Spot-fixing Asif and Butt fight Pakistan Bans

Pakistan cricket players Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif missing for Switzerland Tuesday to fight to overturn bans imposed 2 years ago for spot-fixing.

Pakistan Captain Butt and fast bowlers Asif and Mohammad Aamer were banned by the International Cricket Council for contrive to bowl conscious no-balls during the Lord Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010.

Butt was banned for 10 years, with 5 suspended, Asif for 7 years with 2 suspended and the then teenager Aamer for 5 years. The trios were also jailed by a British court over the scandal in November 2011. All 3 were released last year after completing half of their sentences.

Aamer, now age 20, decided not to pursue his appeal to the Swiss-based Court of mediation for Sport after pleading guilty to the charges in Britain. But Asif's appeal will be heard in the Lausanne court on Thursday, exactly 2 years and a day after they were banned, and Butt's on Friday.

It's a high-profile case of 2 first-class players with the whole cricket world focused on it and we will fight to get the ban overturned, Asif's lawyer Ravi Sukul told AFP from London. Asif was a very good bowler and it was offensively unfortunate that a bowler of his class suffered this, but we will try our best to get this ban overturned and Asif is in high spirits.

Butt will be represented by another London-based lawyer, Yasin Patel. Asif, 30, played 23 Tests and 38 ODI and was regarded as one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world. Butt, 28, was made Test captain on that fateful tour of England, and Aamer was regarded as the greatest emerging bowler in the world.

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