Asia, and in particular India, must show that its aspirations to lead international cricket into a new world are propped up by substance © AFP

Zimbabwe has always enjoyed the support of Asian cricket boards. I have also argued in the past that cricket links should be maintained despite Robert Mugabe's regime. But the Zimbabwe political crisis is at a point which makes the decision a clear one for cricket boards in all countries. England were among the most likely to pursue a boycott but the South African decision - as well as statements from political leaders in South Africa - is the most significant turning point.

The political situation in Zimbabwe and the actions of the other cricket boards should be a sufficient steer for Asia's cricket administrators. This is not a time to play out a race game in the ICC or worry about accusations of hypocrisy. Asia, and in particular India, must show that its aspirations to lead international cricket into a new world are propped up by substance. And this substance is not one of populations or finances. It is the substance of integrity and morals.

Asia must show its leadership can be based on values, and this is the easiest test of leadership it could face.

	'Pakistan can show they are a re-emerging force by consistently succeeding against Sri Lanka and India over the next few weeks' © AFP

Pakistan's surprise victory in the Kitply Cup brought a shallow sigh of relief and a brief inhalation of oxygen. Angry emails, drug scandals, and terrorist threats have all, however, hinted at further suffocation for Pakistan cricket.

While the world kicks on to a Twenty20 Nirvana, Pakistan cricket is struggling for quality, allies, and a seat at the Champions League table. The cricketers and their fans need a break from misfortune and the Asia Cup offers a perfect opportunity, even though it is timed for the murderous heat of Pakistan's summer

Today's statement that Pakistan may take England's place in the tournament typically serves to confuse as much as it clarifies. The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman has been claiming that Pakistan has a certain spot in the Champions League but today's announcement suggests significant uncertainty. It is hard to understand how Pakistan has come to be disenfranchised when it had been one of the countries initially pencilled in to participate in the Champions League?

The reality that faces Pakistan cricket is that to be desirable on the international stage you need to be either a high-quality team or an attractive place to tour, preferably both. Currently, Pakistan cricket can boast neither of these offerings, which is why the Asia Cup has bizarrely become a pivotal tournament in the history of Pakistan cricket. Karachi's prominence as a venue offers extra significance.

Pakistan can show they are a re-emerging force by consistently succeeding against Sri Lanka and India over the next few weeks. This will be difficult as both are accomplished one-day teams and Pakistan will have some of their best pace bowlers missing. Yet success--as unlikely as it seems at this point--will lend some legitimacy to the partnership of Malik and Geoff Lawson.

More importantly, a smooth, well supported, and trouble free tournament will confirm Pakistan's right to stage the Champions Trophy. This has to be the major strategic objective for the Pakistan Cricket Board, because the many sceptics in the international cricket community will be looking for any hint of trouble to urge relocation of the tournament.

The summer heat will be fierce but no less fierce than the pressure on Pakistan cricket during this low-rating, needlessly long tournament. On such trivialities can fortunes, careers, and reputations be made and lost.

Can Pakistan cricket pass its nadir?

	Viva la reverse-sweep! © Getty Images

Ask who invented the reverse-sweep and many cricketers will claim the honour. Ask who plays it best and most cricket fans would surely point to Kevin Pietersen. Cricket is an odd sport in that there are the laws of cricket and then there is the spirit of cricket. What is outside the laws cannot be allowed but what is within the laws and outside the spirit of cricket causes anxiety.Cricket has so many intricacies that it is impossible to legislate for all of them.

The ideal situation, now that cricket is so long established, is that the laws are seldom changed and only occasionally tinkered with. In addition, the laws should not become a needless barrier to invention and innovation in cricket. Which leads us back to KP's reverse-sweeping and the vexed conversations among MCC's Panama hat brigade.

The reverse-sweep is an exciting shot. It introduces a large element of risk, which is an opportunity for the bowling side to take a wicket. If well-executed the results are sensational. But should something so exhilarating be allowed?

