Botham, Dhoni hail guilty verdicts of Pakistan trio

Present and former cricket stars and officials were unanimous in hailing the guilty verdict handed out to former Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in a London court on Tuesday.

Former captain Butt, 27, and opening bowlers Asif, 28, and 19-year-old Mohammad Amir, who had admitted his part in the scam before the trial started, plotted to bowl deliberate no-balls at pre-arranged times during the Lord’s Test in August last year.

The men will be sentenced on Wednesday with Butt and Asif facing up to seven years in jail or large fines. The three players have already been banned from playing by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a minimum of five years.

England legend led the chorus of condemnation for the disgraced Pakistan trio by saying: “The only way you will stop match-fixing is to make examples of people.”
 
“The no-ball that Mohammad Amir bowled was ridiculous,” said the former England skipper.
 
“It was about three feet over the line. One or two members of the commentary team scratched their heads when they saw it.
 
“Players must know that, if they get caught with their fingers in the pot, they will get severely burned.”
 
West Indies pace legend Michael Holding was commentating when Amir bowled his no-balls.
 
He said: “When I first met Salman Butt, I thought he had his team’s interests at heart.
 
“Obviously, that wasn’t the case.

“I am so sad he went the way he did. I had no idea what was going on when Amir bowled those no-balls.”
 
Retired umpire Dickie Bird warned rigging scams were "like a cancer" and would "eat the game away."
 
He called on the ICC to carry out more in-depth probes into fixing allegations.
 
“They have got to get a grip on world cricket.

“I never thought I would live to see this day. Never. I cannot think this is happening to our game.”
 
Another former England captain, Nasser Hussain, said: “It’s not a great day for cricket but probably a day that cricket needed.
 
“It sends a message to young cricketers that punishment won’t be a little ban or a slap on the wrist.”
 
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan tweeted: “Historic day. Message: Take bungs - get caught - serve time - simple.”
 
Former Pakistan skipper Zaheer Abbas said: “Justice has been done - if you do something wrong you pay the price.”
 
Bob Willis welcomed the prospect of jail terms for the guilty men.

The ex-England captain said: “We’ve had life bans but we’ve not had players sent to prison.”

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not seem surprised at the verdict, saying worse is bound to happen when you do worse.

“It’s worst thing, you can do while representing your country. If you do worse then be ready for worse to happen to you,” Dhoni said.

Former India cricketer Arun Lal said the verdict is an opportunity to cleanse the game.

“This is the time to cleanse the game. It’s fantastic that this was a criminal case. People have to be made accountable. It is an opportunity for the ICC, Pakistan Cricket Board, Indian Cricket Board and to all others to put an end to this menace. It’s the game, which suffers in the end,” Arun said.

“It’s a sad day for all of us and I’m very sad that this beautiful game of cricket has had to see this day,” said Yawar Saeed, who was manager of the team during the fateful tour of England when the betting scam was uncovered.

“I feel very sad because I tried my level best to tell them to keep away from notorious people. They should have understood that and they committed a blunder, and when you commit a blunder, you are punished,” Saeed said.

“I’m also sad because the country’s name has been dragged into this entire controversy. Pakistan is known for its talented players but this case has stained the country’s image badly,” he added.

Saeed stepped down as manager after the troubled England tour.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.