Pakistan players “betrayed cricket” with bribes -court

LONDON, (Reuters) – Three Pakistan cricketers, driven  by greed, betrayed their team mates and the sport of cricket  itself by taking bribes to fix incidents during a test match  against England last year, a London court heard today.
The plot was orchestrated by Pakistan captain Salman Butt  and his agent Mazhar Majeed and involved the team’s two opening  fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir who were instructed  to bowl three no-balls at a pre-agreed time, prosecutors allege.
“This case reveals a depressing tale of rampant corruption  at the heart of international cricket, with the key players  being members of the Pakistan cricket team,” prosecutor Aftab  Jafferjee told the jury at Southwark Crown Court.
He said the men had “contaminated” the games and “their  activity represents a betrayal by them of their own team, their  own Board of Cricket and most damaging of all a betrayal of the  sport of cricket itself — and all for greed”.
The court heard that the scam was uncovered by a journalist  at the News of the World newspaper, the tabloid at the centre of  the phone hacking scandal which has rocked Rupert Murdoch’s News  Corp empire. The paper has since been closed down.
Jafferjee said journalist Mazhar Mahmood, well-known for  revealing wrongdoing amongst British politicians, celebrities  and even royalty often posing as a “fake sheikh”, had approached  Majeed saying he was a wealthy Indian businessman wanting to set  up a tournament in the Emirates.
“Were this investigation not to have been permitted, this  activity of ‘fixing’ would have certainly continued — unabated  and unaccountable — and beyond the reach of the law,” the  prosecutor said.
Jafferjee said the activity was underpinned by the betting  industry in the Asian subcontinent — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri  Lanka and the Far East, adding that gambling in the Asian  subcontient on cricket games alone had a turnover of $40-50  billion a year.
The jury of six men and six women was told that only Butt  and Asif were on trial, but Jafferjee stressed there was  “nothing sinister” in the absence of Majeed and Amir from the  proceedings, the Press Association reported.
Butt and Asif deny conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to  accept corrupt payments between Aug. 15 and 29 last year.
Butt made his test debut for Pakistan in 2003 and since  then has played in 33 test matches, 78 one-day internationals  and 24 Twenty20 games for his country.
He was appointed captain of Pakistan’s test side on July 16  last year, during the tour of England.
Jafferjee said: “If the prosecution are right about his  activity, that appointment consolidated his influence within the  team, and assured his ability to direct activity on the field,  both legitimate and corrupt.”
Butt told police in interview that the timing of three  no-balls during the Lord’s Test exactly when Majeed told the  News of the World journalist they would be bowled was just “a  series of freakish occurrences”, the court heard.
Asif was first selected to play for Pakistan in 2005 and has  represented his country in 23 test matches, 38 one-day  internationals and 11 Twenty20 games.
Last summer he was ranked the world’s second-best Test  bowler by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and took his  100th Test wicket during the series in England.
Asif told detectives it was “just chance” that he bowled a  no-ball exactly when Majeed said he would.
The case continues.