Pakistan cricketers and agent jailed for no-balls scam

Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has been jailed for 30 months for his part in the conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in last year's Test match against England.

 The charges related to the fourth Test between Pakistan and England at Lord's in August 2010

Former world number two Test bowler Mohammad Asif was jailed for one year and bowler Mohammad Amir has been sentenced to six months.
Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was jailed for two years and eight months.
The BBC's James Pearce is tweeting live from Southwark Crown Court in London.
The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said cricket matches would forever be tainted by the scandal.
He told the defendants: "'It's not cricket' was an adage. It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it that make the offences so serious.
"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had."
The three players have all been ordered to pay compensation towards prosecution costs.
Butt was ordered to pay £30,937, Amir £9,389 and Asif £8,120.
The men were arrested after the fourth Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010.
An undercover News of the World (NOTW) reporter paid Majeed £150,000 for details of the precise timing of three no-balls, which the players were persuaded to bowl, which were extremely valuable on the spot-fixing betting market.

Majeed claimed to have paid Asif £65,000, Butt £10,000 and Amir £2,500.
The judge told all the players they would be released on licence half way through their sentences if they behaved.
The trial heard that the cheating would never have been exposed without the investigative journalism of the NOTW.
The judge said: "Whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, or whenever in the future there are surprising events or results, followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it live or watch it on television will be left to wonder whether there has been fixing and whether what they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball."

Pakistan cricketers guilty of betting scam

Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been found guilty of their part in a "spot-fixing" scam after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Former captain Butt, 27, and fast bowler Asif, 28, were both found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.
They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last summer.
Another bowler, Mohammad Amir, admitted the charges prior to the trial.
The guilty pleas by the bowler, who was 18 when the scam took place, could not be reported before.
The jury was not told of these pleas.
BBC sport news correspondent James Pearce said all three are facing the real prospect of jail terms.
Conspiracy to accept corrupt payments carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
Our correspondent also said the case "raises serious questions about the integrity of Test cricket".
A statement was read out by Amir's lawyer at the start of the trial, before any evidence had been heard.

He said: "Mohammad Amir accepts full responsibility for deliberately bowling two no-balls and, in due course, you will hear how this vulnerable 18-year-old boy was subjected to extreme pressure from those on whom he should have been able to rely.

"He recognises the damage his actions have caused Pakistan cricket."
Spot-betting involves gamblers staking money on the minutiae of sporting encounters such as the exact timing of the first throw-in during a football match or, as in this case, when a no-ball will be bowled.
After deliberating for nearly 17 hours, the jury unanimously convicted Butt and Asif of conspiracy to cheat.
The jurors also found Butt guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments by a majority of 10 to two.
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 Butt and Asif until sentencing later this week.

'Rampant corruption'
They 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.
Aftab Jafferjee QC, for the prosecution, said the case "revealed a depressing tale of rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket".
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".
Angus Fraser, a former England fast bowler, 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."

Pakistan cricket: Jury undecided on corruption verdict

The jury in the corruption trial of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif has retired for the day after failing to reach a verdict.

It comes after the judge said he would take majority verdicts because they could not reach unanimous decisions.
Mr Butt, 27, and Mr Asif, 28, deny conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.
They are accused of plotting to bowl deliberate no-balls in last summer's Lord's Test against England.
The allegations came from an undercover reporter investigating match-fixing.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Butt, the former Pakistan captain, and bowler Mr Asif conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, to deliver three intentional no-balls during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England from August 26 to 29 last year.
Jurors were told that Mr Majeed, 36, accepted £150,000 in cash, as part of an arrangement to rig games or aspects of games, from an undercover News of the World reporter.
The jury has heard that the agent told the undercover journalist that two no-balls would be bowled by Mr Amir and one by Mr Asif at pre-arranged points during the Lord's Test.

Wasim, Waqar, Ijaz and Moin involved in match-fixing: Majeed

 LONDON: A sports agent accused of taking bribes to fix matches said Pakistan's best known former players were involved in betting scams and that Australian cricketers were "the biggest" culprits, a London court heard on Monday.

Agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, told an undercover journalist match-fixing had been going on "for centuries" and named celebrated former Pakistan fast-bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as alleged participants, the court heard.

