Amir let off with a warning for breach of ban

Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir, who flouted his international ban following the spot-fixing controversy by playing in a Surrey league game, has reportedly been let off with a warning from the ICC.

"He was warned as to his future conduct and was reminded in the strongest terms of the conditions of his ban," ICC spokesperson Colin Gibson was quoted as saying in the Daily Star.

Amir, 19, turned out for Addington against St Luke's in June, and played a starring role for his side with bat and ball in a limited-overs game. The ECB then launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his appearance in the fixture, which fell under its regulatory jurisdiction. Amir claimed that he played the game on the understanding that it did not contravene the terms of his ban.

"I was informed by club representatives before the game that it was a friendly match, being played on a privately-owned cricket ground," Amir had told PakPassion.net. "I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me that the match did not. I spoke to several club representatives about the issue and they all told me that it was a friendly match and therefore would not contravene my ban from the ICC. I was informed that I was fine to play.

"I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban. Wherever I am going to play cricket, the world will know about it. I would not be stupid enough to play in a match where I knew that I would be taking a risk".

This was not the first time Amir has appeared in a game which has had to be investigated by cricket authorities. In January, when he was under provisional suspension and still awaiting punishment for the Lord's scandal, he turned out for a Rawalpindi club to play a friendly game. That prompted the ICC and PCB to investigate the nature of the game before the former eventually concluded that it was an unofficial game and the club wasn't registered with the Rawalpindi cricket association; Amir was thus found to have not broken the ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct on that occasion.