'Lack of remorse' swung verdict against players

 Mohammad Aamer

A lack of remorse and contrition from three Pakistan players over the spot-fixing charge levelled against them were among the key factors in the tribunal's decision to impose the sanctions they did. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned for ten, seven and five years respectively by a three-man tribunal led by Michael Beloff QC after a six-day hearing in January led to a verdict on Saturday; the sentences for Butt and Asif include a five-year suspension clause but the same factors may affect that process too.

ESPNcricinfo also understands Amir refused to cooperate with the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) despite repeated, private attempts by PCB officials at convincing him, in a bid to lessen sanctions.

The full judgment of the verdict, the sanctions and the reasoning behind them are expected to be made public by the ICC on Wednesday, despite complications arising from the criminal case against the players in the UK, which begins from March 17. But one of the main conclusions of the judgment is expected to be that the three players showed no sign of remorse at their actions, either during the hearing or after the verdict was announced.

This is likely to have quite a tangible impact on any hopes Butt and Asif may have of returning. The suspended sentences mean that, if certain conditions are met, both could theoretically be clear to play competitive cricket again in five years.

But the first step of any rehabilitation programme as prescribed by the tribunal - believed to involve the two players giving lectures on the dangers of corruption - must include a show of remorse of their actions. Only then will the rehabilitation begin and, thus, a possible chance for the suspended sentence to kick in. Any such action, however, could also have an impact on the criminal case the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is now pursuing against the players.

Amir's five-year ban has been criticised in some quarters as being too severe, particularly as his age and past disciplinary track record were thought to be possible mitigating circumstances to secure a lesser term. However, the tribunal is believed to have found no exceptional circumstances that would afford such leeway in his case, particularly as he showed no contrition or remorse through the hearing.

Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim, and Butt's lawyer Yasin Patel, have since said that the tribunal's hands were tied by the code which prescribed a minimum five-year sanction; the implication is that lesser punishments would have been given out. That, it appears now, would also have partially depended on the players showing some remorse.

ESPNcricinfo also understands that PCB officials, privately, tried repeatedly to convince Amir, who has been the main focus of public attention, to "cooperate with the ACSU" in a bid to have his sentence reduced. Three or four of the top board officials held several one-on-one meetings with Amir in the run-up to the January hearings but he refused. "Until the very last minute there were one-on-one meetings with Amir at neutral venues, trying to get him to cooperate with the ACSU," a source privy to the meetings told ESPNcricinfo. "People tried repeatedly and very hard but he just didn't agree." Even his lawyer Karim is said to have tried to convince his client on several occasions but without success.

Officially the PCB pulled back any support of the three players soon after they were provisionally suspended by the ICC. Additionally they suspended their central contracts and refused them permission to train or practice at PCB-affiliated ground. The moves came after the ICC warned the board in October to distance itself fully from the players so as to keep the game clean. It has been indicated that the meetings only came about on the prompting of higher political authorities and were not instigated by either board or player.

Miandad urges banned trio to expose people behind betting

 Javed Miandad

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test captain Javed Miandad urged the banned trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer to expose the people involved in illegal betting and corruption in international cricket.

Miandad, who is the director-general cricket in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said he felt saddened by the damage the spot-fixing scandal had done to the image of Pakistan cricket.

"I am hurt by the damage caused to our cricket and our image by the sanctions imposed on Salman, Asif and Aamer, but it is not possible they were working alone with Mazhar Majeed," Miandad said.

"I am convinced that there is an entire mafia working behind spreading the menace of spot-fixing in our sport," Miandad, a veteran of 124 Tests, said.

"I don't believe that only three players can do spot-fixing. I suspect that a lot of other people are involved in this racket," he added.

Miandad urged the three players, who have faced sanctions from the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal, to co-operate with the authorities in exposing the mafia.

"These three should expose this mafia and help the PCB as because of them, Pakistan cricket has got a bad name."

The former national coach said that he would soon meet with the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt to discuss some proposals that would ensure such incidents didn't take place in future.

Miandad also noted that in order to stop the spot-fixing menace, authorities needed to carry out a widespread operation in the cricket world and expose the players who are corrupt.

Butt was last week banned for 10 years by the anti-corruption tribunal on charges of spot-fixing, while pacer Mohammad Asif was banned for seven years and Mohammad Aamer for five years by the tribunal.

Miandad had no doubt that the three players had let Pakistan cricket and the PCB down by not admitting their guilt early on when they were accused of spot-fixing by the 'News of the World' newspaper.

