Cricketer, agent lose appeal in fixing scandal

An appeals court has upheld convictions of a disgraced cricketer and an agent who were jailed over separate incidents of match-fixing. Agent Mazhar Majeed was sentenced to two years and eight months last year for conspiring with players to bowl no-balls at predetermined times during the fourth test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s in August 2010. [caption id=“attachment_327917” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”] [/caption] Player Mervyn Westfield pleaded guilty to fixing in a separate case. He was jailed for four months. A three-judge panel rejected their appeal Thursday. Justice Igor Judge said the decision will help rid cricket of corruption and ensure it remains a competitive sport. The Pakistani match-fixing case was the biggest scandal in cricket since South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was banned for life in 2000 for taking bribes from bookmakers. AP