# Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal
The Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal was a 2010 corruption case in which deliberate no-balls were bowled by [Mohammad Amir](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohammad-amir) and Mohammad Asif, with captain [Salman Butt](https://www.edgepedia.org/salman-butt) being party to the bowling of those no-balls, during the fourth Test against England at Lord's, in a scheme arranged by their agent Mazhar Majeed for illegal betting purposes.[3](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/text-of-michael-beloff-qc-statement-to-the-media-at-the-end-of-the-independent-hearing) The case was exposed by an undercover sting in the now-defunct *News of the World*, led to long bans from the [International Cricket Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-cricket-council) (ICC), and ended with the three players becoming the first international cricketers jailed for spot-fixing.[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) • [2](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-spot-fixing-lords-2010/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exposé | *News of the World*, 29 August 2010, said it paid £150,000 (US$230,000) to agent Mazhar Majeed for details of the timing of three no-balls in the Lord's Test[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) |
| Players implicated | Salman Butt (Test captain), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif; all provisionally suspended by the ICC on 2 September 2010[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) |
| ICC tribunal findings | Asif agreed to bowl and bowled one deliberate no-ball, Amir two, and Butt was party to them, in the Lord's Test of 26–29 August 2010[3](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/text-of-michael-beloff-qc-statement-to-the-media-at-the-end-of-the-independent-hearing) |
| ICC sanctions | Butt 10 years (five suspended), Asif 7 years (two suspended), Amir 5 years; bans backdated to 2 September 2010[4](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/icc-reaction-to-decision-of-independent-anti-corruption-tribunal) |
| Criminal convictions | Butt and Asif found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on 1 November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) |
| Sentences | Butt 30 months, Asif 12 months, Amir 6 months, Majeed 2 years and 8 months, each to serve half before release on license[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) |
| Aftermath | Amir returned to international cricket in January 2016 and played in Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy victory[5](https://www.dawn.com/news/1270100) • [2](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-spot-fixing-lords-2010/) |
## Background
Pakistan's teams had been dogged by match-fixing allegations since the 1990s.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/cricket/pakistan-cricket-stars-accused-of-matchfixing-2065018.html) A judicial inquiry under Justice Malik Qayyum investigated the Pakistan team; Qayyum later said in 2006 that he had been lenient with some players because he "had a soft spot for them".[7](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing-scandal) After the South African captain [Hansie Cronje](https://www.edgepedia.org/hansie-cronje) was exposed by Indian police, the game's ruling body established an anti-corruption unit that operated around all international games.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/stephen-brenkley-dark-day-at-lord-s-does-not-mean-fixing-is-rife-6255880.html)
The term spot-fixing describes the pre-determination of specific, isolated events within a match, such as a no-ball at a particular delivery, rather than the match result, exploiting illegal bookmakers in Asia.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/i-m-confident-the-matchfixing-has-been-sorted-says-icc-chief-2093319.html)
## The sting and the Lord's Test
On 29 August 2010, during Pakistan's tour of England, the *News of the World* reported that it had paid £150,000 to Mazhar Majeed in return for details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth Test at Lord's. The newspaper said Amir and Asif delivered blatant no-balls at the exact points in the match agreed with the fixer, and published a photograph of Majeed counting banknotes given to him by a reporter posing as a front man for a betting syndicate.[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) The evidence at Lord's concerned three specific deliveries, the no-balls propelled by Amir and Asif.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/29/pakistan-australia-vic-marks) England won the Test by an innings and 225 runs.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/30/mazhar-majeed-bailed-without-charge)