Any consideration of the laws of cricket should be to make them simpler not more complex. The debate over the reverse-sweep doesn't entirely lend itself to this philosophy but the rules can certainly remain clear and straightforward. My simple suggestion is this:

1 The reverse-sweep should be allowed.
2 A batsman should not be allowed to switch his stance until the ball is released.
3 The umpire should consider any leg-before wicket or wide verdict on the basis of the batsman's original stance.

Cricket is a sport in rapid transition but the fundamentals remain. The reverse-sweep can be traced back decades earlier. Javed Miandad, for example, claims he invented it in the 1980s. Why legislate now when cricketers are executing it to a thrilling and highly entertaining level? Cricket requires flair, charisma, and ingenuity, and I would be surprised if the men in Panama hats and egg and bacon ties at the MCC do not recognise that as well.

Viva la reverse-sweep!

	Is Nasim Ashraf firing salvos in zones outside his ambit? © Getty Images

Some companies have a policy of avoiding emails to tick off employees. Emails often read more angrily than they were written. Cold words, delivered without the benefit of emotion or inflection, can sting and wound. But perhaps that was Dr Ashraf's intention with his furious email to Talat Ali about Pakistan's dismal performance against India?

As chairman of the board, Ashraf carries the ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of the national cricket team. He has a duty to hire and fire, encourage and admonish in the pursuit of excellence and a return to glory days. On the evidence of Pakistan's recent form and this email, don't expect anything glorious anytime soon.

Since we don't have the fortune to read all his emails we can only assume that the Ashraf that is revealed in this email is the true Ashraf. And this Ashraf is frustrated, and rightly so, at the failure of his team and their abject approach. As chairman he has every right to question the team's attitude, integrity, and the wisdom of selecting unfit players. Yet, much of Ashraf's scattergun email fires bullets at targets that are outside his zone.

It is interesting to consider where a chairman should interfere and where he should not. My concern is that Ashraf's email reveals a degree of interference in team selection and cricketing tactics that is unhealthy for Pakistan cricket and beyond his remit as chairman. It is a revelation that helps explain the floundering progress of Pakistan under his tenure, because with this degree of detailed interference it is hard for the team management to execute their duties effectively to plan.

Team selection, the batting approach, and the bowling strategies are for the coach and captain to decide. The selectors are next best placed to comment and offer guidance on these issues. A chairman might offer helpful suggestions, even ask the right questions, on cricketing tactics but not offer the angry tirade in his email.

Simply put, Ashraf needs to trust his management team or fire them. Either way, he should continue his pursuit of better attitude and higher standards but leave the cricketing details to the men he has hired to do the job.

The problem for Ashraf, of course, is that he is sinking under the weight of his relentless failure--and there is too much to put right before time runs out.

	Mohammad Asif during better times © AFP

Mohammad Asif is a passionate cricketer. He demands wickets. He fumes and rages to unsettle his opponents. His attitude combined with exceptional skill at the beginning of his international career quickly established him as the beanpole star of Pakistan's bowling attack. Yet injuries and drugs have just as quickly brought him to his knees. A thrilling prospect has crashed into a bittersweet reality.

The IPL was meant to reinvigorate Asif's career, as well as his bank balance. The theory went that the McGrath of Sheikhupura would learn at the right hand of the McGrath of Dubbo. Yet it seems that any skill and discipline that Asif might have learned on the field was not imitated in his private life.

Asif, of course, would not be the first cricketer to be embarrassed by possession of recreational drugs. Indeed, two of his most illustrious predecessors required the Pakistan Government to extricate them from humiliation in the West Indies. Nor is possession and use of recreational drugs sufficient reason to end an international career, although it certainly demands disciplinary action.

But Asif's case is unique. His scrape with WADA should have taught him something very simple: a cricketer who truly cherished his international cricket career would have avoided all drugs. Remember, his drugs downfall was supposed to be because of wide-eyed innocence--not cheating--and the PCB had an onus to educate its tainted stars.

Now Asif is once again ruined by his own indiscipline. If the Dubai tests come back positive, the McGrath of Sheikhupura will become the Mug of International Cricket.

For Pakistan fans, at least Sohail Tanvir's T20 excellence could not have been better timed: a flicker of joy in the deepening depression of Pakistan cricket.