him up elsewhere as a potentially very good leader. And then all this. 32nd over: Pakistan 120-9 (Mohammed Asif 1, Umar Akmal 54) Anderson has gone one-day here in response to Umar Akmal, bowling a couple of fizzing yorkers as Akmal looks to "clear his front leg" but can't get a good swing at the ball. He eventually digs out a single off a high full toss to leave Mohammed Asif one ball to face. He survives I think my Pakistani man of the series is either the now-injured replacement wicket-keeper, who seemed to want to win a lot, or Ramiz Raja in the Sky box, who has been great. Sean Moore mopes: "Has anyone got any suggestions as to what I can do this afternoon when this sorry affair is over, to enable me to forget about for a while. Apart from getting blind drunk, obviously." 33rd over: Pakistan 121-9 (Mohammed Asif 1, Umar Akmal 55) Swann continues and Akmal blocks the first four balls before driving to mid-off for a scampered single. Now he's coaching Asif mid-over on how to bat, showing him how to play a defensive shot. He does just that. The partnership is 24 from 26 balls. Clive Morris points out: "The Pakistan tests vs. Australia over here were titled the 'MCC Spirit of Cricket' series. It wasn't used for this series, which now seems very (and sadly) apt." Geh. Neil Mackie worries: "With the allegations today, I'm more concerned that this will be an additional stick that certain people will use to beat Test Cricket with. It's evidently so much easier to manufacture no balls in Tests than it would be in T20, as there are little or no repercussions from no balls in tests. The longevity of the format also allows things to be pre-ordained irrespective of required runs or the balance of the match, whereas this would (hopefully) be much more difficult in the shorter forms of the game." Not sure about that. It's not specific to Tests. ODIs have had plenty of this stuff rumbling about. 34th over: Pakistan 127-9 (Mohammed Asif 1, Umar Akmal 60) Broad replaces Anderson and his first ball, a dragged-down creaky loosener is flogged away extravagantly for four. Broad doesn't like it, but then the ball got what it deserved. The next one is so short and legside it's called a wide. Spicy stuff at the last. Akmal then paddles a very easy single into a huge gap on the legside off the fifth ball. Very sleepy field placing from England and Asif defends the final ball stoutly. Robert Scott points out: "The post match interviews will be difficult. Will Butt even be interviewed? Would be a good time for some honesty and an apology. But am sure his advisors are telling him to say nothing." I hope Atherton gets him on the telly, but I'm not sure he's there. Nasser would be good too. Quick - someone send for Bob Willis and his sneer of righteous disdain. 35th over: Pakistan 138-9 (Mohammed Asif 1, Umar Akmal 71) Swann carries on still looking for that five-for and he nearly gets it as Akmal drives uppishly out to Pietersen. More turn and bounce from Swann as Akmal defends, but the next ball is swept high over square leg for another six into the crowd. This man is a lovely hitter of the ball when he has the licence. Oh yes that is great stuff again as the next ball is cut against the spin for four, not a short ball but he uses the crease and leaps back to cut it away. Akmal then gets another single off the last ball of the over. Well played: 71 off 63 balls for Akmal and 41 for the last wicket so far. Ian Burch muses: "Will the authorities widen the investigation to look at the betting patterns associated with the appearances of Gary Naylor in the Guardian's OBO? Surely some syndicate somewhere is making a killing with the help of the Guardian's OBO staffers." Not today they're not. 36th over: Pakistan 147-9 (Mohammed Asif 1, Umar Akmal 79) Like a tea-total early evening drinks party where no one really knows each other and the host keeps going into the kitchen to argue with his wife, England have gone a little quiet and flat out there. Broad carries on bowling to Akmal but it's all a bit short and when he tries to fire in a yorker it's woefully leg-side and glanced for four by Akmal who really does score in every area. Much fiddling with the field after that but the next ball is a half volley that Akmal drives spectacularly over mid-on for four. Poor ball but a lovely shot. A wild air-swipe to finish the over and Swann will have a go at Asif. And Diana Mason is washing her hands of the whole sorry affair: "Pakistan must go home now - the one day matches, already an unwanted extension in this over-crowded international summer, will mean nothing now. And I don't care if we never play them again." WICKET! Mohammed Asif c Collingwood b Swann 1 (Pakistan 149 all out) And there it is. England win the match and the series and five wickets for Swann as Asif plays the ball on to his boot and it's held as it balloons up by Collingwood. Asif reviews it but he's clearly out and everybody walks off looking a little muted. 