Amir return 'makes me sick': Swann

Former England spinner Graeme Swann admits he will feel sick when Mohammad Amir makes his return to Test cricket for Pakistan on Thursday.

Amir will return to the scene of his crime when he tackles England at Lord's next week, almost six years after he deliberately bowled no balls at the same venue during a Test in 2010.

Swann was among the England team that played against Pakistan at that Lord's Test in August 2010 and the 37-year-old believes it is a mistake that Amir is even allowed to return to Test cricket at all.

"Mohammad Amir will walk out on the green and glorious turf at Lord’s on Thursday — and it will make me feel sick," Swann said in his column in The Sun newspaper in England.

"This is a man who crushed the morality of the game. And yet he is being allowed back to play at the Home of Cricket.

"Amir should have been banned for life for his part in the corruption scandal of 2010.

"If you want to protect the integrity of the game, help cricket grow and inspire youngsters, there can be no place for corrupt players. You must have proper deterrents."

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is confident that Amir can make a successful return to Test cricket and that the left-arm quick has the full support of his teammates.

"Everyone has their opinion but now he is back everyone is supporting him and the whole team is there," Misbah said.

"Honestly speaking I don't care about these things. I'm just focused on what is going on in the middle. I have to focus on that and how he bowls and how he performs.

"He has the best chance to prove himself in the middle, not to worry about spectators saying something, never listen to them and focus on what is going on."

England counterpart Alastair Cook expects Amir will receive a hostile reception from the Lord's crowd, but is hoping that the action out on the field will provide the main talking points.

"I don't think I have got the power (to control crowd reaction)," Cook said.

"I think people pay good money to watch cricket and have an opinion on what they want to do. One thing we can hope for this series is that the cricket is what we all talk about.

"That is what we all want - we are talking about two good sides and they seem very united and we are going to have a really good Test series.

"I just hope we can talk about cricket and people's skills, someone taking a five-for or a match-winning innings - other stuff overshadows how good we are as a side and how good they are as a side.

"The one thing people have forgotten about is that the English-Pakistan relationship has been controversial over the 20 years but the last time we played in Abu Dhabi it was spot on.

"The spirit and respect we showed towards each other was the right level and hopefully with the external stuff here with Mohammad coming back we can continue that relationship."