Former Pakistani cricket captain, Salman Butt, was today sentenced to 30 months in jail after being found guilty of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments. Mohammad Asif was jailed for one year and Mohammad Amir was sentenced to six months. Cricketing agent, Mazhar Majeed, was jailed for two years and eight months for his part in the fixing scandal.

Judge Jeremy Cooke told the foursome at London’s Southwark Crown Court in no uncertain terms:

These offences, regardless of pleas, are so serious that only a sentence of imprisonment will suffice.

A jury of 12 returned their verdict a short while ago after nearly four days – 17 hours in total – of deliberation.

The cricketing trio had already received substantial suspensions from an International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal in Doha, Qatar, for fixing.

Butt had been banned for 10 years, five of which are suspended, Amir was banned for five years, and Asif seven – with two suspended.

During this trial, the prosecution claimed that Butt, 27, and Asif, 28, colluded with British agent Mazher Majeed to ensure the deliberate bowling of no-balls in the fourth Test against England in August last year at Lord’s.

Butt and Asif had pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy; however, jurors were unanimous in their decision that both players were guilty of conspiracy to cheat.

The jurors took another three hours to conclude that fast bowler Amir, 19, who had already pleaded guilty to charges of match fixing, was guilty of accepting money to fix parts of the match.

Betting agent, Majeed, was secretly filmed accepting $242 000 in cash from an undercover reporter saying that the three Pakistan players had accepted money to fix betting markets. He got the largest of the sentences – 32 months.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s World Cup captain, was rightly ashamed by it all:

Everybody knows that we have faced a great amount of shame for Pakistan and the team as well. I think this is a lesson for us to move in the right direction – especially for newcomers.

I really feel sorry for the family members of those players Salman Butt and Asif… This kind of blame becomes your identity for your whole life.

To add to his woes, apparently Butt’s wife had given birth to a son minutes before the player’s guilty verdict was read.

[Source: AlJazeera]