Amir returned for Pakistan in the shorter formats earlier this year but it’s his pending appearance at Lord’s on Thursday – the same venue at which he committed his no-balls spot-fixing crime in 2010 – for the first Test against England that has brought the issue to a head. The duo along with then captain Salman Butt, were found guilty by an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal on 5 February, 2011 which led to their suspension for five years.
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Cook played down Amir’s return, while Misbah described it as a “big opportunity” for the 24-year-old.
The left-handed bowler is also expected to receive a hostile reception from local spectators. “Good pace, gets the ball to reverse swing, so it will be interesting to see how that goes throughout the series”.
Without him, Cook must deploy debutant Jake Ball alongside the novice’s Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad – with Steven Finn and Chris Woakes completing the seam attack.
The tour also witnessed Riaz and England batsman Jonathan Trott engage in a heated argument in the nets during the ODI series.
“You want to keep the pressure on him so that he will continue to make mistakes”.
England can leapfrog Pakistan and tie India with a 2-0 or 3-1 series win, but former skipper Botham insisted they’re are already the best side in the world regardless of where they are ranked come the end of the four Test matches.
Joe Root was set to fill Compton’s place at number three – even though his Test average as a top three batsman is under 34 compared to the mark of more than 63 batting at four or five.
“It is going to be hard work for us but it looks a really good wicket”, said Cook.
All three players spent time in jail too after a British court concluded in 2011 that they had committed criminal offenses by fixing parts of the test match for money by bowling no balls or instructing them to be bowled. “He’s served his time”, Cook reiterated on the match eve.
“I think the selectors decided that there are three other games, and he should be fit for Old Trafford”.
It means instead of having the services of a man who has 454 Test wicets to his name, England will give a debut to the promising yet unproven Jake Ball.
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Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali. England also has some quality players in the middle order as well who helped their team to get a good total when their openers failed in their series against Sri Lanka.
