That match saw Amir and Pakistan new-ball partner Mohammad Asif deliberately bowl no-balls on the instructions of then captain Salman Butt as part of a newspaper “sting” operation.
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The 25-year-old, who was brought in to replace injured James Anderson, looked threatening early on, and was duly rewarded in his second spell when he trapped Azhar Ali lbw to pick up his first worldwide wicket.
While the likes of former Pakistan batsman Rameez Raja have expressed doubts about the wisdom of letting Amir back into worldwide cricket, players on both sides have accepted the situation.
What made the fact it was Cook who was twice reprieved off his bowling all the more poignant, was that the England skipper had said that if it was down to him, all fixers, including Amir, would be banned for life. Amir is a long way from the main risk in the Pakistan knocking down some pins line-up additionally highlighting kindred leg-spinner Yasir Shah and left-armed Wahab Riaz.
Talking to media at Lord’s on Wednesday, Pakistan Captain Misbah-ul-Haq expressed hope that Muhammad Amir could deal with all the emotion and hype surrounding his return to Test cricket.
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar is anticipating “something special” from Pakistan quick Mohammad Amir ahead of Pakistan’s first Test against England on Thursday.
The combative Riaz is looking to target Root, now promoted to No. 3 by England.
For Root, whose Yorkshire colleague Gary Ballance has been recalled at number five, that was just “trash talk”.
There was no overstep either, from the bowler who did so to order for financial gain on his last appearance here, as Amir was allowed to go about his job in peace but to little effect.
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Debutant Jake Ball is hopeful the late double dismissal Pakistan endured can swing momentum England’s way in the first Test at Lord’s. The pressure will be on Alex Hales and Alastair Cook, who recently became the youngest cricketer to reach the 10,000 run mark in test cricket. But an unconcerned Riaz said: “We are not anxious about what England has picked or they haven’t picked”. If the team will perform at full potential, it is definitely going to be a tough series for England. But seriously, what is it about captains of Asian cricket teams at Lord’s? He said that Pakistan and Turkmenistan enjoy deep rooted diplomatic, historic, cultural and religious ties since the time of inception of our relations.
