Cricket World Cup: Mohammad Amir’s absence for match fixing a sad case, writes Robert Craddock

WHEN cricket’s World Cup starts in Australia, every big name cricketer in the world will be there, except for one: Mohammad Amir.

Bowler Mohammad Amir celebrates after claiming the wicket of Matt Prior during the day 2 of the 4th England v Pakistan test match at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England 27/08/2010.

THE music world used to have The Three Tenors but cricket has The Three Sinners; a rogue captain, a dodgy quick and a kid who swam with the sharks and got eaten alive.

When cricket’s World Cup starts in Australia next month every big name cricketer in the world will be there, except for one. And a very special one at that.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir was the game’s most promising quick when he took 6-84 against England at Lord’s in August, 2010.

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The sad thing was he also deliberately bowled two no-balls as part of a match-fixing sting secretly organised by the now defunct News Of The World newspaper.

One minute he was a national hero, a few months later he was spending a six month term in an English jail, banned from the game for five years.

His captain Salman Butt, who helped set up the sting, and fellow fast man Mohammad Asif who also bowled no-balls, went with him.

The International Cricket Council is this week considering a proposal to allow Amir to play domestic cricket in Pakistan as a way of getting him back in the system before his ban ends in August.

Mohammad Amir overstepping the crease on the third ball of the third over on day two of the fourth England-Pakistan Test match at Lord's in 2010.

He is just 22 and has the potential to play for another decade but there are no guarantees of anything for traumatised youngsters and convicted match fixers in any sport, particularly in the volatile world of Pakistani cricket.

His body will be back, but what about his head?

The cricket world rightfully has precious little sympathy for the well-educated, shamelessly manipulative captain Butt who sat in the back of the car while a corrupt player agent asked Amir to do him a favour and bowl the no-balls.

Nor do they care about much about serial offender Mohammad Asif who has twice tested positive for steroids and was once detained for three weeks at the Dubai airport when he was found with recreational drugs in his wallet.

But Amir’s case has always been the heartbreaker.

At the time he was 18 and, mentally, a very young 18, one of seven children from a family who still reside in a remote, impoverished village two hours south of Islamabad.

He did the crime so he had to do the time. No question. But if an 18-year-old cricketer cannot put his faith in his Test skipper who on this earth can he trust?

Mohammad Amir was named Pakistan’s Man of the Series in 2010.

Even before the full story was known worldly characters like West Indian great Michael Holding was tipping on air that he was a puppet rather than the wicked marionette.

Holding was so upset that he had to stop talking about Amir on one broadcast on the final day of the Lord’s Test because he was on the verge of tears.

It took some time for Amir’s story to speak publicly about the incident but when he did it was obvious that he was a young lost in a sinister world.

Before the series against England Amir had barely bowled a no-ball in his life and was so bad at acting that Butt asked him to practice bowling no-balls in the nets.

Even that did not help. One of his no-balls was so blatant he overstepped the crease by about 20 centimetres. It looked terrible. Even his coach, Waqar Younis, became suspicious of his motives and asked him during a lunch break what he was up to.

At that point Amir became frozen with fear until Butt intervened and said “I was trying to make him go forward and bowl a bouncer.’’

Amir was in the middle of one of the great spells of his life when Butt came over and said “you remember don’t you?’’ as a reminder to bowl the second no-ball.

Cover of the News Of The World newspaper with the headline 'CAUGHT!' that exposed Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif’s three blatant no-balls.

“I felt like I had been shot,’’ Amir told former English captain Mike Atherton in an excellent interview after being released from prison.

“My entire life was destroyed. For five days I could not eat. I got cramps even when I was just sitting. I could scarcely swallow water. I felt like I wasn’t in this world anymore.’’

“It was all beyond my comprehension. My emotions were all over the place.’’

Every move Aamir made he was shadowed by Butt.

“I had no idea who to turn to and who to trust. Everyone was saying they could help me. What I was thinking was that the man whom I’d trusted the most (Butt) had landed me in trouble. After that who could I possibly trust? And how could I know that person would help me? I couldn’t find the courage to talk it through with anyone.’’

When Amir returns to cricket he will probably be selected again for Pakistan but there is talk that the current team want none of the three back, feeling their very presence will give a sinister overtone to anything unusual event.

That is the inescapable truth.

The stench of being a match fixer lingers forever.

Originally published as Cricket World Cup: Mohammad Amir’s absence for match fixing a sad case, writes Robert Craddock