Thaindian News

London, June 11 (IANS) Mohammed Aamer might be in trouble for playing club cricket in Surrey but the players of the sides involved in the match were full of praise for the Pakistani bowler and awed by his talent.

The 19-year-old, serving a five-year ban for spot fixing, turned out for Addington 1743 against St Luke’s in a lowly Surrey League Division One fixture June 4, prompting the International Cricket Council (ICC) to launch fresh investigations against him.

The paceman was one of the three Pakistani cricketers, who were banned for spot fixing in the Lord’s Test against England last August.

Aamer, who faces the risk of having his ban extended, hopes his explanation that he was not aware that he was playing in an official league match is accepted by the ICC.

His teammates at Addington, too, are hoping that he wriggles out of the fresh trouble.

“He arrived really early with a few of the other guys. He was very down-to-earth. No one would have known he was an international star. He was giving tips to some of the lads on how to bowl and he just got on with playing cricket,” Addington batsman Raheal Shafi was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph.

Shafi said they came to know about Aamer before the toss but were told by the club that they had got the permission to field him.

“We realised who he was only when the team sheets were handed in just before the toss. Of course, we knew about the ban, but Addington told us that they had got permission to field him,” he said.

“His first over he was obviously holding back and was hit for seven runs, which he clearly didn’t enjoy because he stepped it up a gear in the next over. I would say even though he wasn’t bowling at full capacity he was still at least 10 miles per hour faster than anything we normally face.

“He was a nice guy and I just hope playing for us does not get him into trouble. We thought we would ask if he was available and would like to play the rest of the season for us, so it came as a big shock to find it all in the newspapers,” he said.

St. Luke’s wicketkeeper Matthew Quade said it was fantastic for them to play against a bowler of Aamer’s stature.

“We were a bit daunted but it was a great opportunity to face one of the world’s great bowlers,” Quade said.

“His bowling was so accurate, very impressive indeed. I would describe the standard of our games as average and he certainly wasn’t that. It was fantastic for us to play against such a big name in the game even if he did take four for nine. I faced two balls from him and survived them so I was delighted.”