Butt and Aamer appeals heard next week

CRICKET: LONDON, Nov 19 (AFP) - Britain’s top judge will next Wednesday hear appeals by Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer against their sentences for spot-fixing, a judicial official said.

Former Pakistan captain Butt, 27, was on November 3 sentenced to two and a half years in prison and fast bowler Aamer, 19, was sentenced to serve six months in a young offenders institute.

Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge, the head of the English judiciary, will hear their appeals, a spokesman for judiciary told AFP, adding: “It has been scheduled for next Wednesday.”

In a scandal that rocked the world of cricket, Butt, Aamer and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, were all jailed for their parts in fixing elements of the August 2010 Test match against England at Lord’s.

Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was also jailed.

Asif and Butt were found guilty charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments after a trial, while Aamer and Majeed admitted the charges.

Under the current arrangements, the four will serve half their sentences before being released on licence. The fixing plot was uncovered by the News of the World, the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid which was shut down over a phone-hacking scandal in July this year.