Butt and Asif share prison cell: Report

Imprisoned Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt have been forced to share a prison cell, according to a report published in The Daily Mail.

'They had no choice, it's the prison authorities who make the call. The batsman and the bowler remain together but with no room for a run-up let alone room to overstep the mark,' a source told The Daily Mail.

The two cricketers have been held in Wandsworth prison after being found guilty of accepting corrupt payments to bowl no-balls during a cricket match last year. Judge Jeremy Cooke sentenced Butt to 30 months, Asif one year, and their corrupt agent Mazhar Majeed two years and eight months for spot-fixing during the August 2010 Lord’s Test match.

Justice Cooke said the players were motivated solely by personal gain, despite the fortunes they could earn legitimately, and said he hoped the sentences would deter other cricketers and agents from following their “hugely detrimental” example.

In the witness stand during the trial, Asif had accused Butt of abusing him before he bowled the second of the three pre-determined no balls in conspiracy with convicted bookie Mazhar Majeed.

Wandsworth is the largest prison in the UK, currently able to hold 1,665 prisoners.