The only positive outcome of the quasi-judicial cricketing proceeding on Tuesday was that it brought the Harbhajan Singh affair to a close, though the potential for trouble resurfacing cannot be discounted.

Yes, the charge against the man has been significantly reduced, the tour will continue, the cash register will keep ringing, and hopefully the action in the one-off Twenty20 and the ODI series will erase memories of the pathetic scenes to which cricket has been subjected in recent weeks. But mature, unemotional reflection will point to more having been lost than gained.

Sure the Aussies have been exposed, and slammed, for their excessive (unfair?) pressure tactics, India once again scuttled their winning streak, and all teams will feel a little reassured now that it has been proved they can be beaten at home.

Yet India still lost the Test series: to blame the defeat on poor umpiring would be churlish, the last three wickets at Sydney went down because of atrocious batting, and the win at Perth generated little momentum at Adelaide. The loss, alas, is more off the field than on it. Among the seemingly minor casualties are a reputed if ageing umpire, and a match-referee.

The question is will it become the norm to press for the removal of officials should things not go right? What has been opened is potentially more dangerous than the mythical Pandora's box.

Only those who wear a skewed sense of patriotism on their shirt sleeves will raise a victory chant over the dropping of the 'racist' charge.

No doubt Ponting & Co. went overboard when reporting it to the match referee, and then Mike Proctor messed it up, but we must ask ourselves not only if the Punjabi expletive Harbhajan now admits to using has any place in any kind of dignified communication but also why Sachin Tendulkar did not offer the 'language-misunderstanding' explanation at the first hearing?

Clearly a patchwork solution was found, commercial interests came into play, but it was plea bargaining rather than 'compromise' only one man has been punished, even if the sentence is jocular.

Remember also that this is the fifth time he has been docked for misconduct. The BCCI's threatening posture would appeal essentially to those whose cricketing interest is commercially generated and driven, sections of the media, regretfully, included.

Clearly money-power has gone to the head of our cricket administrators, it was demeaning to witness their pressure tactics, as well as those of advertising agencies contending that Aussie cricketers might lose their appeal in the Indian market place. The glorious game has been brought down to bazaar level. That isn't just bizarre, it borders on blasphemy.