THERE are great rivalries but nothing beats an India and Pakistan cricket match.

As a Pakistan supporter since way back, I can remember I am disappointed we lost but I guess I knew that was going to happen. anyway.

I lost count of the number of tweets I read which stated 6-0 (the number of world cup defeats for Pakistan at the hands of their rivals).

Sooner or later England will be playing Pakistan and I will have to endure the familiar arguments.

For a while, as Pakistan went from one scandal to another I was thinking of switching loyalties to England, but decided there shall remain one part of me that is always Pakistani.

This all stems from my experiences growing up in the Eighties.

When the Pakistan team came over on tour I would read countless reports in the press which were racist and derogatory in nature.

There was no excuse for it really and in some parts of the press they are still happy to print such comments. I wouldn’t say Pakistan and India were the only nations at the end of this nonsense. The Germans and the French got their fair share too.

The English hated losing to the Pakistanis and Indians.

And growing-up I actually hated they should feel this way. What was so bad losing to these nations?

Why was this constant need to state that we as a nation were still superior? that these backward race?

The biggest gripe I had was when Akram and Younis were accused of cheating when they perfected the inswinging Yorker.

Years later, when our English bowlers mustered up some speed, they managed to do it themselves, and we just called it ‘great bowling’.

Cricket, you see, brings out the best and worst in nations. Some years ago I wrote on these pages “we should have more Asians playing for the English team...it is important for this to happen.”

And if my boy grows up a leg spinner for the English national team that would be fantastic.

I have several friends who are staunch England fans and accuse me of being ‘Anti-English’ in my support for Pakistan at cricket. The argument fails when I tell them I love England at every other sport.

Now, in these testing times when loyalty matters of much to so many people, let me reiterate this...I failed the cricket test then and I will fail it again in another 10 years.