Pakistan cricketers jailed in England

Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt was on Thursday jailed for two and a half years for his role in a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in last year's Test match against England.

Former world number two Test bowler Mohammad Asif was jailed for one year and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir was sentenced to six months, the BBC reported.

Read more on GlobalPost: Pakistan cricketers found guilty of match rigging

Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was jailed for two years and eight months for his role in fixing parts of the Test matches at Lord's and Oval, in Britain.

It is understood that all four may be released for good behavior after serving half their terms.

The four appeared before Southwark Crown Court in London, which on Tuesday found them guilty of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat at gambling, Al Jazeera reported.

Handing down the sentencing, Judge Jeremy Cooke said that cricket would forever be tainted by the scandal.

“Now whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, or whenever in the future there are surprising events or results, followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it live or watch it on television will be left to wonder whether there has been fixing and whether what they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball.”

The judge added that the image and integrity of “what was once a game but is now a business” had been severely damaged.