Prosecutors allege that Majeed conspired with Pakistan's former Test captain Salman Butt, 27, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif, 28, and Mohammad Amir, 19, to fix parts of the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan last August.

Butt and Asif, who are standing trial, deny conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court was played covert recordings of meetings between the agent and former News of the World journalist Mazher Mahmood, who was posing as a rich Indian businessman organising a proposed cricket tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Majeed met Mahmood at a west London restaurant on Aug. 18 last year the first day of Pakistan's Oval Test against England and, after the meal, discussed match-fixing in the undercover reporter's car, the court was told.

"It's been happening for centuries. It's been happening for years. Wasim, Waqar, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan -- they all did it," Majeed said.

Stallions tame rampaging Rams to lift T20 Cup in thriller

KARACHI: Sialkot Stallions survived a barrage of sixes from the rampaging Rawalpindi Rams batsmen before securing a tense 10-run victory in the final to lift the Faysal Bank T20 Cup at the National Stadium here on Sunday night.
The Stallions re-established their credentials as the undisputed T20 champions by lifting their sixth trophy in eight tournaments and maintaining their remarkable feat of never having lost a final.
The Rams, winners of the Super Eight T20 Cup, put up a gallant fight but just failed to make history as Dr Ishratul Ebad awarded the winners’ trophy to Stallions skipper Shoaib Malik and the prize-money of Rs2 million.
The finishing moments of what otherwise was a pulsating encounter, were marred by dispute over a no-ball adjudication by Asad Rauf, the ICC umpire who was officiating the final along with fellow ICC Elite panel umpire and three-time winner of the best umpire award Aleem Dar.
Asad’s interpretation was spot on because the delivery bowled by left-arm paceman Naved Arif was above waist to the injured Rams tailender Mohammad Rameez which resulted in two runs being added to the total.
Stallions skipper Shoaib Malik and several of his team-mates held up play for almost 15 minutes in that last over — in which the Rams needed 15 runs for victory — as they disputed that only one run should be given for the no-ball since it wasn’t a line call.
Until that unsavoury incident, the Rams who were the clear underdogs had treated a near full National Stadium to some sumptuous stroke-play with no less than eight sixes and 15 fours being hit by their batsmen with the big left-arm seamer Sarfraz Ahmed taking the brunt of the punishment with five sixes struck off his four overs, yielding 54 runs.
The standout batsman was Naved Malik who bludgeoned six fours and sixes in a superb knock of 67 from 47 balls. Fellow opener Awais Zia also played a blinder as he savaged his way to 32 off mere 13 deliveries. The talented left-hander’s knock featured five fours and a brace of sixes.
Raza Hasan, however, saved the blushes for his star-studded side by conceding just 11 runs from his four overs while claiming the vital wickets of Awais and Sohail Tanvir.
The young slow-left-armer was declared the Man-of-the-Match.
The Stallions stuttered at the start when ex-Pakistan opener Imran Nazir fell in the second over after another failure. This time he made 10 before being nicely held at mid-off by Naved Malik off Mohammad Rameez while going for an ambitious stroke.
But Shakeel Ansar, the tall wicket-keeper, and Qaiser Abbas carried the total to 100 as the right/left combination of batsmen put together a partner of 85 from 59 balls until both were dismissed in the space of four deliveries in part-time spinner Awais Zia’s first over, which was the 12th of the Stallions’ innings.
Shakeel clobbered six boundaries in scoring a 30-ball 39, while Qaiser made his first key contribution in this event by spanking five fours in his 34-ball 44.
The Stallions got a further boost from captain Shoaib Malik and Shahid Yousuf, their heroes in the six-wicket win in the semi-final against Lahore Eagles a day earlier, who added 67 in 38 deliveries.
Malik, who is hoping to resume his Test career after being named in the Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka series, looked in supreme touch once again while helping himself to a crafty 44 off 27 balls.
His innings was adorned with four fours and a six — the only such stroke in the entire Stallions innings — when he lifted spinner Samiullah over the long-on boundary on the final delivery of the 18th over.
Yasir Hameed of Abbottabad Falcons was adjudged the tournament’s best batsman for his 218 runs, while other awards went to Mohammad Rameez (best bowler, 11 wickets), Jamal Anwar (best wicket-keeper, five dismissals) and Lahore Eagles’ Azhar Ali (best fielder, six catches).

