Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has been jailed for 30 months for his part in the conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in last year's Test match against England.
Former world number two Test bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, was jailed for one year and bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, has been sentenced to six months.
Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was jailed for two years and eight months.
Knowing when no-balls will be bowled can be of great value in betting scams.
The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said cricket matches would forever be tainted by the scandal.
Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir has been released from jail after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in a fixing scam.
The 19-year-old was released from Portland Prison in Dorset on Wednesday morning.
In November, Amir and team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were jailed for a plot to bowl deliberate no balls in a Test match against England in 2010.
All three players were also given five-year playing bans
Would it be possible to explain what a "no ball" is and how fore-knowledge could unfairly advantage a bettor?
Briefly.
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:27 pm
by Lord Jim
I think it's obvious Dave:
conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls
Obviously, he was conspiring to deliberately bowl in a cowardly, timid, and unmanly way.....
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:53 pm
by Gob
Dave; a no ball occurs when the person bowling oversteps the bowling line.
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:05 pm
by dgs49
"Knowing when no-balls will be bowled can be of great value in betting scams."
That's what I don't understand. If it's a "no ball," does play stop? Does the result not count? If so, what difference would it make to a bettor?
Sorry to be so ignorant, but I'm curious.
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:12 pm
by Gob
No worries dave.
If a no ball is bowled, the batting side get one run added to their tally, and the ball is bowled again.
If runs are scored off a no ball, they count.
If the batsman is "out" off a no ball, (eg if the ball strikes the wicket, or is played and caught, ) that "out" does not count and the batsman stays in.
In terms off betting, no balls should be a random error, so betting on which over (group of six bowled balls) they occur in should be a random event which someone could place a bet on.
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:16 pm
by Gob
Here's a video of one of the "no balls."
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 5:50 am
by Sean
Gob wrote:Dave; a no ball occurs when the person bowling oversteps the bowling line.
There can be lots of other reasons too...
An umpire will rule a no ball under any of the following conditions:
Illegal action by the bowler
If the bowler bowls without some part of the front foot either grounded or in the air behind the popping crease
If the bowler bowls with the back foot not wholly inside the return crease.
If the bowler bowls more than one ball above the head height in a over.
If the bowler throws, rather than bowls, the ball. (See bowling for an explanation.)
If the bowler changes the arm with which he bowls without notifying the umpire.
If the bowler changes the side of the wicket from which he bowls without notifying the umpire.
If the bowler bowls underarm unless this style of delivery is agreed before the match.
If the bowler throws the ball towards the striker's wicket before entering the "delivery stride".
If the ball does not touch the ground in its flight between the wickets and reaches the batsman at a height above either his waist when delivered by a fast bowler (this delivery is called a 'Beamer') or the shoulder when delivered by a slow bowler.
If the ball bounces more than twice, or rolls along the ground, before reaching the popping crease at the striker's end. However, the ECB has ruled that in certain competitions in England the ball is only allowed to bounce once.
If the ball comes to rest in front of the line of the striker's wicket.
Illegal action by a fielder
If the wicket keeper moves any part of his person in front of the line of the stumps before either a) the ball strikes the batsman's person or bat; or b) the ball passes the line of the stumps.
If a fielder (not including bowler) has any part of their body grounded or in the air over the pitch.
If there are more than two fielders that are on the leg side and behind the batsman's crease.
Under certain playing conditions, further restrictions apply to the placement of fielders. For example in One Day International cricket, there can be no more than five fielders a) on the on side; and b) outside the 30m circle
FFS Sean, I had an American interested in cricket, don't make it too complex for the buggers!
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:31 am
by Sean
I'm just helping Jim to get the Roger Ramjet theme tune out of his brain...
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:21 pm
by Lord Jim
I've now won First Prize for having posted the most useful information in this thread....
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:26 pm
by dgs49
OK, thanks for the clarification, guys.
May I make a point about the physics of it?
I submit that a major league baseball pitcher is able to throw the ball just as fast from a standing position (e.g., 90-100mph) as a cricket bowler is able to throw it with his run-up. So why not just have the bowler throw the ball from the bowling line and avoid the "no ball" issue altogether?
Would this be a breach of the rules?
Do bowlers throw "curve balls"?
Re: Bowl me over...
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 8:12 pm
by Gob
No, Dave "throwing" or bowling from a stationary position is allowed, just not very effective due to restrictions on the way the ball may be bowled.
There are different types of bowlers ranging from fast bowlers, whose primary weapon is pace, through swing and seam bowlers who try to make the ball deviate in its course through the air or when it bounces, to slow bowlers, who will attempt to deceive the batsmen with a variety of flight and spin. A spin bowler usually delivers the ball quite slowly and puts spin on the ball causing it to bounce at an angle off the pitch.
