Australian captain Michael Clarke said guilty verdicts for two Pakistani cricketers are a welcome step towards forever ridding the sport of corruption.
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif face up to seven years' jail after being found guilty by a London court of fixing parts of a Test match.
Butt, 27, and Asif, 28, were each convicted of conspiracy to obtain or accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat at gambling.
Young Pakistan bowler Mohammad Aamer, who separately pleaded guilty to the same charges, also faces jail when the trio are sentenced later this week.
Clarke and former cricket greats including Sir Ian Botham hoped the verdicts were a watershed moment.
"There is no place in any sport for match-fixing of any kind," Clarke said.
"And the verdicts ... should act as a strong deterrent for any player or administrator that tries to denigrate our great game.
"While today's proceedings are a step in the right direction, it is hugely important that the authorities continue to put processes in place to rid the game of match-fixing forever."
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive officer James Sutherland said his organisation continues to support world cricket's bid to maintain constance vigilance in its efforts against corruption.
"As an ICC member, CA has long supported the ICC's view that anti-corruption needs to be a priority wherever the game is played," he said in a statement.
"It is critically important that the public has confidence in the integrity of the on-field cricket contests it sees."
A Southwark Crown Court jury deliberated for 17 hours before delivering guilty verdicts to Butt and Asif.
They and Aamer were convicted of deliberately bowling three no balls during last August's Lord's Test against England in a spot-fixing scam, uncovered by Rupert Murdoch's defunct News of the World tabloid.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had already banned Butt for 10 years with five years suspended, Asif for seven years with two suspended, and Aamer, 19, for five years after finding them guilty of corruption in February.
Zero tolerance
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the verdicts reinforced the world governing body's stance of zero tolerance against corruption.
"We have always said that we will continue to explore every possible avenue to ensure that cricket is free from corrupt activity," Lorgat said in a statement from Dubai.
"That is precisely what we have done in this case."
But Botham said the case should be a wake-up call for the ICC.
"The ICC need to stop sitting on their hands and do something, be constructive," he told Sky Sports News in England.
"Everybody seems to avoid the situation as if it isn't there - it is there and it has got to be addressed."
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said the guilty verdicts were a "sad day for cricket".
"It has been rumbling on in the background for over a decade now," Hussain said.
"It's probably a day cricket needed, just to send out a very strong message to everyone that it's not just going to be the odd ban here or there and something that is going to be papered over."
AAP/AFP
Tags: cricket, sport, pakistan, australia First posted November 02, 2011 15:25:49
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