Faisalabad Wolves throw Afghan Cheetas out of T20 Cup

KARACHI: Surviving some anxious time, Faisalabad Wolves defeated Afghan Cheetas by 13 runs to grab their second win in group "B" in the National T20 Cup Cricket Tournament at National Stadium on Thursday evening.

Afghan Cheetas were well placed after 15 overs with 35 required in the last five overs. But three superb run-outs and tight bowling by Faisalabad bowlers restricted the visitors to 132-9 in 20 overs.

Chasing 146 for victory, Gulbodin Naib gave Afghan Cheetas a great start with whirlwind knock of 62 in 42 balls with ten delightful boundaries and two massive sixes. But with his departure Wolves gained the control.

Wicketkeeper Muhammad Salman, who toured West Indies with the Pakistan team earlier, top-scored with 26-ball 32 with four boundaries after they won the toss and elected to bat first.

Opener Asif Hussain belted four boundaries in his 23-ball 30 as Faisalabad Wolves made 145-8 in 20 overs. Skipper Misbah struggled for 16 in 17 with a solitary boundary.

With their second successive defeat Afghan Cheetas were knocked out of the race.
Afghan team will take on Multan Tigers on Friday noon.

Rawalpindi Rams beat Multan tigers by 5 wkts

KARACHI: Fast-medium bowler Mohammad Rameez, capturing four wickets for 24 runs with a hat-trick – the first in the tournament – guided Rawalpindi Rams to a five- wicket victory over Multan tigers on the fifth day of the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing 152, Rawalpindi Rams achieved the target with eight balls to spare. Their main contributors were Awais Zia (52) and Tahir Mughal (37).

Earlier, Multan Tigers made 151 runs for nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs after their captain Shabbir Ahmed won the toss and decided to bat first in the first match of the day.

Only four batsmen could get into double figures as other batsmen faced difficulty to play against the Rawalpindi Rams bowlers.

Rameez, the hat-trick boy, was later adjudged the man-of-the-match. He was supported by Samiullah and Yasin Murtaza who claimed two wickets each.

Ansar Javed (35 not out), Gulraiz Sadaf (35) and Kamran Hussain (32) were the main scorers for Multan Tigers.

Afridi inspires Dolphins to easy win over Leopards

KARACHI: Captain Shahid Afridi led from the front with a commanding all-round performance to inspire Karachi Dolphins to an easy eight-wicket victory over Islamabad Leopards in a day-night match in the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing 132, Karachi Dolphins completed the victory in 13.3 overs for the loss of only two wickets in their first match in the tournament.

Shahid Afridi, opening the innings with Sahhzaib Hasan (21), hammered 58 off 32 balls with six brilliant fours and two towering sixes.

Karachi Dolphins were 26 runs away from victory when Afridi departed after adding 70 runs along with Rameez Raja (2) for the second wicket partnership.

Then Raja and Asad Shafiq took 17 balls to reach the target and both remained not out on 36 and 10, respectively.

Earlier, Shahid Afridi and his bowlers through their accurate bowling restricted Islamabad Leopards to 131-9 in the allotted 20 overs.

Main scorers were Afaq Rahim (22), Moed Ahmed (21) and Nauman Masood (20).

Winning the toss, Islamabad leopards captain Rao Iftikhar Anjum decided to bat first but his batsmen could not resist against Karachi Dolphins attack, particularly leg-breaks and googlies by skipper Shahid Afridi, who captured three wickets for 20 runs.

