Doubt about Fawad Ahmed having a long international career

THE Pakistan-bred leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed arrived in England yesterday amid suspicions he might be three years older than claimed.

THE Pakistan-bred leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed arrived in England yesterday to prepare for his expected recruitment to Australia's Ashes squad amid suspicions that he might be three years older than claimed.

Cricket Australia's website gives Fawad's birth date as February 5, 1982, which would make him 31, but before he arrived in Melbourne in 2010 seeking asylum, archivists recorded his year of birth as being 1979 or 1980. If correct, that would cast doubt on his ability to have a long international career.

When Fawad's name was added last week to the Australia A party touring Britain - only hours after the House of Representatives in Canberra amended the Citizenship Act, clearing the way for his passport claim to be fast-tracked - national selector John Inverarity justified his call-up by saying he was a developing player.

"We are pleased to be able to provide emerging cricketers with an opportunity to show their abilities," Inverarity said.

In reality, Fawad, who was born near Swabi, close to the Afghan border, had a long career at district and first-class level before leaving Pakistan. Data gathered during this phase of his career led the Cricket Archive website to give his birthdate as March 10, 1979.

District teams entering tournaments were required to send biographical details including photographs of squad members to the Pakistan Cricket Board and Philip Bailey, the general editor of Cricket Archive, said those forms were the basis for his website's information.

"It is common for Pakistan players to change their birth dates to make themselves eligible for youth cricket. Later, they may admit to an earlier date when it no longer matters. Sometimes the player himself is genuinely unsure of his birth date. We don't plan to change our records in respect of Fawad Ahmed," Bailey said.

There is no formal register of births in Pakistan and the ages of many cricketers there have been queried. Fawad claims that he gave erroneous documents to Cricket Australia after arriving in the country, where he sought asylum from militants who had persecuted him for promoting Western culture by playing and coaching cricket.

"I had given the original documents (relating to his birth) to Cricket Australia but there were errors in the dates," he told an interviewer from the PakPassion website. "They are now being changed. The original numbers were February 5, 1980, but I have provided the documents to Cricket Australia via the government to show that my correct date of birth is February 5, 1982."

He insists he can play for several years.

"Brad Hogg played for Australia (in Twenty20 matches) at the age of 41. Stuart MacGill played domestic cricket late . . . Shane Warne is still playing. I believe I can play at least six or seven years with ease as I place a lot of importance on fitness."

Fawad's initial asylum application was rejected last year but he was subsequently given permanent residency, which let him represent Victoria in the Big Bash League and Sheffield Shield. He took 16 wickets in three Shield games and bowled impressively in the nets.

Some have hailed him as Australia's best spinner since Warne, who has coached him.

"He's got that surprise element and doesn't get flustered," Warne said. "He could be very good for Australia. He's got a mature head." Bryce McGain, also a leg-spinner, was 36 when he appeared for Australia against South Africa in 2009.

England is hardly in a position to look askance at Fawad's recruitment given their penchant for "turning" South Africans, although they did recently tighten the regulations, which now require foreigners to spend seven years in the country before becoming eligible.

"If I manage to become part of the Ashes team, nothing would make me happier," Fawad said. "Playing in the Ashes would be a dream come true."

THE SUNDAY TIMES