Police raided the hotel rooms of Butt, Asif and Amir on 28 August and found cash allegedly paid by the tabloid.[12](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/spot-fixing-timeline/story-SKg5TJ1Hvy2Q6ksyr1E0EI.html) Majeed was bailed without charge in the initial police action, and the players were interviewed by [Scotland Yard](https://www.edgepedia.org/scotland-yard) detectives.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/30/mazhar-majeed-bailed-without-charge) • [1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded)
**Suspension and wider allegations.** On 2 September 2010 the ICC charged all three players with offenses under its anti-corruption code and provisionally suspended them.[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded) The scandal fed wider speculation: the man at the center of the sting claimed Pakistan's January 2010 Sydney Test defeat against Australia had been engineered to order, and the ICC's outgoing anti-corruption chief Lord Condon had earlier indicated grave concerns about that match, though he could not pin down the players' motivation.[13](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-08-29/scandal-casts-doubt-on-sydney-test-win/961912) The ICC announced it would investigate all of Pakistan's 2010 matches against Australia and England, and deleted texts from Majeed later showed conspiracies to spot-fix aspects of the July 2010 Tests against Australia before the England series.[14](https://slgj.scholasticahq.com/article/6415.pdf)
**The Oval one-day investigation.** In September 2010, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt accused England of deliberately losing the third one-day international at [The Oval](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-oval); he withdrew the accusation when the England and Wales Cricket Board threatened legal action, and apologized unreservedly.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/oct/13/icc-close-odi-fixing-investigation) • [5](https://www.dawn.com/news/1270100) The ICC's Anti-[Corruption](https://www.edgepedia.org/corruption) and Security Unit closed its investigation into scoring patterns in that match in October 2010, concluding there was "no compelling evidence to suspect individual players or support staff".[15](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/oct/13/icc-close-odi-fixing-investigation)
## ICC tribunal
An independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal chaired by Michael Beloff, QC, heard the case in Doha, Qatar. On 5 February 2011 it found the charges proved that Asif agreed to bowl and did bowl one deliberate no-ball, Amir agreed to bowl and did bowl two deliberate no-balls, and Butt was party to the bowling of those no-balls in the Lord's Test. A charge that Butt agreed to bat out a maiden over in the Oval Test was dismissed, but a charge of failing to report Majeed's approach for that Oval Test was proved.[3](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/text-of-michael-beloff-qc-statement-to-the-media-at-the-end-of-the-independent-hearing)
The sanctions were 10 years of ineligibility for Butt with five suspended, 7 years for Asif with two suspended, and 5 years for Amir, each ban backdated to 2 September 2010 to give credit for the provisional suspension already served. The tribunal recommended changes to the ICC code to allow flexibility in minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances.[4](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/icc-reaction-to-decision-of-independent-anti-corruption-tribunal) • [3](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/text-of-michael-beloff-qc-statement-to-the-media-at-the-end-of-the-independent-hearing)
## Criminal proceedings
On 4 February 2011, British prosecutors charged Butt, Amir, Asif and Majeed with conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. Amir pleaded guilty in September 2011. On 1 November 2011, Butt and Asif were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court, Butt by unanimous verdict and Asif by majority verdict on the counts. On 3 November Butt was sentenced to 30 months in jail, Asif to 12 months and Amir to 6 months, and Majeed to 2 years and 8 months, with each to serve half the sentence before release on license.[1](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded)
At trial, the court heard that of the £140,000 handed over by the *News of the World*'s undercover investigator [Mazher Mahmood](https://www.edgepedia.org/mazher-mahmood) as a "deposit" to fix events at the Lord's Test, a shortfall of £98,854 remained outstanding.[16](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/nov/03/pakistan-spot-fixing-trial-questions) In sentencing Amir, Justice Cooke accepted there was evidence of fixing in the Oval Test as well as the Lord's Test.[14](https://slgj.scholasticahq.com/article/6415.pdf)
## Aftermath and legacy
The guilty verdicts established that spot-fixers faced prison time as well as sporting bans, and the case changed how cricket corruption was investigated and prosecuted.[17](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-lords-spot-fixing-2010/) The scandal continued to shadow Pakistan's tour: in November 2010, wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider abandoned the one-day team during a series, claiming he and his family had been threatened by fixers for not complying with their wishes.[18](https://www.britishsportslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BASL-Vol-18-Issue-3.pdf)
