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Australia’s selectors have outlined their plans for the Ashes and next year’s World Cup after retaining faith in their recent influx of emerging talent

Peter English07-Apr-2010Australia’s selectors have outlined their plans for the Ashes and next year’s World Cup after retaining faith in their recent influx of emerging talent. Andrew Hilditch’s panel dropped a couple of senior bowlers in Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken, but gave full-time contracts to the fresh quicks Ryan Harris and Clint McKay for 2010-11.Steven Smith, the exciting allrounder from New South Wales, wins his first spot in the 25-man list while Tasmania’s Tim Paine has replaced Graham Manou as the back-up keeper. Andrew McDonald seems fortunate to hold his place, although he will come into contention for the tour of England, and Callum Ferguson, the South Australia batsman, is retained despite not playing since a knee reconstruction in October. Shaun Tait remains in favour while David Hussey misses out, and Brad Hodge’s first-class retirement officially ended his remote chances of another deal.Clark has not represented his country since the Ashes defeat at The Oval in August and Bracken spent much of the season out following knee surgery. “It is disappointing for Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken who have not received contracts,” Hilditch said. “Both Stuart and Nathan have fantastic records for Australia and not renewing their contracts was a very hard decision. The reality is that other bowlers have seized the opportunity over the last six months in both Test and limited-overs cricket. I am sure Nathan and Stuart will look to start next season well and force their way back into the Australian side.”While the rankings remain confidential, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson should have filled the top four places for retainers of around A$1.5 million in the contract period beginning on July 1. It is a big leap for Watson, who has become an essential player in all three forms after securing his Test spot as an opener during the Ashes tour. Since then he has scored 926 runs at 54.47 and taken 13 wickets in 10 matches, while also being an important asset in the one-day and Twenty20 teams.Brett Lee’s ranking has dropped dramatically after his Test retirement, while Doug Bollinger and Harris have stepped up from the fringes after their strong displays in the five-day outfit. “The Australian side is very much in the final stages of its preparation for … the Ashes series in Australia and the World Cup for 50-over cricket in India,” Hilditch said. “The contract list has a good blend of experience and youth, and recognises the very strong performances of the Australian side in Test and limited-overs cricket this summer.”The selectors rate the players from one to 20 in both Test and limited-overs sections, with the numbers combined to achieve an overall ranking. Five players qualified for fixed contracts by finishing in the top six of each list and will earn an average of $1.5m over the next year, including all game fees. The 25th-ranked man receives a retainer of $200,000 and the amounts rise incrementally. Additional marketing contracts allow the players to collect another six-figure sum while prize-money, match payments (for 20 members) and personal endorsements are added extras.The panel takes into account form over the past 12 months and the likelihood of the cricketers appearing in international sides in the next year. The number of Twenty20 internationals on the calendar has made it hard for short-form specialists, such as David Warner and David Hussey, to gain contracts and they will have to rely on their state deals unless they qualify for a national contract through international appearances.However, Tait, who only plays Twenty20 and domestic one-dayers, held his spot. “We see him as an important member of the World Twenty20 squad and a real chance to force his way back into the Australian 50-over side,” Hilditch said. “At his best he is a powerful weapon in limited-overs cricket.”The size of the payment pool has convinced James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, that the sport is an increasingly attractive career-choice. “Australia’s top-level cricketers are well paid with marketing contract incentives rewarding players for their off-field work on behalf of cricket and recognising that this is an important part of their roles,” he said. “In addition to CA-contracted players, it is also important to note that state payments continue to increase.” The minimum for a domestic contract is $50,000, rising to a maximum of $140,000.2010-11 contracted players Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Mohammad Yousuf believes that rain saved his young team from defeat on the final day of a closely-fought Test series against New Zealand

