Pakistani cricket has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons of late and whilst Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were otherwise engaged in Central London, their team mates were doing what the Pakistani cricketers had actually come to England to do, which was to play cricket.

Former Pakistan batsman and selector Basit Ali has called on the International Cricket Council to disband the Anti Corruption Unit in it's present format and replace it with a panel of former international cricketers.

The cheeky smile said it all didn't it, here was a young kid from a humble background doing what he loved and what he had dreamt of doing - playing cricket. The statistics, the opposition, the hotels, the venues, the fame, the fortune, the adulation didn't matter, he just wanted to go out on the field of play to enjoy himself and to get as many wickets and score as many runs as possible.

PakPassion.net spoke on Sunday with Umran Khan of Aces Middle East, a leading Dubai-based sports management company. Aces Middle East manages many international sports stars, including leading Pakistani cricketers such as Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, among many others.

This weeks offering on The National (UAE) by PPs own writers is all about what the victory at Oval means - sets the scene nicely for the final test at Lords.

With his performances on the field dwindling, his off field issues have attracted the media spotlight. Shoaib's omission form Pakistan's ODI and T20 squad announced on Tuesday has landed him back into the headlines.