Cricketers jailed for match-fixing drew little support from home country

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- The front-page headlines said "Plain betrayal" and "Teammates to inmates."

The three international cricketers jailed in Britain for match-fixing drew little support Friday in their home country.

"The trio's supporters will be barking up the wrong tree," the Islamabad-based daily The News said. "The truth is that the three players were blinded by greed."

"In sport, just like in any other sphere of life, there should be no tolerance for cheats and thieves. They belong not on the playing field but in prison."

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were sentenced to varying jail sentences at a London court Thursday. They were convicted of conspiring with agent Mazhar Majeed to bowl no-balls at predetermined times as part of a betting scam during a test match against England last year.

"That three former Pakistan cricketers, all stars in their own right, will be spending time in jail in a British prison will rankle many a Pakistani, regardless of whether he follows cricket or not," English language daily the Express Tribune wrote.

"But one needs to look at this dispassionately and from the point of view of whether justice has been done, and what this unpleasant and unsavory episode means for cricket."

The three players, "once the darlings of Pakistan" according to The News, had already been handed long bans by the International Cricket Council, all but ending the careers of 27-year-old former captain Butt and 28-year-old Asif.

Amir, who was considered one of the world's best young bowlers, is still only 19 and could make a comeback. He was given a six-month prison term and has been banned for five years by the ICC.

Match-fixing is not new in Pakistan cricket. Former test captain Salim Malik and fast bowler Ataur Rehman drew life bans in 2000 following a judicial inquiry, although the suspensions were later lifted.

Noman Niaz, cricket analyst and a former assistant manager of the Pakistan national team, said the shock of the prison terms could help stamp out corruption in the game.

"We, as a whole nation, are ashamed after yesterday's sentencing, but at least it's a step in the right direction," he told The Associated Press. "It could send a very strong message to all the players that if they are caught, there's every likelihood that they could end up in prison."

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