The three players' bans officially ended on 13 September 2015, with Amir's suspension relaxed in April of that year. Amir returned to international cricket on 15 January 2016 in a Twenty20 against New Zealand in Auckland, and was later selected for the 2016 England tour, returning to Lord's for a Test in July 2016.[5](https://www.dawn.com/news/1270100) He went on to play a starring role in Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy victory, though the stigma of the case did not fully lift.[17](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-lords-spot-fixing-2010/)
Corruption cases involving Pakistan players continued after 2010: in the 2017 [Pakistan Super League](https://www.edgepedia.org/pakistan-super-league), Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were among five players implicated and charged by the PCB over a planned spot-fix in the opening match, with Latif banned for five years and fined PKR 1 million and Sharjeel banned for five years with half suspended.[19](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/case-study-3-domestic-premier-leagues)
## References
1. [How it all unfolded, Dawn/AFP (31 October 2011)](https://www.dawn.com/news/670308/how-it-all-unfolded)
2. [Pakistan Spot-Fixing Scandal at Lord's, CricJudge](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-spot-fixing-lords-2010/)
3. [Text of Michael Beloff, QC, statement to the media at the end of the independent hearing, ICC (4 July 2012)](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/text-of-michael-beloff-qc-statement-to-the-media-at-the-end-of-the-independent-hearing)
4. [ICC reaction to decision of independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal, ICC (6 February 2011)](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/icc-reaction-to-decision-of-independent-anti-corruption-tribunal)
5. [Looking back: The 2010 spot-fixing scandal and its aftermath, Dawn/AFP (11 July 2016)](https://www.dawn.com/news/1270100)
6. [Pakistan cricket stars accused of match-fixing, The Independent (28 August 2010)](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/cricket/pakistan-cricket-stars-accused-of-matchfixing-2065018.html)
7. [Have Pakistan's cricket team been caught out?, The Guardian (31 August 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing-scandal)
8. [Stephen Brenkley: Dark day at Lord's does not mean fixing is rife, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/stephen-brenkley-dark-day-at-lord-s-does-not-mean-fixing-is-rife-6255880.html)
9. [I'm confident the match-fixing has been sorted, says ICC chief, The Independent (30 September 2010)](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/i-m-confident-the-matchfixing-has-been-sorted-says-icc-chief-2093319.html)
10. [Pakistan's Sydney Test defeat open to doubt but new charges look clearer, The Guardian (29 August 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/29/pakistan-australia-vic-marks)
11. [Mazhar Majeed bailed without charge by police after spot-fixing furore, The Guardian (29 August 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/30/mazhar-majeed-bailed-without-charge)
12. [Spot-fixing timeline, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/spot-fixing-timeline/story-SKg5TJ1Hvy2Q6ksyr1E0EI.html)
13. [Scandal casts doubt on Sydney Test win, ABC News (29 August 2010)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-08-29/scandal-casts-doubt-on-sydney-test-win/961912)
14. [Match and spot fixing: Challenges for the International Cricket Council](https://slgj.scholasticahq.com/article/6415.pdf)
15. [ICC close investigation into match fixing at Oval one-day match, The Guardian (13 October 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/oct/13/icc-close-odi-fixing-investigation)
16. [Pakistan spot-fixing: Five questions that need answering, The Guardian (3 November 2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/nov/03/pakistan-spot-fixing-trial-questions)
17. [pakistan lord's spot-fixing scandal | cricjudge](https://www.cricjudge.com/incident/pakistan-lords-spot-fixing-2010/)
18. [Corruption in cricket: using the law to cull the crooks, British Sports Law Journal Vol. 18 Issue 3](https://www.britishsportslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BASL-Vol-18-Issue-3.pdf)
19. [Case study 3: Domestic Premier Leagues, ICC (30 November 2017)](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/case-study-3-domestic-premier-leagues)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket competitions and records › Individual matches and results › Notable individual Tests and first-class matches › Tests and matches defined by incidents*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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