I did not break my ban, says caught out Mohammad Amir

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10 April 2012

Mohammad Amir today defended himself after apparently flouting the terms of his worldwide suspension from the game by playing for a club team in Surrey.

The Pakistani fast bowler was banned for five years by the International Cricket Council in February following the spot-fixing scandal in the Lord's Test against England last summer, when Amir and Mohammad Asif were alleged to have deliberately bowled no-balls.

Amir seems now to have contravened that suspension by appearing for Addington 1743 Cricket Club in the Surrey Cricket League Division One last Saturday, according to today's Daily Star.

The 19-year-old paceman insisted, however, he had made the necessary enquiries and had been told he was allowed to play because it was a friendly - even though it is listed on Addington's website as a league game.

Amir told the website www.pakpassion.net: "I was informed by club representatives before the game that it was a friendly, being played on a privately owned cricket ground.

"I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me the match did not. I spoke to several club representatives about the issue and they all told me it was a friendly and therefore would not contravene my ban from the ICC. I was informed I was fine to play.

"I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban. Wherever I am going to play cricket, the world will know about it. I would not be stupid enough to play in a match where I knew that I would be taking a risk."

Addington captain Ijaz Raja told Standard Sport that the club called the Surrey Cricket League to notify them of the 19-year-old's inclusion.

"I phoned the opposition and the League to ask if he could play and they both said it was no problem," he said.

"We are friends with Mohammad and he told me that he wanted to get fit and play. None of us wanted him to get in trouble. We were not expecting any of this and Mohammad is really upset."

The League declined to comment on the phone call, as the ICC are investigating Amir's appearance in the match. However, it seems he was able to turn out for Addington near Croydon, because there is no formal registration procedure for players in the League so there was no problem on the match day. The issue, though, was brought to officials' attention in the opposition's post-game report.

The ICC and ECB are now attempting to confirm whether Surrey League Division One represents a high enough level of cricket to meet the terms of Amir's ban but ICC and ECB sources are confident it does, meaning Amir's suspension could conceivably be extended though the confusion over the phone conversation may offer the Pakistani a way out of further punishment.

An ECB spokesman said: "We are liaising with ICC as appropriate, but in light of the ongoing criminal proceedings we will be making no further comment."

An ICC spokesman added: "We will not speculate until the investigations are completed."

Amir, Asif and former Pakistan captain Salman Butt were all banned, effectively for five years, by the ICC but all have appealed against the judgment to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The three men, along with cricket agent Mazhar Majeed - who is thought to be based in Croydon - are awaiting trial at Southwark Crown Court over allegations of cheating and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, which they deny.

Despite the controversy surrounding Amir, Addington have made no attempt to disguise his presence in the game.

On their website, "Mohammad Amir" opened the batting against St Lukes, scoring 60.

Unsurprisingly, one of the world's most talented fast bowlers proved a little too much for Surrey League Division batsmen, as he took four for nine from seven overs bowled.

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