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009A combination of resilience for two days and rain on the last enabled Pakistan to escape with a draw in the third Test in Napier. Chasing 208 in a minimum of 43 overs, New Zealand’s openers, BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh, added 90 in 19 overs before it began to rain and play was abandoned. Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan captain, was a relieved man and admitted the rain had helped Pakistan avoid defeat and secure a 1-1 draw in the series.”We were lucky. Allah helped us because of rain, otherwise it would be difficult to defend 208 on this track,” he said. “In the first innings we made 223 on this track which was very less. After that we saved the game, I think it is a good performance.”On a beautiful batting surface, Pakistan imploded in the first innings and were reduced to playing catch-up once New Zealand secured a lead of 248. The visitors put up a resolute batting effort in the second innings where six of the top seven batsmen went past fifty, a performance that pleased Yousuf.Looking back at the closely fought series, Yousuf said that the teams were similarly matched but that New Zealand had home advantage. According to him, Pakistan cricket would suffer unless they had a better balance between home and away games. “If we play some games in Pakistan, it will help our youngsters and seniors as well. It is very difficult to play away series all the time with the conditions against us”, he said.Yousuf was concerned about the inexperience in his batting line-up, but believed that the performances of Umar Akmal and Danish Kaneria were good signs for the upcoming tour of Australia. “I am worried about our batting because of lack of experience,” he said. “This game, we threw away our wickets in the second innings. The bowlers did not get our wickets. They worked hard, but we threw away the wickets.”Umar Akmal batted so well through the series. Danish Kaneria bowled well in the last two Tests. On this track, he took seven wickets, I think it’s the best bowling I’ve seen in a long time because there was no help for spinners.”Yousuf did not want to play up his side’s chances in Australia, but expected his side to play competitive cricket, irrespective of the result.

Chris Woakes says tourists expect livelier surfaces with Pakistan 1-0 down in series

Matt Roller11-Oct-2024England are bracing to play on “result wickets” for the remaining two Tests of their tour to Pakistan after winning by an innings on a lifeless pitch. The groundstaff in Multan, which will also stage the second Test of the series, were watering a fresh strip barely an hour after England completed their win on Friday, which will be prepared over the next three days.Shan Masood has spoken repeatedly about wanting to play on pitches that bring his fast bowlers into play since his appointment as captain, but there was nothing for them to work with as England racked up 823 for 7 in Multan. Pakistan need to win both Tests to secure a first home series win since February 2021 and England believe they may gamble on a green pitch.”There was talk about green surfaces,” Chris Woakes said. “I suppose it did have a tinge of green on day one, but it just got better and better. The ball is firmly in their court. When it’s a home series and it’s only three matches, and you lose the first, you’d like to think that the next two are going to be result wickets, whether that be green or turners. We’ll see.”Related

• Pakistan, a graveyard for Test bowlers – in numbers

• Masood scathing in criticism of bowlers but not batters after Multan humiliation

• Leach four-for consigns Pakistan to historic innings defeat

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• PCB restructures selection committee by picking Aleem Dar, Aaqib, Azhar

Tony Hemming, the PCB’s Australian head curator, is due to meet with a revamped selection panel on Saturday in Multan, along with Masood and coach Jason Gillespie. Pakistan’s squad for the second Test will be finalised after that meeting.Masood played down the role of the pitch, instead blaming his bowlers. “We take discussion of the pitch too seriously,” he said. “You play a pitch for your squad and your strategy, but you can’t control every aspect of the pitch… What England showed us is you can find a way: they took 20 wickets on this pitch, so you can’t say it’s impossible to take 20 wickets on this pitch.”England hope to welcome Ben Stokes back into their side for the second Test after he missed the first due to his hamstring injury. He stepped up his rehabilitation this week, doing fitness work on every day of the Test, starting to bowl off a full run-up during intervals, and having several long batting sessions in the nets behind the media centre.Ollie Pope, who stood in as captain for a fourth successive Test, was optimistic about Stokes’ chances of playing next week. “I know he’s been training really well this week, and he’s as keen as ever to get playing again, so fingers crossed for everyone that he’s all good… He has had a good week training, but I will be ready if not.”If Stokes does return, England could face a selection dilemma depending on his availability to bowl – and the nature of the surface. The most likely change would involve him replacing one of their three seamers, but they could feasibly leave out one of their two spinners – most likely Shoaib Bashir – and instead give Joe Root a greater role with the ball.Chris Woakes took two wickets in his first overseas Test since 2022•Getty Images

For Woakes, this was a successful return to playing away from home after two successive winters without going on a Test tour. He finished with match figures of 2 for 110 but took one important wicket in each innings: Babar Azam in the first, whom he trapped lbw with the second new ball, and Abdullah Shafique, who lost his off stump to the first ball of the second.”I probably didn’t think I was going to get another opportunity to do this,” Woakes said. “In a way, I’d probably given up on it. But when you get the backing of the dressing room, of Ben and Baz [McCullum], you feel 10 feet tall and like you can go out there and win games of cricket for England. I’m never going to average 25 in these conditions but I don’t think many would.”Thankfully in this Test match, I’ve been able to make a couple of breakthroughs with the new ball on a wicket which was offering pretty much bugger all, so I’m pretty pleased I contributed. There are going to be periods in these conditions where you do have to hold and you’re working for the guys at the other end.”

