PAKISTAN CRICKET CORRUPTION VERDICT

BBC News:

Pakistan cricketers guilty of betting scam

Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been found guilty of their part in a "spot-fixing" scam. Former captain Butt, 27, and fast bowler Asif, 28, had denied conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

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 the minutiae 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.

BBC sports news correspondent James Pearce, at the court, said the pair showed no reaction as the jury's verdict was read out.

Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, Lahore
The conspiracy theories are once again being aired here.

"The West just wants to destroy the image of Pakistan," says Zahim, a cricket fan eating at a restaurant outside Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

"We need to get to the real truth."

In the coming days many others, including some in the media, will say they too feel Pakistani cricketers have been unfairly victimised.

But when pushed, most will acknowledge that some of their former heroes must have been engaged in corruption.

"This involvement in betting has blackened Pakistan's name," Najam, another fan, tells me.

"They also put the whole nation through the shock. They must be punished and punished severely."

Our correspondent said Butt's wife, Gul Hassan, had given birth to a baby boy one hour before he was found guilty.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Lahore, said the story was leading the national news in Pakistan and the four-week trial had been closely followed in the country.

The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, extended bail for them until sentencing later this week.

'Rampant corruption'

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."