Two Pakistan cricketers took bribes to fix parts of a match against England in a case that exposes “rampant corruption” at the heart of the international game, a prosecutor told a London court on Wednesday.
Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif conspired to deliberately bowl three no-balls — so-called spot fixing — during the fourth Test at Lord’s in August 2010, Southwark Crown Court was told. A third Pakistan player, prodigal young bowler Mohammad Aamer, and Butt’s British agent Mazhar Majeed have also been charged with the same offences but they are not standing trial alongside Butt and Asif, the jury heard.
“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 said in his opening statement. “It is the prosecution’s case that all four men were involved — and by the time the last Test match at Lord’s took place each of them was well at it — the two bowlers being orchestrated by their captain, and the captain’s agent Majeed, to bowl three no-balls at a pre-arranged point in the game,” he said.
“Their activity represents, say the Crown, 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.” Butt, 26, and Asif, 28, both deny charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and with conspiracy to cheat at gambling. The allegations stem from an investigation by the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World tabloid, which was closed down in July when it became engulfed in Britain’s phone-hacking scandal.
“Whatever views one might hold about that publication,” Jafferjee said, “were this investigation not to have been permitted, the activity of ‘fixing’ would almost certainly have continued — unabated, unaccountable — and beyond the reach of the law.” The case showed the influence of the betting industry and the “vast” sums of money it deals with were threatening the integrity of the game, prosecutor Jafferjee said. “That which underpinned all of this activity was the betting industry — primarily the betting industry overseas, which in turn was centred in the Asian sub-continent — involving India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the Far East.”
He said the amounts of money turned over in the sub-continent were “simply breathtaking… in the region of $40 and $50 billion (30 to 37 billion euros)” per year. Asif sat in court wearing a brown pinstripe suit and a white shirt, with a white folder on his lap. He listened to an Urdu-speaking translator sat to his left. Butt sat to Asif’s right wearing a charcoal grey jacket and blue jeans. Both cricketers sipped from glasses of water while they were in court. The charges against the pair carry maximum sentences of seven years and two years in prison respectively.
At the time of the alleged offences, Butt was captain of Pakistan’s Test side and had won plaudits for his leadership of the team. Asif was the team’s senior pace bowler, while teenage left-arm swing bowler Aamer was regarded as one of the hottest properties in world cricket. PCB lawyer observes court trial: The spot-fixing trial involving Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif has been adjourned for lunch on the second day with all parties still debating legal arguments. Among those attending the trial is the Pakistan Cricket Board’s legal advisor, Tafazzul Rizvi.
Rizvi, who has been on a retainer with the PCB for five years, has attended the first two days of the case at Southwark Crown Court. He is unlikely to stay for the duration, which may be up to five weeks, but will report to the PCB on his findings. Butt and Asif, who flew in at the weekend from Lahore, are facing the possibility of a custodial sentence if deemed guilty, though both are pleading not guilty. They are facing 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 to bowl pre-determined no-balls.
“I’m here as an observer on behalf of the PCB,” Rizvi told ESPNcricinfo. “When this case started the players were on a central contract with the PCB so that is why we have an interest here. Ironically I was here in London also when the players’ hotels rooms were raided by police last year. It was important that I witness a criminal trial involving Pakistan players. “I’m only concerned with the legal side of things at the PCB not the playing side, so any evidence against them will interest us.”
Rizvi also said that ICC rules mean that the players must have independent legal support, therefore he has not liaised directly with the players during the trial or beforehand. The PCB’s main aim is to observe the proceedings and learn from what has happened to influence future events or policies. “As a cricket board we need to find out if anything wrong was done by them. We can’t discuss specifics now but any wrongdoing would be reflected in the final judgement.”
