"It's just not cricket," is a common, if old-fashioned, English expression for when something that is unjust or just plain wrong is done to someone or something.

It comes from the game of cricket which is regarded as a gentleman's game where fair play was paramount. But perhaps it will not survive the scandals surrounding the England-Pakistan matches.

And the loss of trust in the integrity of cricket echoes a loss of trust in institutions which used automatically to command respect. I don't know whether any cricket players accepted bribes to fix matches, but I do know that wrong actions by a small number of players could destroy trust in the whole game.

This happened to Parliament when some MPs made fake expenses claims and others stretched the concept of expenses beyond any reasonable limit.  It happened to bankers when they, having claimed to be the engine of our economic success, turned to the taxpayer to bail them out when their claims proved unfounded and then had the cheek to continue paying themselves a king's ransom while the rest of the country is still picking up the bill for their folly.

Trust is a quality which is slowly and carefully built, but almost instantly destroyed.  Most cricketers are surely honest, perhaps all of them are, but we know that cricket in future will not be the byword of fairness.  And there is a lesson here for every one of us.  Any country, company, sport or profession risks its reputation if it lacks integrity.  This is just one of the seven principles set out to guide holders of public office: the others are selflessness, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

These qualities were identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life for the benefit of all who serve the public in any way. They apply to anyone who needs a relationship of trust with the public, whether as a fan or a shareholder or a customer.  I think there has been a tendency to believe that, like fair play in cricket, these principles will look after themselves and do not need nurture and promotion.

That's wrong and it's time to mount a vigorous debate about the standards of conduct we have a right to expect from all those who serve the public. They are required to promote and support these principles by leadership and by example.