Agent pleads guilty to fixing

Mazhar Majeed, the agent of three Pakistan cricketers convicted over a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls, yesterday pleaded guilty to his involvement in the betting scam. Judge Jeremy Cooke, hearing the case at London’s Southwark Crown Court,...

Mazhar Majeed, the agent of three Pakistan cricketers convicted over a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls, yesterday pleaded guilty to his involvement in the betting scam.

Judge Jeremy Cooke, hearing the case at London’s Southwark Crown Court, lifted reporting restrictions on publication of his guilty pleas.

Majeed, 36, from south London, admitted conspiracy to cheat and to obtain and accept corrupt payments during a pre-trial hearing in September.

He now faces sentencing along with the three players under his wing who are also guilty of the charges. Former Test captain Salman Butt and strike bowler Mohammad Asif were found guilty by a jury on Tuesday.

Like Majeed, teenage swing bowler Mohammad Aamer admitted the charges in September, but his guilty plea could not be reported during the trial of Butt and Asif.

In court yesterday, prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee applied for a compensation order to repay the €175,000 that an undercover reporter from the now-defunct News of the World tabloid gave to Majeed.

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