"These players should have told the PCB the entire truth instead of continuing to insist they were innocent," he said.

Misbah-ul-Haq masterminds narrow win

      Misbah Ul Haq

Pakistan continued to show they are masters of making mountains out of molehills, but Misbah-ul-Haq's supremely paced innings and Sohail Tanvir's nerveless hitting took them to a tense win in Napier that puts them 2-1 up. New Zealand had earlier showed the benefits of stacking their side with allrounders as they recovered from an all-too-familiar top-order collapse to post a respectable total but it didn't prove enough.

     On a pancake-flat track and with McLean Park's short boundaries and a quick outfield to assist them, Pakistan looked to be gliding towards victory when Misbah and Younis Khan played safety-first cricket to take them to 173 for 3 in 37 overs. With the batting Powerplay in hand, two set batsmen at the crease and a host of heavy-hitters to follow, New Zealand seemed down and out.

     The first blip was the run-out of Younis who slipped when attempting to regain his ground after tipping the ball to point. The new batsman, Umar Akmal, meandered to 10 when the Powerplay was taken. As has been the case in recent matches, the Powerplay resulted in immediate wickets: Umar holed out to extra cover and Shahid Afridi was trapped in front. With Pakistan at 198 for 6, New Zealand were back in it.

     The match swung again in the next over as Abdul Razzaq clubbed a mighty six, and Misbah calmly picked off two effortless, wristy boundaries as Tim Southee went for 17. New Zealand clawed back again when Hamish Bennett had Razzaq skying a catch to Vettori in the 47th over.

     Twenty-four needed off the final three overs - enough time for more twists. Misbah, yet again, seemed to have sealed it when he slammed Scott Styris beyond midwicket off the first ball of the 48th, and then followed it up with a punch past mid-on for four. No. 10 Wahab Riaz then decided to go for glory instead of turning over the strike to Misbah, and his swipe ballooned to the keeper.

     Only two wickets remained, and there was a genuine threat of Pakistan being bowled out. Tanvir then showed that though his bowling isn't at the level it was before his back injury, his hitting retains the ferocity of old. He forehanded three fours in the penultimate over from Southee to sew up the victory with six balls remaining.

     Tanvir may have applied the finishing touches but it was Misbah who had done the grunt work earlier on. When Pakistan were wobbling at 84 for 3, Misbah and Younis stroked the ball into the gaps for singles to keep the required rate in check. Their 89-run partnership had put Pakistan in charge, before the slew of wickets led to an exciting denouement.

     It was Misbah's finest one-day effort, and his first significant contribution in the format in a long time. With 18 days to go for the World Cup, Pakistan are still without a captain, and this series hasn't made the decision easier for the selectors. Afridi was panned after the heavy defeat in the first match, then praised after his electric half-century in the Christchurch victory, and Misbah has now pushed his case with this match-winning innings.

     New Zealand continue to desperately seek someone who can provide Misbah-like calmness to their famously fragile top order. Today, their stuttering batting unit squandered another chance to hit form on a placid track, with shot-selection that will leave John Wright fuming. Martin Guptill flicked to midwicket after impressing early on, Jamie How pulled imperiously but straight to deep square leg, Ross Taylor's expansive drive ended in first slip's hands, and Kane Williamson chipped the ball to long-on.

     The home side had tumbled to 79 for 5 before Brendon McCullum jumpstarted the innings with a typically energetic cameo. James Franklin then led the rescue with his third half-century in four innings; after a watchful start, he cut loose in the Powerplay reeling off four boundaries in two overs. Afridi handcuffed him with a legstump line in the 44th over and had him holing out to deep fine leg.

The batting recovery was completed by Nathan McCullum, who blasted his way to his maiden one-day half-century. The highlights of his innings were a couple of high-risk paddles for four against the quicks and a murderous carve over cover for six in the penultimate over.

     Franklin and the McCullum brothers helped New Zealand put on 170 in the second half of the innings despite the top-order collapse, but even that proved insufficient as Misbah continued his prolific tour.

Blazing Shehzad seals series triumph

   Ahmed Shehzad

   Pakistan's World Cup preparations only got better as their youngest batsman scored a maiden ODI century to set up a series win - their first in a bilateral rubber since November 2008 - over New Zealand, whose fortunes continued to slide at home after a miserable time in the subcontinent.

