The former captain of Pakistan's national cricket team was sentenced to 30 months in prison today, and two other teammates also received jail time for conspiring to fix international matches. The three players were accused of manipulating the final scores in five test matches against England in 2010.

Bowler Mohammad Asif received one year and Mohammad Amir (who pled guilty) received six months. Captain Salman Butt received the harshest sentence since the judge identified him as the ringleader who talked his more impressionable teammates into the scheme.

The "spot fixing" scandal has transfixed the cricket world and calls for major reforms. As one of the poorest paid teams on the world stage, Pakistani stars are often the target of fixing schemes. Amir reportedly even received bribe simply to stay away from a different match fixing scheme involving other teammates. The players were caught in a sting by the News of the World tabloid.

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Dashiell Bennett