The sport of cricket isn’t having the best time of it at the moment. With the horrible events surrounding Bob Woolmer still rife, and the murmurings around match fixing returning, the media are painting cricket as a corrupt sport.

Its not helped when Vaughan comes out and says he thinks match fixing is still rife in the higher levels of the game. I think this is an incredibly dangerous thing to say by the England cricket captain. If you have evidence, come out and say who, what and where. If you’re going on a gut feeling, keep your mouth shut and don’t feed these rumours. If it is happening, then the ICC should be making huge, tough stances against those involved, and this should be struck out of the game forever. I like to watch a game of cricket knowing that everyone there is trying to win, not get out out for a certain scoreetc to put some money in his back pocket. And the only way people will understand is if those involved are expelled from the game.

In world cup news, it looks like India are probably out, which as expected has been taken pretty hard back in India. There was one story about how a man even committed suicide over it. This seems unbelievable to an Englishman, but that is the way that cricket is seen over there. I don’t think its right, but what can you do – they have another way of life over there. I also didn’t like the fact that “Hundreds of angry cricket fans took to the streets burning effigies, defacing posters and held mock funeral processions of the national team after the defeat.” I’m sorry, but after the events of the past few days this is unbelievably wrong. The players are put on such a pedestal that it is unlikely they’ll ever be able to reach expectations.

Not a problem for the English, there are no expectations and I’m just happy we made it to the super 8’s. I think we’ll beat the weaker sides left, but I can’t really see us troubling any of the major test nations left in the competition. We’ll return back to England in time to watch the semi-finals. Now watch my prediction go wrong!