Ajmal helps Wolves devour Tigers

KARACHI: Test off-spinner Saeed Ajmal bowled an outstanding spell to guide Faisalabad Wolves to an emphatic 54-run victory against Multan Tigers in their Faysal Bank T20 match at the National Stadium Karachi here on Wednesday.
Ajmal was in full as he picked up three wickets for just five runs as the Tigers were restricted 107-7 in 20 overs while chasing 162.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Gulraiz Sadaf scored 32, hitting a six and four boundaries, but failed to save his team from a big loss. Exciting left-hander Zain Abbas was also not at his blistering best and made a 27-ball 28. Imran Khalid bowled splendidly, picking up two wickets.
Earlier, a 57-run opening stand between Asif Hussain (25) and Asif Ali (44) laid a solid platform for Wolves to post a big total. But Wolves failed to capatilise on it and could only managed 161-8 in their allotted overs and that too with the help of 30 extras. Khurram Shezad made 43. Allrounder Kamran Hussain bagged two wickets. 
In the first match of the day, Nauman Habib and Test fast bowler Umar Gul shared seven wickets between them to help Peshawar Panthers beat Islamabad Leopards in Group ‘D’ opener.
Set a target of 151, Leopards were reduced to 4-18 in four overs before being finally bowled out for 122 in 19.3 overs. Naeem Anjum top-scored with a 41-ball 40 to save his side from a colossal defeat, while Afaq Raheem made a fluent 32. Nauman took four wickets with Umar Gul bagging three.
Earlier, Panthers posted a total of 150 for nine in 20 overs. Aftab Alam played an anchor role making 36 off 33 balls with a six and two fours. Zohaib Ahmed claimed three wickets.
On Tuesday night, Sialkot Stallions set a semifinal date with Lahore Eagles after they edged-out Lahore Lions with a six-wicket win in a low-scoring Group ‘C’ tie.
Lions chose to bat first and were put on back-foot by left-arm medium pace Sarfraz Ahmed, as he removed the dangerous Kamran Akmal (5) and Ahmed Shehzad (22) early on.
Lions had no answer against Stallions’ impressive bowling attack, which was bolstered by the return of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Naved Arif (all were missing in the Super-Eight T20 event). In addition, Raza Hasan who played for Rawalpindi Rams’ was recalled to represent his native Sialkot side.
Meanwhile, apart from Lions’ skipper Abdul Razzaq (42) no one was able to rise to the occasion. They were all out for 121 in 19.4 overs.
Rana Naved bagged three wickets, while Raza Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Abdur Rehman picked up two scalps each.
In reply, Stallions chased down the target with six wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Shahid Yousuf (47) and wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar (42) both played sensible knocks to guide their side to victory. 

Lahore Eagles record second successive win in T20 Cup

KARACHI: Three wickets off first three balls in the final over of the match by fast bowler Junaid Zia sealed a 15-run victory for Lahore Eagles against Abbottabad Falcons in the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Monday night.
Chasing 151, Abbottabad Falcons were collapsed for 135 runs in 19.3 overs as six of their batsmen could not get into double figures and two of them including captain Younis Khan got out for a duck.
Only opener Yasir Hameed, who had hit a century against Quetta Bears previous day, resisted to score 44 runs from as many balls while Yasir Shah contributed 28.
For Lahore Eagles, Junaid, Taufiq Umar and Mustafa Iqbal claimed two wickets each for nine, 16 and 24 runs, respectively.
Earlier, Abbottabad Falcons scored 150 runs for four wickets in the allotted 20 overs after captain Taufiq Umar won the toss and decided to bat first.
Openers Imran Farhat and Taufiq Umar provided a fine start, making 87 runs in ten overs.
Imran made 43 runs from 31 balls with four boundaries and a six while Taufiq scored 35 off 36 balls with three fours.
Hamza Paracha was unbeaten on 28 while Azhar Ali hit 21 with a six.
For Abbottabad Falcons, Wajid Ali claimed two wickets while Junaid Khan and Khalid Usman took a wicket each.

T20 event shifted to Karachi

KARACHI: National T20 event has been moved from Lahore to Karachi due to dengue epidemic in the Punjab, Geo News reported.

President Asif Zardari on Tuesday ordered the country's cricket authorities to shift the domestic T20. The idea to relocate the championship came up during a meeting between the president and sportsmen during a meeting Tuesday.

Sources said that Zardari used his powers as PCB's chief patron to move the event from Lahore because of a dengue outbreak after Board chairman Ijaz Butt told him that the event cannot be relocated because of technical problems.

T20 event will be held in Karachi from September 25 as scheduled.