Banned Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir has been caught playing cricket at a friendly level.
Amir was given a five-year suspension in February after he was found guilty of deliberately bowling no balls.
Despite the sanction precluding him from playing cricket in any form, it has emerged that he was part of Addington 1743’s lineup against St Luke’s CC in the Surrey Cricket League on Saturday.
The 19-year-old has admitted to participating in the game, but insists that he did so in good faith.
“I was informed before the game that it was a friendly match, being played on a privately-owned cricket ground,” he told PakPassion. “I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me that it did not.
“I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban.”
The International Cricket Council is now looking into the matter. “The suspension very clearly states that it is a suspension from all forms of cricket and all cricket-related activities,” said spokesperson James Fitzgerald.
Amir, along with two other members of the Pakistan team, face trial in October over last year’s spot-fixing scandal.
Dan Saney
