Butt, Amir and Asif back in contention

Butt	Asif

Pakistan players Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt will be free to play competitive cricket at both domestic and international level from September 2 after serving bans for spot-fixing.

In a statement the International Cricket Council (ICC) said the duo had fulfilled specific conditions laid down by the independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

Mohammad Amir who was also banned will be eligible to return to cricket at international level at the same time after he was permitted to return to play domestic cricket in Pakistan earlier this year.

The three players were found guilty of various offences of corrupt behavior relating to the Lords Test between England and Pakistan in August 2010 by the independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal on 5 February 2011.

The Tribunal, headed by Michael Beloff, QC, following a six-day hearing in Qatar had imposed a sanction of five years on Amir, seven years on Asif (of which the final two years were suspended on specified conditions) and 10 years on Butt (of which the final five years were suspended on specified conditions).

As with all players and other participants in cricket, all three players remain bound to comply with the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and the anti-corruption rules of all National Cricket Federations.