     Ahmed Shehzad batted with utmost confidence during his calculated assault, overcoming a cautious start in overcast conditions by launching a counter-attack that snatched the initiative New Zealand had worked hard to gain at the beginning of the game. He was backed up by a determined performance from Pakistan's bowlers, who stepped up in areas where New Zealand had erred, and completed the job quite comfortably in the end.

     A miserly first spell by Kyle Mills appeared to have justified Ross Taylor's decision to bowl, as it cramped the usually fluent openers through nagging lines outside off stump and crafty variations in pace. He conceded just two runs in his first four overs, and grabbed the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez.

Shehzad, though, was intent on pulling things back. He had warmed up with a crisp straight drive off Hamish Bennett but opened his shoulders to release the pressure created by the early wicket. Mills' tight lines were countered with a mow past mid-off and an agricultural slog over midwicket, catching the bowler off guard and marking a turn in the tide. Shehzad had won the psychological battle when Mills strayed onto the pads the next over, to be glanced to the fine-leg boundary.

     A feature of Shehzad's knock was his domination of Bennett, which offset any pressure New Zealand were able to inflict with the fall of a wicket. Bennett overpitched too often, or dropped too short, and was picked off consistently for boundaries. He squandered some hard work by conceding fours off the last balls of his first two overs and was struck for consecutive boundaries by an initially rusty Kamran Akmal before Shehzad singled him out for treatment. He was launched for a straight six and welcomed in his second spell with a violent pull over the midwicket boundary followed by a clean strike over long-on.

     While Shehzad took timely risks and had the power and ability to back them up, he was ruthless against the opportunities doled out by the bowlers when Pakistan had been forced to shift gears in the middle overs. The run-out of Kamran resulted in four boundary-less overs before Nathan McCullum, otherwise quite tidy, gifted a short and wide delivery that Shehzad slashed through point. Scott Styris met a similar fate while James Franklin was a victim of Shehzad's subtleties as he was twice scooped over fine leg.

     The constant throughout Shehzad's innings, only his seventh in this format, was his assuredness and determination to keep the hosts worried at one end. When he fell, miscuing Styris to deep square leg, with plenty of ammunition left in the batting, New Zealand were staring at an intimidating target. The bowlers, however, hit back to restrict Pakistan in the death overs. Only once had a team lost chasing at Seddon Park since 2002 but with New Zealand's recent ODI record in a shambles, Pakistan needn't have worried about past results at the venue.

     The start to the chase could not have been worse for the hosts as Jesse Ryder backed up too far and was run out without facing a ball. Unlike New Zealand's bowlers who had provided ample scoring opportunities to ease the pressure on Pakistan after each dismissal, Pakistan's fast bowlers hardly ever overpitched, bowled consistently in the channel outside off and dried up the runs.

     Martin Guptill faced the pressure with a combination of bravado and opportunism. He dealt harshly with deliveries bowled wide or pitched up on middle - there weren't too many of them - and improvised to clear the infield. Guptill ensured a steady flow of singles, ran well between the wickets as the field spread out and continued to be ruthless when freebies came his way. But having survived a close lbw shout early in his innings, Guptill failed to take full toll, as a short delivery from Shoaib came on a touch too quickly and he holed out to deep square leg.

     The onus was on Ross Taylor, who took his time to settle in and overcome the nervy start that has plagued him this series. He appeared to be getting back to his groove when just a firm push off Afridi raced to the extra-cover boundary and, in the company of Guptill, to whom he had ceded floor, kept his team in the hunt. It was in the attempt to rebuild after Guptill's fall that New Zealand lost it. Afridi and Hafeez got through their overs quickly, produced a spate of dot balls and deprived the hosts of a boundary for 11 straight overs. The resultant frustration from New Zealand yielded wickets for Pakistan, as Brendon McCullum got a leading edge to long-on while Styris was run out by a direct hit from Younis Khan.

     Taylor fought on, managing a six off his favoured slog-sweep and began the batting Powerplay in the 41st over with a lofted drive against Wahab Riaz. Despite the field restrictions and with five wickets in hand, an asking rate of almost nine an over was going to be difficult to measure up to. In the next over he stepped across to sweep Afridi, only to miss and be trapped in front. And when James Franklin was cleaned up by a Riaz yorker, the depth in the New Zealand batting proved insufficient to secure the remaining runs or salvage some pride after 13 defeats in their last 14 completed games.

