3 Cricketers named in betting scam trial

A further three Pakistan cricketers have been named in court as being allegedly involved in a betting scam. The prosecution claim that the agent Mazher Majeed, 36, told an undercover reporter he had players he could control in relation to fixing. Former captain Salman Butt, 26, and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, deny conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat. The players were named as Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, and Wahab Riaz. Fast bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, was earlier named as also being under the agent's control. The case at Southwark Crown Court centres around a Test match against England at Lord's in 2010 however evidence is being heard relating to an Oval Test which took place on an earlier date. The court heard that Mr Butt was allegedly taped by an undercover reporter for the now defunct News of the World agreeing to score no runs. He also heard to say he would deliberately bat a "maiden over" which is when a cricketer scores no runs in an over, the prosecution alleged. His London-based sports agent, Mr Majeed, discussed the arrangement with the cricketer by phone while agreeing a deal with reporter Mazher Mahmood who was posing as a rich Indian businessman. The court heard that Mr Mahmood had paid £10,000 to fix part of the match. In return for the £10,000, Mr Mahmood wanted to see proof that the agent had players under his control, and that he could control part of the match, the jury was told. The agent then phoned the cricketer to confirm the deal, the prosecution claimed. The captain agreed to tap the ground with his bat after the second ball of his deliberate maiden over, an action which would not arouse suspicion because batsmen frequently do this. When Mr Mahmood pointed out that the cricketer sounded asleep during the phone call, Mr Majeed is said to have said: "Believe me, he's done this many times." The journalist asked whether Mr Butt could be trusted, to which the agent allegedly replied: "Salman is one million per cent trustworthy." Their alleged conversation, which was recorded by the reporter, happened the night before the Test on 21 August last year. The trial continues.