LAHORE – Fast bowler Mohammad Amir said Tuesday he was expecting ‘good news’ from the ICC tribunal after the postponement in the announcement of the verdict in the spot-fixing case.
The tribunal, which was to announce the verdict on Tuesday, said the announcement will now be made on February 5.
He said: “I’m feeling pretty good. When the prayers of the nation are with you, then you have hope and you are not scared.” “When the nation’s prayers are with you, you don’t feel so scared and there is hope,” Amir told reporters outside an office tower in Doha. “It’s been difficult to sleep over the last few nights but my eyes are open now and when good news comes I will hopefully be able to close them properly.
“We are satisfied with how things have gone, and my family’s prayers are also with me. I’m feeling good and am hoping for some good news.”
Amir’s lawyer Shahid Karim said he was hoping for a positive verdict.
“I am satisfied that the hearing has been very good and impartial, and I can say from our point of view at least we are hopeful,” he said. “The onus is now on the judges.”
Karim said: “It has been a very good and impartial hearing. From our point of view at least we’re hopeful and now the onus is on the judges. We’ve requested that judges look carefully, properly and with due consideration before they announce the verdict.”
Butt arrived just five minutes before the hearing, which has become customary.
He found time to sign a cricket bat for Nasir Iqbal, 33, from Lahore, one of a handful of fans who have collected outside the Qatar Financial Centre.
Another fan, 23-year-old Mohammad Faisal Ali, who also had a hat signed, told Butt: “Good luck. Hope they clear you. We need you back for the World Cup.”
