Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir gave Pakistan a boost ahead of their series with England by taking two wickets in quick succession as he returned to the fray against Ireland on Monday despite a troublesome knee injury. The Pakistan spearhead went off just 3.2 overs into his spell during the second innings of Ireland's inaugural Test on Sunday with a recurrence of a "chronic" left knee problem. It was a worrying sign for Pakistan, who next play a warm-up match against Leicestershire (May 19-20) before facing England in a two-Test series, with back-to-back fixtures at Lord's (May 24-28) and Headingley (June 1-5) leaving little time for rest and recovery.