Butt was 'orchestrator of the activity'

London: The judge at Southwark Crown Court while punishing the three Pakistani cricketers for their role in spot-fixing said yesterday that he had reserved the harshest of the sentences for former captain Salman Butt as he was the "orchestrator of the activity."

The trio, along with London-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed who was sentenced to 32 months in prison, was involved in spot-fixing during the Lord's Test here last August. The incident was revealed in a sting operation conducted by the now defunct News of the World tabloid.

Justice Cooke, while handing out the sentences, told Majeed that "you and Salman Butt were the architects" of the fixing. The judge said that he would bear in mind that players have been banned from playing for five years.

"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business has been damaged in the eyes of all. You have let down all supporters of the game. Your motive was greed, despite the legitimate rewards on offer in salaries and prize money. Offences so serious that only a sentence of imprisonment will suffice," the judge said.

After handing out the sentence to Majeed, the judge moved on to Butt and told him it's "clear to me that you were the orchestrator of this activity."

The judge also told Butt that he was involved in spot-fixing in the past as well, but would punish him only for the Lord's Test. Butt was also told that he would get harsher sentences than the other two players and was also held responsible by the judge for corrupting Mohammad Amir. "You did a terrible thing," the judge told Butt after sentencing him.

While punishing Amir, the judge told the young fast bowler that he respected the guilty plea. "It took courage," Justice Cooke told him.

"You come from a village background where life is hard. You were only 18 and readily lent on by others," the sympathetic judge told the cricketer.