The estimable Martin Blake wrote a column in Thursday's The Age dismissing as ‘garbage' allegations of spot-fixing by Australia's opening batsmen in the current cricket World Cup. Blake expanded on the theme to suggest that if every sporting incident that goes against form is considered conspiratorial, there ceases to be any point in watching sport. As an example, Blake stated, "It's like saying that someone who runs fast is on drugs. Produce a positive result and we'll listen."

Watching the opening overs of Australia v Zimbabwe, I confess to being more than a little perturbed at the demeanour at the crease of Brad Haddin and Shane Watson. For me, it wasn't so much the scoring rate, which was uncharacteristically low for the pair, especially considering the track and the opposition, but the lack of intent they showed during the opening 13 overs. During this powerplay period, Australia scored just two boundaries and gave little impression of wanting more.

My initial reaction was to question whether this was a new ploy from the Australian coaching staff. Haddin has a habit of falling for moderate scores once set and allowing him extra time to bed in during a virtual gimme of a match had its merits. However, the lack of intent, backlift even, from both batsmen, was uncharacteristic.

There is obviously an enormous leap between scoring at a slower-than-normal run-rate and doing so deliberately to satisfy the requirements of nefarious individuals standing to make large sums of money on that eventuality. And let me make this clear, I am not suggesting either Haddin or Watson are guilty of any untoward collusion. I am asking, however, how much confidence we should have when dismissing such thoughts as ‘garbage' and what that means for the integrity of top class sport.

Martin Blake's ipso facto analogy of runners and drugs is a good place to start. Using the men's 100m sprint as a test case, the winner of the gold medal at the Olympics in three out of the last six events (1988, 1996 & 2004) has served a ban of some description for violating doping codes in their discipline. This is also the period that in the women's equivalent, Marion Jones conducted one of the greatest frauds in the history of track and field. And lets not rake over the ashes of Flo-Jo.

In short, at the most elite level, "saying that someone who runs fast is on drugs," is probably not an inaccurate statement to make. Clearly not all sprinters are using performance enhancing substances banned by the IAAF - but some are, plenty have, and enough, at the very highest, most integrity-shattering level, have been caught and punished. Sufficient to introduce legitimate doubt into the minds of spectators.

Extended further, is there anyone left who believes there is a shred of integrity remaining in competitive cycling? Sports dominated by the betting industry, such as racing and boxing long gave up any aspirations to be whiter-than-white and now simply acknowledge that punters and protagonists alike understand the angle of the playing field.

Other sports played by individuals, not teams, remain soft targets. Snooker has suffered in recent years, while tennis is opting for the ostrich with its head in the sand approach. The Nikolay Davydenko case, in which the Russian was cleared of improper behaviour by the ATP, despite betting exchange, Betfair, refunding wagers following a match he was involved in, is the very definition of why sport is suffering a crisis of integrity.

Even some of the more difficult sporting contests to manipulate have been and continue to be stage-managed. The ongoing enquiry into irregularities in the NRL has promised bombshells for some time. In 2006, the Calciopoli scandal rocked Italian football to its foundations when it was revealed that leading clubs were systematically influencing the appointment of favourable referees. While in cricket, the impact of first match-fixing, and now spot-fixing, has plagued the game for long enough for nobody to be surprised at accusations now being directed at Australia's great blonde hopes.

Do I think Haddin and Watson are guilty of spot-fixing? No. Do I think such allegations are garbage? No.

As Blake points out, any enquiry should first begin with proof of irregular betting activity, until such evidence is produced, there should not even be an inquest. One suspects that in this case the mud will justifiably not stick and posterity will regard the incident as the product of heightened localised tension and the opportunism of sections of the sub-continental media to engineer a story that discredits a thorny adversary.

The bigger issue, however, that atypical athlete behaviour should be accepted as part of the glorious unpredictability of following sport, is, in my opinion, no longer justified. I no longer take any interest in sprinting or cycling as I consider its integrity to be damaged beyond the point of interest. Boxing is at times on a par with WWE, while Tennis features only in my field of vision when the top three or four are in action - for whom the contest clearly, indisputably matters.

And cricket? Anyone who witnessed the debacle at the SCG in 2010 against Pakistan will know where I'm coming from. The experience was like watching Santa Claus deliver a bagful of your favourite presents on Christmas morning, only to see the word ‘SWAG' on the side of his sack. One of the greatest comebacks in Australian cricket, one of the proudest moments for genuinely good blokes like Mike Hussey and Peter Siddle are now nothing more than contraband.

Sport still has the capacity to throw up remarkable and unexpected results, and, aside from the joy of being partisan, will continue to do so ad infinitum. It has though, for me at least, lost the innocence and magic that so many of us wish it retained. In this reality, the performances of Watson and Haddin deserve to be scrutinised and not always with the burden of proof on their side of the ledger.