The cynics are already suggesting that Zulquarnain engineered this whole saga in order to provide a better life for him and his family by seeking asylum in the UK. Geo News reported that he had already applied and certainly from his words: “Help my family somehow. If it can be done, send my family here (UK)”, it seems that his actions may have another motive behind them.

Zulquarnain Haider does the sajda - Honest man or opportunist?

The manner in which he has behaved since the alleged threat he received for refusing to fix matches has also been strange. He did not inform the Pakistan coaching or support staff and lied to them in order to obtain his passport before he disappeared. Neither did he confide in any of his team members or inform the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). He has also yet to request the help of the Pakistan High Commission in London, something the cynics would say would have been one of his first steps if he feared for his and his family’s safety.

The message coming from his family in Pakistan also tends to suggest we’re not the only ones confused by Haider’s actions. His brother was quoted in The Times of India as saying: “He should return to Pakistan or if he has issues coming back home because of the threats he should at least come back to Dubai and join the team again. His wife and children are also very concerned about him and believe he should be back at home they don’t want to go to London”.

But could the threats to Haider have been genuine, and is this an honest man trying to do the best for his country and family? Retiring from cricket, the means by which he earned a living, cannot have been an easy thing to do. Earlier this year, he dedicated his second innings 88 in the Test against England to his late father and to the victims of the Pakistan floods. So are these the actions  of the kind of man that would cheat the world into trying to obtain asylum in a foreign land? He also seems to be a God-fearing man, evident from his prostration (sajda) when he brought up his 50 in the aforementioned innings. Yet we’ve also seen Mohammad Amir do the same, and we all know the kind of things he’s allegedly been meddling in.

Whatever has been going on, Zulquarnain needs to inform all the relevant authorities as soon as possible so that the truth can come out into the open. This includes the police, the PCB and the ICC’s ACSU. If it is true, if he was approached and threatened, then it says something about our remaining players and back-room staff that Zulquarnain felt the need to flee without being able to trust anyone enough to tell them. He is basically suggesting, after all that went on in England, that corruption still exists in the Pakistan team set-up.

Mark Nicholas – Wishes he was Australian

The constant derision and mockery from the Australian team of commentators throughout the Test series that has just finished left me increasingly sensitive and aware of their every comment. In the 79th over of Pakistan’s first innings in the last Test, Salman Butt brought up his century and took off his helmet to do the sajda (prostration). Mark Nicholas, a ‘great friend’ of Pakistan cricket, then uttered something along the lines of:

“There seems to be a break play. Salman Butt is having his moment of worship…[pause]…which he is entitled to of course, but he also seemed to summon a drink or something”.

Now you would have to have listened to it to know exactly what was going on here with his tone of voice and what he was implying. Nicholas, as any keen follower of cricket will know, has a habit of sucking up to the Australians, and here he was at his sycophantic best. In order to try and please his fellow commentators, who were Australian, he thought he’d criticise Salman Butt for stopping play and calling for drinks when Butt was doing nothing of the sort. When Nicholas realised that Butt wasn’t calling for drinks, he immediately started complimenting him on his century in an effort to draw attention away from his previous comment and what he was trying to suggest.

Salman Butt, points (inset), before going into sajda (prostration)

What Salman Butt actually did was ask Shoaib Malik, his batting partner, the direction of prayer before he prostrated. Nicholas’ ignorance or antipathy I should  say, saw this as a signal for drinks. He wasn’t the only one agitated – there were a few secular nihilistic yobs in the crowd that didn’t like it either, but prostrating takes up no more time than running around punching the air like a little child (Shane Watson et al).

So, we can excuse your ignorance this time Mark, but now that you know, don’t do it again.