“He has looked very good at No. 4. He is a great stroke-maker, can play all shots and go through the gears”

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2024New Zealand have called all the shots so far in the Mount Maunganui Test, and go into day three with a lead of 431 to boot. However, Kane Williamson is not getting carried away just yet, and has called on his team to “maintain their discipline and play the long game” as they look to go 1-0 up against South Africa.Williamson himself contributed 118 to New Zealand’s cause, but it was his “outstanding” team-mate Rachin Ravindra who stole most of the headlines with a fluent 240. Speaking after the first day’s play, Ravindra did not hold back in his praise for his “idol” Williamson, and on Monday, the roles were reversed, as it was the New Zealand captain’s turn to laud the 24-year-old.”Ravindra is simply a class act to watch from the other end,” Williamson said. “One of his biggest strengths is being very calm. He’s clearly got the skills and the game as we’ve seen in ODIs, but to go through the gears here, in such a calm temperament, speaks volumes. Their bowlers weren’t giving much away, so we had to keep each other focused.Related

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“We did a lot of groundwork and South Africa were extremely disciplined with the ball. It was quite difficult to use the pace on the surface, so we just wanted to up the run rate from a position of strength. I wasn’t able to, which was frustrating, but other guys came in and went through the gears in the middle session.”Ravindra has looked very good at No. 4. He is a great stroke-maker, can play all shots and go through the gears. That’s his style. He made the most of the opportunity. He’s quite natural and is loving every moment. From a team’s perspective, we’re loving his attitude to move us forward.”It was an outstanding innings and a special moment for him, but the milestone alone wasn’t enough. You can see he also wanted to put the team in a strong position.”After amassing 511, New Zealand then made further inroads by rattling South Africa’s top order, reducing the visitors to 80 for 4. Williamson believes that with the pitch deteriorating and wind possibly coming into play later on, it is essential that his bowlers be “mindful” with their plans.”Throughout today, and the last part of yesterday, both teams were trying to just hang in there. There was little bit on offer which made it hard to hit through the line, so it was all about just trying to stay with your plans and not lose patience. We had our moments. We were trying to understand where we want to be as a team and took risks when needed to. We gave ourselves the opportunity. Now we need to be mindful with the ball, be disciplined and play the long game, and see how the game unfolds.”We’re in a relatively strong position, but it’ll be hard, South Africa bat deep, the pitch will deteriorate, so let’s see.”

Brand rues missed chances

South Africa, too, are not waving the white flag just yet. Their captain Neil Brand, who finished with six wickets, is confident that “one big partnership” is all that they need to get right back into the game.”It’s been a tough grind today, but we didn’t expect anything less,” he said. “New Zealand played well, but we also gave away a few chances which didn’t help. But we can still do something very much special here.”There wasn’t much of a chat on how we wanted to bat. I told everyone to play their natural games. There were a few strange dismissals, and ideally you don’t want to be two or three wickets down so soon. But these things happen. We have two great batters in David Bedingham and Keegan Petersen at the crease, and anything can happen.”

They need to win the two ODIs to give themselves the best chance of qualifying directly for the World Cup in India

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2023Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been selected in a full-strength South Africa squad to play two crucial ODIs against Netherlands on March 31 in Benoni and April 1 in Johannesburg. Both fast bowlers were rested from the recent ODI series against West Indies, which was drawn 1-1 with one match washed out.This series will be the first time South Africa are facing Netherlands since they lost to them and were eliminated from the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. If South Africa win both ODIs without over-rate penalties, they will qualify directly for the World Cup in India this year if Ireland lose at least one ODI against Bangladesh in a three-match series in May.South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma will have a fitness test on Tuesday to make sure he has recovered from the hamstring niggle he picked up during his hundred in the second ODI against West Indies on March 18.”We have named our strongest possible squad for these games given the importance of these matches in the context of qualifying for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup,” South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter said. “We have a job to do and I am confident that with this group of players we can get the job done.”With the second ODI on April 2, Quinton de Kock (Lucknow Super Giants), Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Sisanda Magala (Chennai Super Kings), Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Hyderabad), David Miller (Gujarat Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Delhi Capitals), Anrich Nortje (Delhi Capitals), and Kagiso Rabada (Punjab Kings) will be able to join their IPL franchises only on April 3 at the earliest.South Africa squad for Netherlands ODIs: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen

