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International Cricket

Michael Atherton says young Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamir was in the "the grip of evil" and should be given chance.

Cricketer-turned-journalist Atherton said he hopes to see the 18-year-old Aamir getting a fresh chance to mend his ways.

"Nasser Hussain, who I once saw walking around the team hotel in Sri Lanka in the early hours of the morning before a Test match unable to sleep, so worried was he about his form, spoke for us all when he said, 'Please don't let it be the kid'," Atherton wrote in 'The News of the World'.

"The 'kid' in question was Mohammad Aamir, the young, good looking and prodigiously talented Pakistan bowler who had blown England away on the second morning at Lord's with a mesmeric spell of left-arm fast bowling and who now, we had been told, had overstepped the front line twice for a few dollars more," he added.

Atherton, however, said underperforming for money is worse than even flunking a dope test.

"It is worse than doping, because the fixer is deliberately trying to underperform, so deceiving the paying public."

The former batsman said though he hopes to see lenient treatment for Aamir, the ICC is "unlikely to show any clemency now".

"This is not necessarily arbitrary or unfair; simply a realisation that there are mitigating circumstances for an 18-year old...It would be grossly unfair to ban a kid for life for overstepping the line twice.

Former South Africa bowler Henry Williams has called for Mohammad Aamer to be treated with compassion if found guilty of spot fixing.

Williams was banned for six months in 2000 for his role in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal after admitting to accepting money to underperform in a one-day international.

He believes that, if guilty, the highly promising 18-year-old Aamer, who denies any wrongdoing, would have succumbed to peer pressure and must be shown leniency.

"This was a terrible offence, a disaster for cricket across the whole world," Williams told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme.

"I think they will get life bans which I don't think is fair, especially for this young guy Aamer.

"Aamer is a world-class cricketer who is 18 years old. His career lies ahead of him. At his age he shouldn't get a life ban.

"He should be fined and get a ban for two or three years. Then he should be brought back into the system because he's still young.

"If a young player is approached by the captain or a senior player, they should report them. But of course they will fear for their selection in the next game.

"If they accept, they accept for the rest of their lives. When they are found guilty they will regret it.

"Walk the right path, don't ever get involved in evil like this."

Aamir, fellow pacer Mohammad Asif and Pakistan captain Salman Butt  have been suspended after a sting operation by a tabloid revealed that they bowled no-balls to order during the Lord's Test against England last week.

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