10 Biggest Controversies in Cricket History

7. Pakistan Spot-Fixing €“ England vs. Pakistan, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKhfUjMWP3Q Pakistan has always had a reputation surrounding match fixing, ranging from the accusations levied at Wasim Akram to the fall from grace of Saleem Malik and Basit Ali. In a recent interview, Imran Khan spoke about how he felt that allegations such as these meant that the team which won the 1992 World Cup never really fulfilled its potential. But for Khan, no event was more painful than the no-ball scandal of 2010, involving the Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. During the fourth and final test at Lord€™s, Asif and Amir both bowled huge no-balls, at the start of the third over and the end of the tenth over of play. Amir€™s no-ball was noticeable, as he overstepped by around a foot €“ unusual for a bowler who had been so accurate up to that point. It subsequently transpired that a sting operation by the News of the World newspaper had produced footage of sports agent Mazhar Majeed, counting out bribe money and predicting no-balls on those exact deliveries in the match. The paper named Butt, Asif and Amir as being involved. The ICC suspended all three players on September 4th, five days after the match had ended in an innings defeat for Pakistan and England winning the series 3-1. Subsequent investigations led to all three players being banned and eventually jailed. The incidents raised real questions about the integrity of Pakistan cricket, and led to outbursts of support for the 18-year-old Amir, whom many believed had been tricked by Butt. Michael Holding, working as a pundit for Sky Sports, actually burst into tears on air after hearing about the allegations. What Happened Next: All three players were convicted of match fixing, with Butt being banned for ten years, Asif for seven and Amir for five. The subsequent investigations by Scotland Yard led to Butt being sentenced to 30 months in jail, Asif for one year, Amir for six months and Majeed for two years and eight months. Amir was released from prison in February 2012.