In just his second Test, left-arm seamer Sam Curran made mark against India by taking out India’s top three on the second day

Andrew McGlashan02-Aug-20181:54

Roland-Jones: Curran gives England reason for excitement

Curran…there’s another of those, isn’t there?Yes, indeed. Sam’s brother Tom, who also plays for Surrey, made his Test debut against Australia in Melbourne and has also featured in the one-day and T20 sides. There is another brother as well, Ben, who is involved in the Surrey set-up and is very highly rated. Their father, Kevin, played 11 ODIs for Zimbabwe and had a long career in county cricket with Northamptonshire.Has it been a rapid rise for Sam?In a way as he’s only 20 – which is young for an international cricketer in England – but he’s been on the radar for a few years. He made his Surrey Championship debut as a 17-year-old in 2015, taking eight wickets in the match against Kent and by the end of the following season was already in the England Lions set-up. His Test claims were given a significant leg up early this summer when he took ten wickets in the Championship match against Yorkshire – a side that featured Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Cheteshwar Pujara (who he removed twice).How did his Test debut go?He was the seventh youngest man – at 19 years and 363 days – to debut in Tests for England. There were obviously a few nerves against Pakistan at Headingley – Stuart Broad said Curran struggled a little with the slope of the ground – and Curran joked that having his first Test wicket, Shadab Khan, caught at deep midwicket wasn’t quite how he’d dreamt it. But he was more comfortable in the second innings.He looked pretty solid with the bat as wellHe is certainly classed as an allrounder at first-class level and his batting ability is one of the reasons he was first called up and kept his place in this match ahead of Jamie Porter. There is even a school of thought that he could develop into more of a batting allrounder – he has spoken of his desire to bat higher up the order for Surrey and he already has 11 half-centuries in 42 first-class matches.He’s quite short for a fast bowler. Will that be a problem?It has been one of the debates raised about his long-term prospects of being an international pace bowler. There’s nothing he can do about his height, he just has to make the best of the natural skills he has which, as was on show at Edgbaston this morning, is making the ball swing. It’s true that there haven’t been too many successful short pace bowlers at the top level, but Curran will be about his all-round package. And, of course, there’s the variation he brings of being a left-arm which is something Trevor Bayliss has been keen on having in the Test side.

The ICC has agreed to support Sri Lanka Cricket and Kusal Perera’s claim for costs and damages from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Jul-2016The ICC has agreed to support Sri Lanka Cricket and Kusal Perera’s claim for costs and damages from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala has said.Perera had been suspended after a Qatar-based lab found a banned substance in his urine sample, but the doping charges were dropped in May when an independent analyst found that the WADA-accredited lab’s findings were not sustainable.Though the ICC had previously said it “does not accept that it is responsible” for the consequences the lab’s findings, SLC believes it has got the ICC’s support in its attempt to obtain both costs and compensation from WADA itself.Sumathipala said the board’s request for compensation for Perera received widespread support at the recent ICC meeting in Edinburgh.”We appealed to the ICC about the injustice that had happened to Kusal, and we were given an audience at the CEOs’ meeting. I must say the committee comprising of the CEOs unanimously supported our claim,” he said. “Then it came to the board meeting, and at the board meeting we made the appeal that there should be compensation – not just the cost. It was decided that the costs and the compensation should be paid to him, because the ICC took the position that the claim made by Kusal is fair and justifiable. ICC decided to stand by Sri Lanka Cricket and support the claim.”SLC said it spent about 13 million Sri Lankan rupees (US $92,000 approx) on fighting the case. The player himself is expected to pay this figure back to the board, according to Perera’s management. The board, however, has been adamant that those responsible for the imposition of the five-month suspension on Perera should ultimately bear the costs. Sumathipala suggested that no less than 35 million rupees (US $246,000) was appropriate, given Perera’s loss of earnings during the suspension, and the “damage to his reputation”.”This kind of compensation has never ever been paid to anybody in the history of cricket,” Sumathipala said. “The ICC and SLC are together in this – the money is ultimately coming from WADA, through the ICC, to Kusal. It is a new experience for WADA as well.”Sumathipala said the board was optimistic WADA would provide compensation, as it has already accepted there was a flaw in its processes. “I don’t think we will have to go to court over it,” he said. According to Sumathipala, the ICC and WADA have also blacklisted the Qatar-based lab.Discussions with WADA are believed to be in their very early stages, though, and Perera himself is yet to be brought up to speed on the situation. SLC officials are expected to meet with Perera and his management after the player returns from the England tour on Thursday.Perera missed a full tour of New Zealand, bilateral T20s against India, the Asia Cup and the World T20 as a result of the suspension. He was also ineligible for this year’s IPL auction, as well as the initial Test squad for England as he had only recently returned to training.

