AFP/Rawalpindi
Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Aamer showed no signs of rustiness as he made his return after a five-year spot-fixing ban yesterday, bagging three wickets in his first spell in competitive cricket since 2010.
The 22-year-old bowled with pace and aggression to snare three scalps in an opening stint of six overs for the Omar Associates side at the former Test ground in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad. Aamer was cleared to return to domestic cricket early from his ban for bowling no-balls to order against England in 2010, but his first match, planned for earlier this week, was rained off.
The three-day match that started yesterday against the Capital Development Authority is part of the grade-two Patron’s Trophy tournament, one level down from first-class. It made for a relatively easy reintroduction to cricket for the left-armer, whose pace, control and ability to swing the ball both ways saw him become the youngest bowler, at 18, to take 50 Test wickets.
He was one of three Pakistani players banned from the game for at least five years for arranging no-balls to order in the notorious Lord’s Test against England in 2010. He was also jailed in Britain in 2011, along with former captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. Aamer’s ban was due to expire on September 2, but the International Cricket Council used discretionary powers to allow him to return to domestic cricket early, citing his early admission of guilt and cooperation with anti-corruption authorities.
Sri Lanka’s Jayawardene to play with Sussex
Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene has agreed to play with Sussex in the first half of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition, the county cricket club said.
Jayawardene, who is currently taking part in the 50-overs World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, will be available for the first seven matches of Sussex’s campaign, beginning with the match against Kent on May 15.
Jayawardene said he was looking forward to his stint with Sussex and hoped to give their title hopes a boost. “I am really exciting about basing myself down at Hove and playing for Sussex during the first half of the summer,” he said in a statement. “Sussex is a great club with a proud history and I want to help them win the NatWest T20 Blast this year.”
The 37-year-old, who has scored more than 10,000 runs in both Test and one-day international formats, ended his Twenty20 career last year after compiling almost 1,500 runs in 55 matches. He signed off by helping Sri Lanka beat India in the Twentt20 World Cup final in April in Bangladesh. Jayawardene has already called time on his Test career and will play his last ODI for Sri Lanka at the World Cup.
Mohammad Aamer celebrates after taking a wicket during a local match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. (AFP)
