A year on from the spot-fixing allegations that rocked the cricket world, Pakistan’s Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif appeared in court as the trial into one of the sport’s greatest controversies began.
Former opening batsman and ex-Test captain Butt and swing bowler Asif sat in at the start of the case at Southwark Crown Court in central London. They are yet to speak as two hours of legal arguments ensued and an appropriate jury was sent for.
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.
Both wearing suits, without a tie, they sat in a dock sealed off by a Perspex screen with holes in for hearing purposes. Butt sat alone and listened intently, often leaning forward with a concentrated look on his face. Asif was accompanied by a Punjabi interpreter. Butt’s barrister, Ali Bajwa QC, immediately informed Justice Cooke that his client did not require the services of an interpreter because he had a confident grasp of English.
Behind the players’ dock sat interested journalists taking up every seat in the public gallery. They would no doubt have been pleased when Justice Cooke noted early on that they could ‘tweet’ from the courtroom as long as they did it quietly.
With reporting restrictions in place, the detail of the legal arguments cannot be repeated at this stage.
But Justice Cooke did agree to three clauses that he later read out to potential jurors who were walked into the courtroom. They were told they would need to be available for up to five weeks, and were also informed that they would need to fill out forms asking three questions and if they answered ‘yes’ to any of them they could not sit in the jury.
The questions were: 1) Have they or any family members ever worked as a professional journalist or currently work in that capacity. 2) Do they or any family members earn their living from professional cricket? 3) Are they or family members working in the gambling industry? The appropriate jury is expected to be selected after the lunch break.
re: Spot-fixing trial begins in London/ Three further Pakistani players named.
I hope Butt does jail time - watching him look all smug and as if he will get away with anything makes me sick. He needs to rot in jail for his actions. His greed and then all his lies have made me want to slap the taste out of his mouth several times. Pathetic person he is.
Re: Spot-fixing trial begins in London/ Three further Pakistani players named.
I think Butt plan on playing ‘masooom trapped Pakistani’ for Pakistani audience. Admit or not, he will get punishment anyway but with playing masoom, he can always deceive Pakistani public due to ‘conspiracy mentality’.
Re: Spot-fixing trial begins in London/ Three further Pakistani players named.
Mazhar Majeed is playing all innocent here by claiming all cricketers approached him. It may well be true but he should stop playing 'hum tu doobay hayn sanam tum ko bhi le doobayn ge' by mentioning aussies and wasim waqar co.
Re: Spot-fixing trial begins in London/ Three further Pakistani players named.
Mazhar Majeed is playing all innocent here by claiming all cricketers approached him. It may well be true but he should stop playing 'hum tu doobay hayn sanam tum ko bhi le doobayn ge' by mentioning aussies and wasim waqar co.
I dont think there is anything wrong in naming (if he can prove) other cricketers (other than Butt, Asif and amir).
Re: Spot-fixing trial begins in London/ Three further Pakistani players named.
These recordings of Majeed are nothing but hearsay evidence. I am surprised it is even being presented as evidence. These could be taken as wild boasts of Majeed to con Mahmood to shell out more money. If Majeed has agreed to plead guilty, they need to bring him to court and testify under oath. Otherwise, if he is still friends with Butt, he could come to testify that he made the boasts to con more money.
