The Pakistani players had plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last year. The prosecutors said the trio had conspired with British agent Mazher Majeed to bowl the no-balls as part of a plot that revealed "rampant corruption.” Here a combination photograph shows former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif and former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt (right) arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London on November 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011 respectively. Butt and Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments on Tuesday.REUTERS
The Pakistani players had plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last year. The prosecutors said the trio had conspired with British agent Mazher Majeed to bowl the no-balls as part of a plot that revealed "rampant corruption.” Here a combination photograph shows former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif and former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt (right) arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London on November 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011 respectively. Butt and Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments on Tuesday.REUTERSA whiteboard used by reporters shows that former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt and cricketer Mohammad Asif have both been found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and guilty of conspiring to accept corrupt payments, at Southwark Crown court in London November 1, 2011.REUTERSFormer Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt looks down as he leaves Southwark Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and also guilty of conspiring to accept corrupt payments, in London November 1, 2011.REUTERSPakistani batsman Salman Butt completes his half century against Sri Lanka during their second one-day match in Lahore October 14, 2004. Sri Lanka scored 293 for six against Pakistan in the last match of a triangular one-day tournament on Thursday.REUTERSFormer Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif arrives at Southwark Crown Court, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, in London November 1, 2011.REUTERSPakistan's Mohammed Asif (left) celebrates his dismissal of South Africa's Hashim Amla on the third day of their third cricket test match at Newlands in Cape Town January 28, 2007.REUTERSPakistani cricketer Mohammad Amir admitted the charges two week prior to the trial. Here, Mohammad Amir leaves after appearing before a three-member independent anti-corruption tribunal in Doha January 11, 2011.REUTERS
Former Pakistan Test cricket captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif were found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to cheat and of conspiring to accept corrupt payments by the Southwark Crown Court in London.
The court found that the Pakistani players had plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a test match against England, at Lord's last year. Another bowler, Mohammad Amir, confessed to the charges prior to the trial. All three players are facing the prospect of prison terms.
The prosecutors said the trio had conspired with British agent Mazher Majeed to bowl no-balls as part of a plot that revealed "rampant corruption."
Mazher Mahmood, the former investigative editor of News of the World, who broke the sensational story, told the court he approached Majeed pretending to be an Indian businessman. Majeed, 36, has also been charged with the same offences but was not standing trial.
This latest news comes as yet another blow to a sport still reeling from the match-fixing scandals stemming from South African cricketer Hansie Cronje's conviction in 2000. The reports now, however, seem unanimous that cheating will no longer be tolerated in the game of cricket.
The International Cricket Council -- the game's international governing body -- expressed similar sentiments after Tuesday's verdicts, while the England and Wales Cricket Board reiterated its policy of zero tolerance of corruption in sport, reported the BBC.