12.36pm: England win by an innings and 225 runs. So Swann finishes with 5-62, and Akmal ends on 79 not out. What now then? On those post-match interviews Phil Sawyer points out: "In answer to Robert Scott, TMS have said that the presentations will be held in the Long Room behind closed doors. They don't think there are going to be any Pakistan players available for interview." For the best no doubt. This is all subject to a police investigation after all. Well, that's the end of that then. England have won one of the oddest, most tainted, emotionally up-and-down series I can remember seeing by 3-1, and we still have the ODIs to play (if we still do - which we probably still will). 12.47pm: We're going to stay with this for a bit - judging by the volume and ferocity of your emails this is a story people are going to want to watch develop at least until we get some kind of statement from anyone that matters. Not sure what's going to happen from here but stick with us anyway if you can. On things to do for the rest of this slightly depressing day Tom V D Gucht writes: "Miss Marple tonight. Oh no hang on, Miss Marple's on tomorrow, but there is Moonwalker this afternoon and Last of the Summer wine on tonight, sit down with a glass of sherry and some lovely sedatives. MMM, lovely sedatives." 12.50pm: Still no word from anyone an anything, but presumably we will at least be handed the name of the man of the match scribbled on an old envelope. Sky sports are discussing Ashes squads and saying things like "I mean, Bell is nailed on". and Kerry Davies writes: "C'mon guys. Since when was cricket the purest game we all pretend? W.G. himself was no slouch at dissembling and cheating. He played at Monmouth where he bowled and kept wicket at the same end throughout only to stalk off the field and catch the first train home when clean-bowled for a duck because the umpires insisted he really was 'out'." 12.54pm: And with that I'm going to get some lunch,. Back in a bit with more updates on what is a very peculiar day in the history of Test cricket in this country. 12.59pm: Hang on - the umpires are being given their medals behind closed doors at Lord's. Mohammed Amir is there looking poker-faced. It's all very weird - the advert boards are there and the corporate wonks who hand over the cheques, but it's all happening inside and even Sky have no presence there. 1.01pm: Stuart Broad is the man of the match. He takes his bottle of champagne and wanders swiftly off. Jonathan Trott is England's man of the series. He gets a big cheque, shakes hands and he's off. 1.02pm: And get this: Pakistan's man of the series is Mohammed Amir, as picked by Andy Flower. He has bowled brilliantly. He doesn't smile much, wanders off 1.03pm: England are getting their medals from Giles Clarke and Andrew Strauss poses with a very fixed smile with the nPower trophy. What a strange, muted ceremony that was - no bobbing huddles or cigars in the changing rooms here. 1.05pm: Chris Anderson writes "I am about to head out to volunteer with the flood relief effort. The news today makes me want to throw up. Even more sickening will be the way the door is opened to people's basest generalisations. "This proves how dirty they are." The science of corruption (and there is a science) suggests that in all cultures, if it seems too easy to cheat, people will." We can only hope not. And we salute your efforts. 1.06pm: David Acaster has some good sense on the fact that some people don't want England to play Pakistan again: "Well I do. International cricket is not that blessed with exciting, high-quality opposition. Every other test nation should do all it reasonably can to help Pakistan rid itself of this blight on its cricket. The country will once again produce teams containing players like Inzimam, Miandad, Akram, Majid, and Zaheer, and I will look forward to England playing them. A lot." 1.33pm: On Sky Michael Atherton has just asked Jonathan Trott if his record stand with Stuart Broad is now tarnished. "No, I'm not really sure right now," was more or less his response. So, probably yes, really, at least on some level. Trott by the way, with 404, is miles out in the lead as the leading run scorer in the series. England's top order is another story of course. Only Trott, Strauss (on his record) and Prior are not a worry. Bell will surely return straight away, his stock rising in his absence. 