Kings XI kept their slim hope alive, and made it difficult for Royal Challengers

The Report by Sidharth Monga14-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Adam Gilchrist with the man he believed should have been the Man of the Match: Azhar Mahmood•BCCI

During one of the matches that Adam Gilchrist sat out of, he complained – not without humour – about how the umpiring mistakes had all been targeting his Kings XI Punjab side. He also said that he might have had a whinge, but his side needed to do better despite umpiring mistakes. It seemed Gilchrist would be left saying something similar tonight after Chris Gayle survived an lbw shout when he was 4 off 11, and went onto help Royal Challengers Bangalore score 122 in the last 10 overs.Luck turned on the night, though. Gilchrist was plumb at 18 off 16 when he didn’t pick a Muttiah Muralitharan doosra. A mix of outside edges, inside edges and some vintage Gilchrist shots, helped by Azhar Mahmood’s 61 off 41, stunned Royal Challengers, ending the chase of 175 with 11 balls to spare. Kings XI kept their slim hope alive, and made it difficult for Royal Challengers, who were left fighting Sunrisers Hyderabad for the final playoff place. Sunrisers are level with Royal Challengers, but have a game in hand.Put in, Royal Challengers needed a huge total on a flat pitch and short outfield, especially given their bowling. For a long period of time, it seemed Royal Challengers wouldn’t even get to a fighting total. Kings XI bowled few loose balls in the first half of the innings, and Gayle and Virat Kohli struggled to come to terms with the pace of the pitch.After their misfortune, Kings XI lost their way towards the end. Once Gayle and Kohli began hitting, the Kings XI bowlers were like rabbits caught in headlights and kept bowling length balls, which kept disappearing. Parvinder Awana, the bowler who had been denied the Gayle wicket earlier, came back to rip Gayle’s stump into two in the 19th over. Despite the damage control, Kings XI had been hit hard, and the momentum seemed to have shifted.However, Royal Challengers bowlers once again had no sting. Theirs is a bit like the typical Indian ODI team under MS Dhoni, with which no total seems safe. Gilchrist was scratching around, and struggling to go at a run a ball when Mahmood joined him. Having bowled two good overs at the death, Mahmood came and smacked three consecutive boundaries in the sixth over to inject some life into the chase.Gilchrist kept handing over the strike to Mahmood until it was time for both to go. Then Gilchrist got an outside edge for four. Then a four off the inside half of the bat. The best of Gilchrist came against Muralitharan when he charged at him and drove him back over his head for four. He bettered it by charging at the returning Zaheer Khan and sending him back over the sight screen. It all ended in a blur after that, but his driving and sweeping of Murali for consecutive sixes stood out.Once again Gilchrist called it as he saw it. He pointed out both the lbw mistakes, admitted that he “scratched around like an old chook” in the first half, and that Mahmood deserved the Man-of-the-Match award that he got.