Yasir Arafat joins Dolphins

   Yasir Arafat

   Pakistan bowling allrounder Yasir Arafat has been signed up by South African franchise Dolphins for the Pro20 competition as their overseas player. Arafat has been an experienced campaigner in Pakistan's domestic circuit and has also been part of the national side in three Tests, 11 ODIs and seven Twenty20 internationals.

     "We are excited to have Yasir join our ranks and look forward to the value that he will add. Yasir will be playing his first match for the Dolphins today [February 4} in their Standard Bank Pro20 in East London", Jesse Challan, the CEO of the Kwazulu Natal Cricket Union, said in a release.

Shahid Afridi named World Cup captain

   Shahid Afridi

   Shahid Afridi has been named captain of Pakistan's World Cup squad, a decision that ends weeks of uncertainty over who will lead the side in the global tournament starting later this month.

     Pakistan were the only side of the 14 participating teams not to have named their captain when the World Cup squads were announced in January, fuelling debate over whether Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, could take over from limited-overs leader Afridi. Misbah was named vice-captain of the World Cup squad.

     Afridi has been Pakistan's ODI captain over the last year but, just before the ongoing New Zealand tour, a number of key players and team management officials raised concerns with the board over his captaincy. The development placed the board in a quandary, caught between players and the captain, ultimately compelling them to delay the announcement of a leader.

     PCB chairman Ijaz Butt travelled earlier this week to New Zealand, where the team has just recorded its first one-day series win in more than two years, to hold discussions with Afridi, senior players and management officials over who should lead the side.

     "I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice captain," Butt said, "and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions."

Pakistan play the final match of their six-ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday in Auckland.

Pakistan battle distractions before World Cup

  Afridi

    Shahid Afridi has said that the victory in the one-day series over New Zealand has filled Pakistan with confidence, especially since the win was not due to individual genius but through teamwork. The 3-2 triumph was Pakistan's first series success since 2008.

     "What has given us the confidence to do well in the World Cup is that nearly every player contributed towards our series win in New Zealand," Afridi told reporters at Karachi airport on Monday. "You can never expect to win depending on just one or two players. Every player has to contribute in some way."

     Pakistan will be without the three players who were banned on charges of spot-fixing - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - but Afridi said that the team was focused on the cricket, and not off-field events. "The team has become mentally tougher and is hungry for success."

     All three players received lengthy bans earlier this month, and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said it was time to move on from the controversy. He also said the hearings in Doha hadn't distracted his players during the New Zealand series. "It is important that it's finished now and we can start afresh," said Waqar, who had been coach during the England series last year when the spot-fixing scandal erupted. "A lot of controversies affected Pakistan cricket, I am happy that it's over now.

     "I am sure this one-day series win will give us a good build-up for the World Cup," he said. "We have good momentum, having played South Africa recently and now this hard-fought win in New Zealand gives us good momentum for the World Cup."

     Pakistan have warm-up matches against Bangladesh in Mirpur on February 15th and against England in Fatullah to finetune their World Cup strategies.

Pakistan cricketers face prosecution

 Aamir, Asif, Butt

     The three Pakistan players at the centre of the spot-fixing allegations that rocked the Lord's Test against England last August have been charged by the UK Crown Prosecution Service with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat.

     Salman Butt, the former Test captain, and seamers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been accused of conspiring in the bowling of deliberate no-balls on last year's tour of England - claims they all deny.

     Mazhar Majeed, the players' agent, has also been charged, with a first hearing scheduled for City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 17. The CPS confirmed that extradition orders would be sought if the three players fail to appear in court, although Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, gave his assurance back in September that the Pakistan government would co-operate fully with the investigation.

     "We have authorised charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat against Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and Mazhar Majeed," Simon Clements, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said.

     "We have decided that Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, should be charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat. These charges relate to allegations that Mr Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl 'no balls' on 26 and 27 August 2010, during Pakistan's Fourth Test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London."

     The CPS confirmed its findings in an announcement shortly after 11am GMT on Friday, and the trio could be banned for life when an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal announces the conclusions of its own investigation in Doha on Saturday. A CPS spokesperson said there was no connection between the two timings.

     "Summonses for the same court date [March 17] have been issued for the three players and they have been asked to return to this country voluntarily, as they agreed to do in September last year. Their extradition will be sought should they fail to return."

     In August 2010, Britain's News of the World tabloid conducted a newspaper 'sting operation' which it said proved the Pakistan trio's willingness were involved in the deliberate bowling of no-balls during the Lord's Test against England.

