Pakistan Cricketers Found Guilty of Corruption

Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been left distraught after been found guilty today of their part in a “spot-fixing” scam that has left the sport in taters.

The men will be sentenced later this week and Butt faces up to seven years in jail or a fine. They have already been banned from playing by the International Cricket Council for at least five years,

Former captain Butt, 27, and opening fast bowler Asif, 28, had pleaded innoncence to the charges in the past to cheating and conspiracy by accepting corrupt payments to bowl no balls at pre-arranged times during a Lords test. It has now been revealed that Asif had pleaded guilty to the charges.

But a jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court found Butt guilty of both charges and Asif guilty of conspiring to cheat. They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord’s Test match against England last summer.

Spot-betting involves gamblers staking money on specific details of sporting encounters such as the exact timing of the first throw-in during a football match or, as in this case, when a no-ball will be bowled.

After deliberating for nearly 17 hours, the jury unanimously convicted Butt and Asif of conspiracy to cheat. The jurors also found Butt guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments by a majority of 10 to two.

The jury has not yet reached a verdict on whether Asif was also guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, and is continuing its deliberations.

Butt and Asif were charged after a tabloid newspaper alleged they took bribes to bowl deliberate no-balls.

The court heard the players, along with fast bowler Mohammad Amir, conspired with UK-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, to fix parts of the Lord’s Test last August.

Three intentional no-balls were delivered during the match between Pakistan and England from August 26 to 29 last year.

Prosecutors said Butt and Asif had been motivated by greed to “contaminate” a match watched by millions of people and “betray” their team, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the sport itself.

Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC said the case “revealed a depressing tale of rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket”.

Following the verdict, former Pakistan cricket captain Asif Iqbal told BBC 5Live it was a “sad day for cricket” and said the case would send out a “huge message”.

Former England fast bowler Angus Fraser said it could be a “watershed” for cricket.

“It shows young cricketers that there is a consequence to their behaviour. In the past players have been banned and then they have come back,” he told BBC 5Live.

“The International Cricket Council has got to support the players, see these signs and help them out of predicaments, but also see (that) if players do commit these offences they are punished severely.”