Stuart Broad speaks about match-fixing, Mohammad Amir and his best Test innings
England fast bowler Stuart Broad has "no hard feelings" about playing against Mohammad Amir but believes that there should be a lifetime ban on fixers. He also spoke about his century at Lord's against Pakistan in 2010 but is annoyed that the game will be "remembered for the wrong reasons".
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Broad said: "In Amir's case I certainly have no hard feelings about playing against him again. What he did was wrong but he was extremely young and maybe not aware of the consequences. The reality is he's back in the game and has served his time.
"I have a little bit of sympathy for Amir but once you've received money to do something illegal that is always a bad thing. We are very well-educated by the ICC's anti-corruption unit, but at 18 years old you are potentially more vulnerable and susceptible to your elders.
Speaking about the way to get rid of match fixing, he said: "I am strongly of the view that one of the only ways we will ever expel this awful (match-fixing) disease from our game is to hand out lifetime bans for any kind of fixing.
"As an 18-year-old if you know the punishment is a lifetime ban from anything to do with cricket — playing, coaching, anything — that should be it. It would be a very scary thought.”
Broad speaks about his best-ever innings
The fast bowler also spoke about the last time that England met Pakistan at Lord's and the occasion of his only Test century, which he called his "best-ever innings".
"Of course it annoys me that that game will always be connected with what went on. Lord's is the home of cricket. It's a wonderful place to play and that Test match will always be remembered for the wrong reasons.
"It was my best-ever innings, my only Test century and coming in tough circumstances as well. It was a good battle and I'll never forget the feeling I got running through for that hundred.
"From what we know, the three Pakistan players weren't actually fixing the game as a whole — a no-ball doesn't affect if I hit a four or not — so I can still look back with a lot of pride on scoring that hundred. But of course it was tarnished by what happened."
The 30-year-old also spoke about the tension that came along with the ODI series, which came on the back of the whole scandal.
"The one-day series after that was ugly, there was so much going on it became really vicious," said Broad. "We had Ijaz Butt saying we were the cheats. Trotty (Jonathan Trott) and Wahab Riaz had a fight. It hardly caused a ripple but Shoaib Akhtar was pictured scratching the ball with his boot in the final game. Nothing positive came out of the summer.
"Three of their players had been implicated but there were stories it was going to happen in the one-day series and allegations they'd fixed a game against Australia in Sydney. There was a never-ending cycle of news coming through and you had to work really hard to put it out of your mind and remain as professional as possible."
Pakistan take on England in the first Test at Lord's on July 14 and the England fast bowler will be hoping to start the series with a win.