Amir ban will be reviewed only after law revision

LONDON (AP) Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir's five-year ban will be reviewed only after the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption code is updated, the game's governing body said on Saturday.

The ICC board was informed that a more robust and strengthened anti-corruption code will be submitted for discussion and approval at the next meeting in January.

"The ICC board decided to review (Amir's) matter in due course after the revised anti-corruption code has been finalized and adopted," the ICC said in a statement after its two-day board meeting.

England's Giles Clarke heads a working group revising the laws under which Amir was banned for five years in 2010 for spot-fixing during a test at Lord's.

Amir was jailed in London for cheating and released early for good behavior, while former teammates Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were also jailed and banned for several years.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi, who also raised Amir's case in the last ICC meeting a few months back, yet again made a "passionate pitch" before the board on Saturday to enable the fast bowler's return to first-class cricket much earlier than its scheduled end in September 2015.

The PCB also hired a British Queen's Counsel to plead Amir's case.

"The British QC ... has argued that keeping in view the acceptance of guilt by Amir the ban has become unjust and perverse," the PCB said in a statement.

The PCB also said Clarke has "assured Najam Sethi that he would work with him to find ways and means of positively reviewing the young fast bowler's case."

In other developments, Bangladesh Cricket Board's request was accepted to give them more time for completion of stadia for the 2014 World Twenty20. The format and schedule will be announced in Dhaka on Oct. 27.

Afghanistan's dream qualification for the 2015 World Cup earned the war-torn country $1.1 million as part of the ICC's targeted assistance performance program.