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Summary Former cricketers and cricket bodies havecalled for renewed efforts to stamp out corruption.
These statements came after Tuesdays conviction of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif for fixing parts of a test match.The Marylebone Cricket Clubs Mike Brearley was among those to warn that the successful prosecution of the case against former captain Butt and bowler Asif does not allow authorities to relax their guard against corruption.The MCC owns Lords, the north London ground on which Asif and fellow bowler Mohammad Amir deliberately bowled no-balls in a betting scam.The third player in the case, Mohammad Amir, was only 18 at the time of the Lords test and one of the hottest fast bowling prospects in world cricket. He admitted to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments before his teammates went on trial. Now 19, banned from the sport and facing a possible prison sentence, Amirs professional career could be over.The England and Wales Cricket Board declined to comment in detail upon the case but reiterated its policy of zero tolerance toward corruption.The International Cricket Council created its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit in response to previous corruption incidents. It confirmed that the Pakistan players would remain banned from all cricket.The ICC takes no pleasure from the fact that these players stepped outside not only the laws of the game but also the criminal laws of the country in which they were participating, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement. In addition to constituting offenses under the ICCsAnti-Corruption Code, for which sporting sanctions have been imposed, such conduct has now been shown to constitute criminal behavior for which serious criminal sanctions can also be imposed.Widespread corruption is widely believed to have been stamped out, but isolated cases such as the Pakistan case still occur. It leaves a cloud overPakistan cricket, former England all-rounder Ian Botham said. Its up to Pakistan and youve got to address your own problems. You cant keep sweeping it under the carpet. You know its there do something about it.That view was endorsed by former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi, who said on Twitter that fixing extended as far as umpires and administrators.Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his hope that players found guilty of fixing would be jailed.