1.37pm: Dan Maggs takes the strict liability view of all this: "I would be mortified if these allegations are true. The saddest part is that, if he keeps developing at current his current momentum, Amir could name his sponsorship price in years to come. Never the less, I don't buy it that just because he's young this gives him any right to be exempt from the sternest of punishments. I agree with the earleir assesment that crime and economics are inextricably linked, but it is also undeniable the ultimate responsibility for guilt lies with the individual. Sad as it will be to lose one of the game's brightest talents, if he and Asif are found to be complicit, life bans must be enforced." Life? Really? You don't even get life for embezzling $440m in a banking fraud. 1.39pm: Ah ha, just seen on the TV Pakistan's team manager Yawar Saeed being interviewed. "We got to the hotel at 7.30, I was just settling into my room when I got a message. Scotland Yard officers would like to see me. ... They were there for two hours and spoke to three gentleman in their rooms... We've had a team meeting but it was not discussed in detail." On finishing the match: "While I'm manager they will not run away from any match." On phone confiscation: all three players have lost their mobiles. On the ODI series to follow and its potential cancellation: "There is no danger. We are moving to the West Country to start our practice. So far I've been told to go ahead with team preparations." And the three "gentlemen" in question? "The skipper. Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir." 1.43pm: And I also hear that Pakistani Government has stated that it would recommend life bans for anyone found guilty of spot-fixing but we shall see - we've heard about life bans before. 1.45pm: Stephen Kear interjects: "You are being far too soft, Barney. It is exactly because of this softly softly approach that match-fixing in all its colours still goes on. Banning for life sends an unequivocal message. Anything less would be useless." Got to be a question of degree: if it was all proven I would ban Butt and Asif for life (skipper should know better on one hand; a bit of form in other areas on the other) and the teenager for three years or so. And the ICC should enforce all this, not Pakistan. 1.47pm: Pakistan are getting on the bus now. Oh to be a fly on the wall. 1.49pm: Michael holding, an ex ICC sub-committee member, has just said he he "no faith whatsoever, none" in the ICC being able to do anything about all this. He has also accused pretty much everyone involved in cricket of obfuscation and hiding the truth. Go Mikey! 1.57pm: Josh Robinson writes: "I suppose it would be too much to ask for some perspective here? Unless I've missed something, the (as yet unproven) allegations are that the players are involved in spot-fixing, in which they plan to bowl a no-ball or play out a maiden at a particular time. Neither of these influences the result any more than a footballer booting the ball into straight into touch from the kick-off, and was there a clamour for bans after players were spread-betting on the time of the first throw-in? This isn't to defend either practice, but I can't help thinking that the Pakistani cricketers are being subjected to more abuse than English footballers ever were." Yes, maybe, but it's not watertight, you don't just switch on and off like that, you can't try 100%, try 100%, try 100% and then - oh, quick no ball - then try 100% et c etc. The whole performance becomes a mockery. and what if you get the batsman out and it's a planned no-ball? Also if this is proved, how can we take anything else that happens in the game seriously. Plus it is different to football: everything you do in cricket, every ball, can have a major and direct affect on the result. There is an entire landfill of manure attached to this. 2.00pm: And on that note, it is probably the right moment to call time on this OBO-turned live corruption outrage blog. Thank you for all your many emails, too many to put up in their entirety. We will be back for the one-dayers, if the one-dayers do indeed take place. Stay non-corrupt and don't answer the phone to urgently whispering men who want to talk about pitch conditions. Barney.