Amir: There are no issues with Cookie
Star eyes Championship glory
MOHAMMAD AMIR says there is no bad blood with Alastair Cook and is concentrating on helping deliver Essex a first County Championship title in 25 years.
The Pakistan fast bowler, fresh from his country’s Champions Trophy win, will make his Essex debut alongside Cook against Middlesex at Chelmsford on Monday.
That pink ball Championship match will pit last season’s title winners against the team who, after yesterday’s innings victory against Warwickshire, remain top of the table in their first summer back in Division One for seven years.
Essex have not won the title since 1992, but hopes are high of emulating that feat over the coming weeks.
Cook is likely to only play a handful of games with Amir, 25.The Pakistani, though, insists the pair’s history will not be an issue.
The former England captain was part of the team who played Pakistan in the 2010 Lord’s Test during which Amir bowled no balls to order, landing him with a prison term and a five-year ban. Last summer Cook, speaking before Amir’s comeback Test series in England, admitted he would ban those found guilty of fixing for life, before adding: “What he did wasn’t good, but he served his punishment.”
Asked about his relationship with Cook, Amir, who met the opener when he visited Chelmsford on Monday, said: “I met him the first day I arrived and he was very nice. He actually said to me a very funny thing – ‘I want to learn Urdu – so you have to teach me’.”
On whether he could help his new club land what would be a remarkable Championship title win, Amir said: “I do believe anything is possible.
“Winning the Champions Trophy was a career booster for me and I will use that confidence. The people I’ve met here are very nice and very hopeful. It’s my duty to make the people here happy.”
Amir name-checked a Pakistan legend who spent over a decade in county cricket when explaining why he opted to make this move.
“Wasim Akram always believed his cricket improved after county cricket and for me it’s a good opportunity to do that,” he added.