Spot-fixing hearing: Mohammad Amir’s lawyer says that deferment of the verdict is a positive sign
Mohammad Amir’s lawyer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755
played in August of last year.
Along with Amir, his fellow teammates Mohammad Asif and former Test captain Salman Butt are also alleged to be involved in the matter. The six-day hearing of the spot-fixing case began on the 6th of January. All three
players were expecting a decision on their fate on the final day of hearing (Tuesday the 11th). However, the ICC tribunal hearing the case opted to defer the announcement of the decision till February 5th.
Karim has been satisfied with the hearing of the case and stated that a delayed verdict will benefit his client. He said, “The last day of the hearing was very positive. It could be a silver lining for us. I hope Amir will be exonerated
next month when the verdict will be announced."
Before the tribunal’s deferral of the decision, Karim had commented that the case is of high importance and a ruling should be made after considering every aspect of the case. Only a few hours after these remarks, Karim was granted
his wish.
Amir’s lawyers have held a stance, even before the hearing began, that their client’s age and untarnished past record will assist the young left-arm pacer.
“I am happy with the procedure of the hearing. The ICC code of conduct has a clause which points to looking at the player's age and past disciplinary record and Amir is young, so we hope the tribunal will keep this in mind,” he
added.
Unlike Amir, Butt and Asif have put themselves in a much more complicated situation. Differences between the two players grew during the course of the hearing which is believed to have hampered their respective cases. Both players
were in fact cross-examined by each other’s lawyers during the 6-day hearing.
Sections of the media and cricketing experts have spoken against the tribunal’s choice of a deferral. The argument presented is that even if the players are pronounced innocent, a delay till the 5th of February effectively
ends the players’ prospects of participating in the 2011 World Cup. Others, however, believe that the case is imperative for the cricketing world as a whole and no hasty judgments should be made.
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