LONDON, (Reuters) – Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has filed an appeal against a 30-month prison sentence for fixing parts of a test match last year, his lawyer said.
Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed last week for their part in a gambling-inspired plot to bowl no-balls at pre-arranged times during the match against England at Lord’s in August 2010.
Lawyer Yasin Patel said that an appeal has been lodged against the sentence handed down at London’s Southwark Crown Court, the Press Association reported.
Butt and Asif have been held in London’s Wandsworth Prison while teenager Amir is in a young offenders’ institute.
Judge Jeremy Cooke told the court that the offences had damaged the integrity of a game famed for its fairness and left cricket fans to wonder if matches were a genuine contest between bat and ball.
Asif was jailed for a year and Amir for six months in sentences seen as sending a strong message to sporting cheats.
