Amir camp confident over fixing verdict

An ICC tribunal's decision to defer its spot-fixing verdict until next month will give renewed hope to suspended Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, his lawyer said yesterday.

Shahid Karim, who represented Amir at the International Cricket Concil's anti-corruption tribunal in Doha, is confident the player will be exonerated when the decision is announced on February 5.

"The last day of the (six-day] hearing was very positive," Karim said.

The three-man tribunal - headed by Michael Beloff - deferred its verdict as it wanted to deliberate after 45 hours of exhaustive hearings.

"It could be a silver lining for us," said Karim, who had also requested a delay of the ruling on Tuesday.

Three Pakistan players - Amir, Mohammad Asif and former captain Salman Butt - were suspended last September after the News of the World alleged they accepted payments for bowling prearranged no-balls in a Test against England.

The latest spot-fixing case against the Pakistan trio has been described as the biggest in cricket over the last decade, and the players could be banned for life if found guilty.

Karim said the tribunal had exonerated Amir from the spot-fixing charges in the Oval Test against England, with only the spot-fixing charge from the Lord's test remaining.

If the players are found guilty, they could challenge the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but Karim is not looking that far ahead.

"I haven't yet thought about that, I hope he (Amir] will be exonerated next month when the verdict will be announced," he said.