Mike Brearley, the former England captain, has said that Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler currently in prison for his role in the spot-fixing scandal, should be treated more leniently. Brearley said the pressure put on young players to fix spots or matches can be "appalling" and, should they admit their guilt and be willing to play their part in the fight against corruption, they ought to be given a second chance.
"We also need to recognise that the pressure put on the young player by criminal bookies or their agents, or by their corrupt team-mates, can be appalling," Brearley said in his Voice of Cricket Lecture at the Raj Singh Dungarpur World Cricket Summit in Mumbai. "As a result, some of those involved might need to be treated with compassion, especially if they admit their guilt and are willing to be enlisted in the battle against corruption. Deterrent and retributive justice tempered with mercy and discrimination is vital in sentencing and punishing.
"I don't think the whole truth has been told yet, or can be told. The 18-year old Mohammad Amir, who was subject to pressure and was, I believe, uninterested in any illegal financial gain, should have been, and I think should now be, treated much more leniently."
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