Ex-Pakistan cricketers Mohammad 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.
After deliberating for nearly 17 hours, the jury unanimously convicted the
pair 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.
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.
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."
Comments
Back at two for sentencing. Hopefully long and meaningful ones.
Supposedly there was an India-Pakistan ODI where both teams had been bribed to lose.
A good day for cricket and sport generally.
The Pakistan team have issued a statement expressing their shock
at the involvement of three Pakistani players in match fixing
and promised to clean up their act before the 2-1 series defeat
to the West Indies next year.
hopefully it'll stop the clowns in the county teams throwing games
sussex v kent in the 40 over match was as embarrassing as it gets and it's no good for betfair to advertise that there was suspicious betting patterns in matches , hence your mate chirpy and his betfair cronies not mentioning the huge amounts of money being bet on a tinpot fixture