4 Jan 2016

NZ Cricket head comfortable for spot fixer to tour

12:48 pm on 4 January 2016

There's no reason why Pakistan bowler Mohamed Amir shouldn't be allowed in to the country to play the Black Caps in the upcoming series, New Zealand Cricket David White said.

Amir, a convicted spot-fixer, has been named in the Pakistan one-day and Twenty20 squads for their upcoming tour of New Zealand, after serving a five-year ban from the sport.

The Pakistan fast bowler and convicted spot fixer Mohammad Amir.

The Pakistan fast bowler and convicted spot fixer Mohammad Amir. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The seamer spent three months in a British jail following the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that resulted in bans and jail sentences for him, former Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif.

Amir agreed to deliberately bowl no balls during a Test match against England at Lord's in 2010.

While the cricket board had not yet had a chance to discuss Amir's selection, White said he was personally comfortable with him travelling to New Zealand.

The bowler was a young man who did something wrong a number of years ago and admitted guilt immediately, White said, and Amir had served his time and done everything requested of him by the ICC - so White was satisfied that the 23-year-old was allowed to play all forms of cricket.

Amir's selection for the New Zealand tour is still subject to visa approval.

The tainted bowler's presence in the Lahore preparatory camp had met with objections from some quarters, with Pakistan's one-day skipper Azhar Ali offering to resign.

The Pakistan Cricket Board rejected Azhar's resignation, and he remained the captain for the 16-member ODI squad.

Mohammad Hafeez, another senior player who expressed reservations about playing with Amir, is part of both the ODI and Twenty20 teams.

The left-armer Amir encounters the problem because of his conviction, chief selector Haroon Rashid told local media.

The bowler had returned to competitive domestic cricket in March and also participated in the recent Bangladesh Premier League.

He enjoyed a string of positive matches with the Chittagong Vikings.

Amir will face stiff competition for a place in the ODI XI from three other left-arm pacers - Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Irfan.

Starting on January 15th, Pakistan will play three Twenty20 Internationals followed by three one-dayers in New Zealand.

ODI squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Raiz, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir

Twenty20 squad: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Aamer Yamin, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Rizwan, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Amir

- RNZ, Reuters