Lord’s Test umpires suspected Aamer of bowling deliberate no-ball

WELLINGTON - New Zealand umpires Tony Hill and Billy Bowden suspected Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamer of bowling a deliberate no-ball to England batsman Jonathan Trott during the fourth Test at Lord’s.

But Hill, who officiated in the controversial Test match alongside compatriot Bowden, said the no-ball seemed like a typical fast bowler’s move to distract batsman Trott, who was batting well at that time.

Hill broke his silence on cricket’s betting scam to The Dominion Post Wednesday.

“We never suspected a thing. There had been the big overstep by Aamer in particular and in our minds that was more a deliberate overstep to have a go at Trott, who had been batting so well,” said Hill.

“Billy and I chatted about that and thought it seemed deliberate, especially as it was dropped in short. But it all seemed to be one of those things that fast bowlers have been known to do to get an advantage.”

Hill recalled and said he stood at the end where Mohammad Asif overstepped by a small margin while Bowden was at the other end where Aamer delivered his giant no-ball.

“The one at my end from Asif was not a helluva lot over.”

“He is generally pretty accurate with his front foot. It is the Glenn McGrath type thing where the foot comes down always in the same spot.

“When it alters slightly you think it is unusual but like McGrath, or anyone when they try harder, can occasionally go over,” Hill said.

Hill got to know about the spot-fixing scandal after the third day’s play when he and Bowden were informed that the News of the World reporter filmed bookie Mazhar Majeed accepting 150,000 pounds on behalf of the suspended trio of Aamer, Asif and Salman Butt.

“We ended up with meetings the night before the last day.

“As the story was breaking we were being kept up to speed. So rather than hitting the sack at 8.30 p.m. as you tend to before another full day’s play, we were still up at 10.30 p.m. making sure we knew what was going on and what may or may not happen the next day. We had to make sure we had our head around all the circumstances that might turn up. It was quite weird,” Hill recalled.

The test concluded early on the fourth morning at Lord’s and Hill said he would never forget the sombre atmosphere out there in the middle.

“It was very quiet out there. Both teams were very quiet. You always expected something to be said out there but it wasn’t.

“They just got on with playing the game. From our point of view it was a matter of trying to concentrate like hell so we were not caught up in the moment. I was expecting a few verbals, but thankfully both sides concentrated on the cricket side of things. It was almost quiet,” he said.

Aamer, Asif and Salman Butt Tuesday appealed to the ICC indicating their intention to defend the spot-fixing charges slapped against them.