Pakistan cricketers jailed for match-fixing
Three of the world's top cricketers were today jailed for match-fixing.
Pakistan former Test captain Salman Butt, 27, was jailed for 30 months at Southwark Crown Court for his part in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England last summer.
Fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, was jailed for one year and fellow paceman Mohammad Amir, 19, six months.
Corrupt cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, was jailed for two years and eight months for plotting to fix parts of Pakistan's Lord's and Oval Test matches last year.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard yesterday that Majeed had paid Asif £65,000 to stop him switching to a rival ring.
Asif received the money at the request of other players in his national side who feared he might be tempted to start working for another crooked gambling syndicate, the court was told.
The agent received £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter from the News of the World as part of an arrangement to rig games, including a promise that Amir and Asif would deliver three no-balls at pre-arranged points in the Lord's match.
He paid £2,500 of the money to Amir, £10,000 to Butt and £65,000 to Asif, and planned to give them more in the future, the court heard.
Explaining why Asif was paid so much more than his team-mates, Majeed's barrister, Mark Milliken-Smith QC, said: "The larger amount was paid in order to ensure that that player remained, as it were, loyal to these people, the players within the dressing room, rather than to others by whom he might be tempted."
Asif's lawyer, Alexander Milne QC, denied that the player received any money for bowling the no-ball at Lord's.
Majeed, a married businessman with three young children, from Croydon, claimed he only became involved in fixing at the request of Butt - whom he managed and was close friends with - the court heard.
Majeed has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to make corrupt payments.
Mr Milliken-Smith said his client did not recruit any of the Pakistan cricketers to fixing, telling the court: "He was, we respectfully submit, yes, the arranger for the players. He was not the corrupter."
Butt's barrister, Ali Bajwa QC, strongly denied Majeed's claims that the former captain initiated the fixing scam.
The International Cricket Council imposed five-year bans on all three cricketers in February over the deliberate no-balls at Lord's. They are all appealing against the suspensions.
Appealing for Butt to be given a suspended sentence, Mr Bajwa said the former Pakistan captain had been left almost penniless by the fixing scandal and went from a "national hero to a figure of contempt".
He said: "He has lost an extraordinary amount. He stands to lose almost the last thing that matters to him, his family."
Mr Milne said Asif enjoyed money, fame, glamour and popularity in Pakistan until he stepped slightly over the line to deliver a no-ball at Lord's exactly when Majeed predicted he would on August 26, 2010.
"It would be in some respects laughable if it were not so serious, but that one no-ball, the two inches I described to the jury, were effectively the end of his career," the barrister said.
Henry Blaxland QC, mitigating for Amir, quoted a statement to the court in which the young cricketer said he was not motivated to bowl two deliberate no-balls at Lord's by money but found himself trapped by his own stupidity.
Amir said: "I want to apologise to Pakistan and to everyone that cricket is important to. I do know how much damage this has done to the game, the game which I love as well, more than anything else in the world."
Three of the world's top cricketers were today jailed for match-fixing.
Pakistan former Test captain Salman Butt, 27, was jailed for 30 months at Southwark Crown Court for his part in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England last summer.
Fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, was jailed for one year and fellow paceman Mohammad Amir, 19, six months.
Corrupt cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, was jailed for two years and eight months for plotting to fix parts of Pakistan's Lord's and Oval Test matches last year.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard yesterday that Majeed had paid Asif £65,000 to stop him switching to a rival ring.
Asif received the money at the request of other players in his national side who feared he might be tempted to start working for another crooked gambling syndicate, the court was told.
The agent received £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter from the News of the World as part of an arrangement to rig games, including a promise that Amir and Asif would deliver three no-balls at pre-arranged points in the Lord's match.
He paid £2,500 of the money to Amir, £10,000 to Butt and £65,000 to Asif, and planned to give them more in the future, the court heard.
Explaining why Asif was paid so much more than his team-mates, Majeed's barrister, Mark Milliken-Smith QC, said: "The larger amount was paid in order to ensure that that player remained, as it were, loyal to these people, the players within the dressing room, rather than to others by whom he might be tempted."
Asif's lawyer, Alexander Milne QC, denied that the player received any money for bowling the no-ball at Lord's.
Majeed, a married businessman with three young children, from Croydon, claimed he only became involved in fixing at the request of Butt - whom he managed and was close friends with - the court heard.
Majeed has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to make corrupt payments.
Mr Milliken-Smith said his client did not recruit any of the Pakistan cricketers to fixing, telling the court: "He was, we respectfully submit, yes, the arranger for the players. He was not the corrupter."
Butt's barrister, Ali Bajwa QC, strongly denied Majeed's claims that the former captain initiated the fixing scam.
The International Cricket Council imposed five-year bans on all three cricketers in February over the deliberate no-balls at Lord's. They are all appealing against the suspensions.
Appealing for Butt to be given a suspended sentence, Mr Bajwa said the former Pakistan captain had been left almost penniless by the fixing scandal and went from a "national hero to a figure of contempt".
He said: "He has lost an extraordinary amount. He stands to lose almost the last thing that matters to him, his family."
Mr Milne said Asif enjoyed money, fame, glamour and popularity in Pakistan until he stepped slightly over the line to deliver a no-ball at Lord's exactly when Majeed predicted he would on August 26, 2010.
"It would be in some respects laughable if it were not so serious, but that one no-ball, the two inches I described to the jury, were effectively the end of his career," the barrister said.
Henry Blaxland QC, mitigating for Amir, quoted a statement to the court in which the young cricketer said he was not motivated to bowl two deliberate no-balls at Lord's by money but found himself trapped by his own stupidity.
Amir said: "I want to apologise to Pakistan and to everyone that cricket is important to. I do know how much damage this has done to the game, the game which I love as well, more than anything else in the world."