A round-up of the second day’s action of fourth round Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2012
Scorecard
It was a tense day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as Karnataka and Odisha tussled for the first-innings lead. Karnataka seemed to have had the better of the first day having bowled out Odisha for 202, but found themselves at 183 for 7 in the final session. That brought together CM Gautam and KP Appanna, the same pair that had batted out 40 minutes on the final day to deny UP an outright win earlier this week. They took Karnataka to 197 for 7 before Gautam was run out, and Appanna holed out off Basant Mohanty. Karnataka’s last-wicket pair had to put on six to grab the first-innings lead. SL Akshay, who starred with the ball on the first day, steered them with the bat, hitting five fours in his 26 to take Karnataka to 213. Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar then took two early wickets to leave Odisha at 30 for 2 before bad light ended play. The first-innings lead may not prove crucial as there is plenty of time left in the game to produce an outright result.
Scorecard
Baroda’s openers put on a big stand to give their side control of the match against Haryana, the only team in the competition yet to score a point. Saurabh Wakaskar, playing only his second first-class match, made his maiden Ranji century and added 189 with Aditya Waghmode, who made his fourth fifty-plus scores in five innings this season. Baroda would have been in an even stronger position if not for legspinner Amit Mishra getting three lbws late in the day to push Baroda to 197 for 3. In the morning, another batsman playing his second first-class match hit a century. Haryana’s Rahul Dalal completed his hundred even as the side lost their final five wickets for 48 to end on 295. Offspinner Utkarsh Patel, who had only two wickets in his three first-class matches so far, was the most successful of the Baroda bowlers, taking five for 83.
ScorecardMaiden Ranji Trophy centuries for Delhi rookie Mohit Sharma and debutant Vaibhav Rawal extended Tamil Nadu’s woes on day two of their group game at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi declared their first innings on 555 for 4 half an hour before stumps and dismissed Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund in the first over. Tamil Nadu were 31 for 1 at the close. Read the full report here.
ScorecardVidarbha left-arm seamer Shrikant Wagh claimed figures of 5 for 23 at an economy rate of 0.84 to bring his team back into the contest against Maharashtra in Nagpur. Maharashtra held the upper hand on the first day at 227 for 3, which featured a century from opener Virag Awate. But Wagh, who had bowled a wicketless but economical spell the previous day, claimed wickets regularly to bowl them out for 282. Besides Awate’s 126 and No. 3 Sangram Atitkar’s 45, none of the other batsmen put up a resistance.Vidarbha lost a couple of wickets early in their reply, but opener Faiz Fazal scored an unbeaten half-century to take them to 123 for 3 at stumps.

Mohammad Amir has been released from Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset after serving half of his six-month sentence

David Hopps01-Feb-2012Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been released from Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in a spot-fixing scam.Amir is expected to spend the next few weeks in London before returning to his native Pakistan. He will meet his lawyers to draw up an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the five-year ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council.He has a visa to stay in England until the end of March and there is no suggestion that he risks the threat of deportation.An ICC tribunal banned Amir for five years in February last year, his team-mate Mohammad Asif was given a seven-year ban, with two years suspended, and the captain, Salman Butt, was banned for ten years, five suspended. Shortly after the decision Amir announced his intent to appeal the decision to the CAS, an arbitration body set up to settle disputes relating to sport.Amir and his two team-mates were sentenced in November 2011 at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010. Amir and Butt lost an appeal against the sentence in November in the Court of Appeal in London.The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, ruled at Southwark Crown Court that the affair was “so serious that only imprisonment will suffice”. Butt was sentenced to two and a half years, Asif was jailed for one year, and Amir for six months. Mazhar Majeed, the players’ agent, received a sentence of two years eight months. Under the terms of UK law, all were eligible for release after serving half their sentences.Majeed had boasted to undercover reporters that he could arrange for Pakistan cricketers to rig elements of games for money. He was surreptitiously filmed accepting £150,000 in cash from a journalist.Mr Justice Cooke said: “‘It’s not cricket’ was an adage. It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it which make the offences so serious.”Amir apologised through his lawyer for his involvement in spot-fixing, stating: “I want to apologise to all in Pakistan and all others to whom cricket is important. I did the wrong thing. I was trapped, because of my stupidity. I panicked.”The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said in the Court of Appeal that the corruption had been “carefully prepared” and the cricketers had betrayed their team, their country, their sport and the “followers of the game throughout the world”. Lord Judge accepted that Amir’s guilty plea should be counted in his favour.Amir seemed to contravene his playing ban last summer by appearing for Addington 1743 Cricket Club in the Surrey League. He insisted that he had been told it was only a friendly and that he had made an innocent mistake. It was later reported that the ICC had decided to let Amir off with a warning.