The judge presiding over the alleged spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court involving Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif retired the jury at the close of Thursday’s proceedings and asked them to return the following morning. The jurors were released to begin their deliberations before lunch, then spent all afternoon in debate and came back into court at 4.15pm to hear the judge officially release them for the evening, as is the custom.
“It’s even more important now than at any other point in the trial that you don’t talk to anybody about this case and you are back in good time in the morning,” Justice Cooke said. “You can then deliberate some more.” The judge earlier completed his summing-up on what was the 17th day in the trial and he offered some guidance to the 12-person jury who will decide the fate of the two players.
“The only satisfactory verdict in a criminal trial is a unanimous verdict,” the judge said. “I do not want to hear anything about majority decisions at the moment.” The judge may consider a majority verdict, though, should there not be a decision within several days.
He added: “There is no set time for a verdict. You can take as short a time or as long a time as you need within reason. There is no pressure on you.” Former captain Butt and pace bowler Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.
Butt, Asif await visa extensions: A bizarre situation has occurred during the alleged spot-fixing trial with the two Pakistan cricketers on trial requiring visa extensions to remain in the United Kingdom. Applications have been made to the relevant border agencies in the UK as currently the visas of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif expire at midnight on Monday, October 31. Usual trends can see such a practice take weeks but with the two players on a high-profile trial and with a verdict pending, fast-tracked extensions are being requested.
Should the jury release ‘not guilty’ verdicts arrive either on Thursday or Friday of this week, then one or both of the players would not need the extensions and would be free to return home to Pakistan. The extensions are needed in case the verdict is delayed beyond the current visa deadline date. Former captain Butt and pace bowler Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.
