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Pakistan spot-fixing: Trio guilty of all charges
Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif could face jail sentences of up to seven years for the plot to rig events in the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's in August 2010 after guilty verdicts were delivered in the "spot-fixing" trial on Tuesday. The third player involved, the fast bowler Mohammad Amir, pleaded guilty on 16 September to charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and accepting corrupt payments.
Asif, who at the time of that fourth Test at Lord's was ranked the world's second-best bowler, and his captain, Butt, also had been charged with a conspiracy to cheat at gambling and to accept corrupt payments.
Butt was convicted on both charges. Asif was initially found guilty of having cheated at gambling but after further deliberation the jury reached a guilty verdict on the corrupt-payments allegation. The criminal conviction has been handed down on the day Butt's wife Gul gave birth to their second child, a boy, in Lahore.
The pair were impassive in the dock as Tuesday's verdicts came in, the culmination of three days' deliberations by the jury and of a trial spanning four weeks and two days at Southwark crown court.
Butt was found guilty on a 10-2 majority verdict over his acceptance of corrupt payments and both were found guilty unanimously of cheating. The verdict against Asif for accepting corrupt payments was a 10-2 majority.
It is the first time any sportsman has been convicted of cheating under the Gambling Act 2005. Sentencing will take place during a two-day hearing beginning on Wednesday and the three have been bailed until then. Butt left the court refusing to answer questions.
Sally Walsh, the senior lawyer in the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: "Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif deliberately and knowingly perverted the course of a cricket match for financial gain. Through their actions they brought shame on the cricketing world, jeopardising the faith and admiration of cricket fans the world over.
"This prosecution shows that match-fixing is not just unsportsmanlike but is a serious criminal act. The actions of these top international players went against everything expected of someone in their position and they failed to take into account their fans of all ages and nationalities when deciding to abandon the values of sportsmanship so unconditionally."
The England and Wales Cricket Board did not comment directly on the case but the chief executive, David Collier, believes bringing criminal cases against corrupt players should prove to be a "firm deterrent" to others.
Collier said in an ECB statement: "Integrity and fair play are the foundations for any sporting contest. The ECB fully supports the work of the ICC [International Cricket Council] Anti Corruption unit.
"We have established a unit at Lord's to both educate players and officials and seek to protect the integrity of the sport and we hope that criminal proceedings will act as a strong and firm deterrent to complement this work."
The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, said: "This is a sad day for international cricket and sport in general. The integrity of sport is absolutely paramount. Fans have to be sure that what they see in front of them is true and fair.
"There needs to be a global effort on sports betting integrity and this is something that the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has taken a lead on, heading up a high-level working group that I sit on.
"International sports bodies and governments need to work together and do everything possible to stamp out the threat of corruption in sport."
Yawar Saeed was Pakistan's team manager last summer, when the corruption was first alleged. The 76-year-old said the players had failed to heed his warnings about outside influences.
Saeed told Cricinfo: "It is a very disappointing and sad day for us in one way, for the players and for Pakistan cricket to be caught up in criminal proceedings. But they did something wrong and they had to pay the price for it. As manager, I had spoken to all the players on that tour and had talked about focusing on cricket and keeping their eye on the ball, but in the case of some, they didn't.
"I think the impact of the entire incident has already been felt months ago, when the case first came up, when the players were banned by the ICC. What is required now is to forget everything and move ahead.
"These things have happened in the past and the game has moved on. India had its own case and banned its players. The biggest jolt has already happened for Pakistan cricket and it could not get worse.
"But we have recovered from this and the team is doing well, I don't think the verdict will hurt the team now, there is no shortage of talent in Pakistan."
Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif could face jail sentences of up to seven years for the plot to rig events in the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's in August 2010 after guilty verdicts were delivered in the "spot-fixing" trial on Tuesday. The third player involved, the fast bowler Mohammad Amir, pleaded guilty on 16 September to charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and accepting corrupt payments.
Asif, who at the time of that fourth Test at Lord's was ranked the world's second-best bowler, and his captain, Butt, also had been charged with a conspiracy to cheat at gambling and to accept corrupt payments.
Butt was convicted on both charges. Asif was initially found guilty of having cheated at gambling but after further deliberation the jury reached a guilty verdict on the corrupt-payments allegation. The criminal conviction has been handed down on the day Butt's wife Gul gave birth to their second child, a boy, in Lahore.
The pair were impassive in the dock as Tuesday's verdicts came in, the culmination of three days' deliberations by the jury and of a trial spanning four weeks and two days at Southwark crown court.
Butt was found guilty on a 10-2 majority verdict over his acceptance of corrupt payments and both were found guilty unanimously of cheating. The verdict against Asif for accepting corrupt payments was a 10-2 majority.
It is the first time any sportsman has been convicted of cheating under the Gambling Act 2005. Sentencing will take place during a two-day hearing beginning on Wednesday and the three have been bailed until then. Butt left the court refusing to answer questions.
Sally Walsh, the senior lawyer in the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: "Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif deliberately and knowingly perverted the course of a cricket match for financial gain. Through their actions they brought shame on the cricketing world, jeopardising the faith and admiration of cricket fans the world over.
"This prosecution shows that match-fixing is not just unsportsmanlike but is a serious criminal act. The actions of these top international players went against everything expected of someone in their position and they failed to take into account their fans of all ages and nationalities when deciding to abandon the values of sportsmanship so unconditionally."
The England and Wales Cricket Board did not comment directly on the case but the chief executive, David Collier, believes bringing criminal cases against corrupt players should prove to be a "firm deterrent" to others.
Collier said in an ECB statement: "Integrity and fair play are the foundations for any sporting contest. The ECB fully supports the work of the ICC [International Cricket Council] Anti Corruption unit.
"We have established a unit at Lord's to both educate players and officials and seek to protect the integrity of the sport and we hope that criminal proceedings will act as a strong and firm deterrent to complement this work."
The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, said: "This is a sad day for international cricket and sport in general. The integrity of sport is absolutely paramount. Fans have to be sure that what they see in front of them is true and fair.
"There needs to be a global effort on sports betting integrity and this is something that the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has taken a lead on, heading up a high-level working group that I sit on.
"International sports bodies and governments need to work together and do everything possible to stamp out the threat of corruption in sport."
Yawar Saeed was Pakistan's team manager last summer, when the corruption was first alleged. The 76-year-old said the players had failed to heed his warnings about outside influences.
Saeed told Cricinfo: "It is a very disappointing and sad day for us in one way, for the players and for Pakistan cricket to be caught up in criminal proceedings. But they did something wrong and they had to pay the price for it. As manager, I had spoken to all the players on that tour and had talked about focusing on cricket and keeping their eye on the ball, but in the case of some, they didn't.
"I think the impact of the entire incident has already been felt months ago, when the case first came up, when the players were banned by the ICC. What is required now is to forget everything and move ahead.
"These things have happened in the past and the game has moved on. India had its own case and banned its players. The biggest jolt has already happened for Pakistan cricket and it could not get worse.
"But we have recovered from this and the team is doing well, I don't think the verdict will hurt the team now, there is no shortage of talent in Pakistan."