     This, the paper said, was evidence of a spot-betting scam where money can be gambled on specific incidents in a match without the need to 'fix' the result.

     All the Pakistan trio were interviewed by police. So too was Majeed, whom the newspaper alleged accepted £50,000 to set up the deal. Majeed was arrested, and a third fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, was also interviewed under caution.

     While the ICC, which heard evidence from Butt, Asif and Amir during a hearing in Doha last month, has to consider whether its rules were broken and what, if any, punishment should follow if they were, the CPS has decided that the players have a case to answer under English law.

     "The Crown Prosecution Service has been working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service since the allegations of match-fixing became public on 29 August 2010," continued the statement. "We received a full file of evidence on 7 December 2010 and we are satisfied there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to prosecute.

     "I would remind everyone that these men are entitled to a fair trial and should be regarded as innocent of these charges unless it is proven otherwise in court. The International Cricket Council tribunal is due to announce its decision tomorrow, but criminal proceedings are active now. It is extremely important that nothing should be reported which could prejudice the trial."

     Accepting corrupt payments is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and carries a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Cheating is an offence contrary to Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005. It carries a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Asif, Butt ponder response after verdict

    Mohammad Asif

In his first statement after the spot-fixing verdict was announced on Saturday, Mohammmad Asif has said that he is contemplating a response after being banned for seven years by the ICC three-man tribunal. "Mohammad Asif has co-operated fully with the ICC investigation, and is very disappointed and upset by the decision it reached," said a statement issued by his London-based lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard.

     "Together with his legal representatives, he is now considering his response, and will not be commenting further due to the ongoing criminal proceedings."

The tribunal had also banned Salman Butt for ten years and Mohammad Amir for five years after a hearing in Doha on charges of being involved in the bowling of deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test against England last year. While Amir has said that he will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the tribunal's decision, Butt will be taking the advice of his barrister Yasin Patel to decide whether he will appeal or not. That decision will be made in the next few days. The players have 21 days to appeal against the ICC sanctions at the CAS based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

     The situation is likely to further develop after the trio receive the full written judgments tomorrow, giving the reasoning behind the verdict - and also the evidence, put together by the ICC's legal team, that it was based on.

     Separately, the three players have also been charged by the UK Crown Prosecution Service with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat, and have been summoned to appear in a London court on March 17.

Salman Butt hopes for reduction in punishment

Salman Butt

      Salman Butt, who was banned by the ICC tribunal for ten years, has expressed the hope that his punishment would be reduced following an amendment in the ICC code of conduct. Butt was handed the harshest sanctions of the three players found guilty of spot-fixing, with Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir getting bans of seven and five years respectively. Butt and Asif's bans included suspended sentences of five and two years each, in effect putting the trio out of the game for a minimum of five years.

     "All I can say is that I am disappointed with the verdict, but I will only be able to speak at length when a detailed judgement comes," Butt told AFP. "I don't agree with a ten-year ban and once the rules in the code of conduct are amended, which the head of the tribunal has also requested to be done, I hope the punishment can be reduced."

     Butt's hope for clemency is based upon the tribunal's recommendation that the ICC make "certain changes to the code with a view to providing flexibility in relation to minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances". The lawyers of Butt and Amir reacted to the verdict saying the tribunal would have given lower punishments had their hands not "been tied" to the code's range of sanctions.

     Butt, who was captain during the series in England, was found to have not disclosed an approach by Mazhar Majeed that he should bat a maiden over in the Oval Test. The other charges that were upheld relate to the subsequent Lord's Test, where Amir and Asif were found to have bowled deliberate no-balls and Butt was penalised for being party to that. Amir will appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration Sports, but the other two players have not yet said whether they will.

     In theory, the 26-year-old Butt could return after five years if he doesn't make further breaches of the code of conduct, and participates in an anti-corruption education programme under the auspices of the PCB. Amir, who will only turn 19 in April, could also conceivably harbour hopes of a return, though in practical terms a five-year gap from any competitive cricket makes the prospect of a return that much more difficult. The situation is most bleak for Asif, who will be 33 by the time the minimum five years are up.

Amir to appeal against ICC sanctions

  Mohammad Amir

    Mohammad Amir will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) against the five-year ban imposed on him by an independent tribunal, his lawyer has said. Amir was handed the punishment under article 2.1.1 of the ICC's anti-corruption code after the tribunal found him guilty of bowling two deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England last year.

