BBC receives flak for Amir 'spot-fixer' jibe

Pakistan left-arm bowler Muhammad Amir may have started off the tour of England with a remarkable return as he took three wickets against Somerset, however, it seems his past will continue to haunt him.

As many praised the bowler for his outstanding performance, an unforgiving BBC Sports reported the match day’s summary with the headline: “Spot-fixer Amir takes three wickets on return.”

Amir humiliates batsmen on England return

The headline did not settle well with most as Twitter users criticised BBC Sports for being 'unethical' and 'biased' towards the Pakistani pacer:

Testing return: Salman backs Amir to succeed in England

Even fellow cricketers criticised BBC’s headline:

Lord's return a dream come true, says Amir

Amir took three for 36 in 11 overs against Somerset, including the wicket of former England opener Marcus Trescothick, as he served a notice he could be a threat in the upcoming Test series against England.

Later, Trescothick warned England's batsmen to expect a tough time in the middle facing Amir.

"You get a lot of bowlers who swing it quite early, but he [Amir] was swinging it late and as it was coming down the pitch you were almost guessing whether it was an inswinger or whether it was one of the straight ones," he said.

"On that performance yes he will cause problems for England," he added.

On Monday, England Test captain Alastair Cook also warned the left-armer to expect a hostile reception from fans when he takes to the pitch at Lord’s for the first Test on July 14.

The 24-year-old was previously convicted of spot-fixing on the same venue in 2010 and was subsequently banned from the sport for five years. He made an international comeback earlier this year against New Zealand after serving his time.