     The sanction was the minimum prescribed under the code and Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim said the tribunal, had its hands not been tied to the code, could have gone below five years. It's a point echoed by the lawyer of Salman Butt, Yasin Patel, and though no indication came from Patel whether there would be an appeal, the point could be a crucial one should any appeal be made.

     Under the ICC code, the players have 21 days from Saturday to appeal to the CAS. "On behalf of Amir I want to say that we will be disputing the judgment to say the least," Karim said soon after the verdict had been read out. Just before he spoke, amid extraordinary scenes outside the Qatar Financial Centre, where the hearings were held, Amir was mobbed by a group of Pakistani fans as he tried to leave, and was forced back inside.

     Indications all through the hearing had been that Karim would bring the mitigating factors of Amir's young age and his clean disciplinary record until Lord's into play in a bid to reduce any punishment. "We will be challenging it and we have a right of appeal which we will exercise," he said. "We are disappointed by the judgment as we felt the tribunal could have exercised its discretion to give a lower sentence."

     But the key development appears to be that both Karim and Patel feel the sentences given by the tribunal could - and would - have been lower had the ICC's code allowed for it. In their written statement, the tribunal said it has "recommended to the ICC certain changes to the Code with a view to providing flexibility in relation to minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances." Though that left the direction of the flexibility ambiguous - whether they wanted the minimum punishment of five years to be higher or lower - one of the players told ESPNcricinfo that the tribunal was prepared to hand out lower sentences had the code allowed. The lawyers confirmed as much.

     "I think the silver lining in all this is that at the end they made an order to the effect that they will be asking the ICC to amend the code so as to allow the tribunal in exceptional circumstances to lower the sentence, if they wanted, to below the bottom of what was prescribed," Karim said.

     That, believed Karim, left the door open for some form of reversal of the sanction, either in its entirety or a reduction. "If the ICC were to do that, then we'll see what our options are. Clearly the tribunal felt its' hands were tied by the minimum that was prescribed in the quote and therefore they could not go below that, which we disputed. The inference is that they wanted to go below the minimum but they could not because of the minimum prescribed to which they were bound. We'll see now what the future course of events turns out to be."

     Neither Mohammad Asif, who was banned for seven years, or his lawyer Alexander Cameron made any statement - though it is believed they may in due course. But Patel, in a short statement read out to the media, echoed Karim's point. "The tribunal's hands were tied by the ICC's code to a five-year minimum," he said. "Mr Butt is encouraged that the tribunal advised the ICC to change the code or revise the minimum term."

     None of the players spoke publicly and are not expected to. Their mood was difficult to gauge, though Karim said Amir had remained composed through the hearings as he was confident of his innocence. Ultimately, however, Karim acknowledged the general feeling among the media that sentences could've been worse. "Yes it could've been worse for the offences they were found guilty of, technically speaking. If this sanction was to stay in place, he could still make a comeback."

Rehman Malik summons banned trio

 Rehman Malik

     The spot-fixing case involving the banned Pakistani trio has caught the attention of the Pakistan government as well; the GoP is interested in getting the details of the judgment delivered by the ICC. Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik has summoned the banned Pakistan trio of Aamir, Asif & Butt this coming Saturday in Islamabad. According to the PCB sources, Rehman Malik will ask for details about the spot-fixing case from the disgraced cricketers. 

     Now the GoP will make sure that the players are sent to England on March 17th to face prosecution charges filed by the CPS. The trio, along with bookie, Mazhar Majeed were, charged by the CPS on account of fraud, and corruption.

     The PCB source also added that there is a possibility that the trio might have to face harsh punishment according to Pakistani law. Malik will ask the trio about the investigation carried out by the Scotland Yard because they were only able to come back to Pakistan after Rehman Malik gave guarantees to the SY that the trio will be back in England to face prosecution charges.

Butt out for 10 years, Asif 7 and Amir 5

 

    Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been banned for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively after an ICC tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing stemming from the Lord's Test against England last year. The sanctions against Butt and Asif have five and two years suspended, which means that the trio cannot play any official, sanctioned cricket, international or domestic, for a minimum of five years, until September 2015.   

     The suspended sentences on Butt and Asif have been made conditional on their making no further breaches of the code and participating in an anti-corruption education programme, under the auspices of the PCB.

     A number of Pakistani fans waited outside the Qatar Financial Centre, some for the entire nine-hour duration of the proceedings, and gave vociferous support to the players when they eventually came out. Amir, in fact, was mobbed and had to return inside the building briefly.