Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif confesses to spot-fixing

Fast bowler accepts five-year ban and hopes to make a return to action in the near future.

Mohammad Asif has finally accepted his role in the spot-fixing scandal in the 2010 Lord's Test. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP

Mohammad Asif, the disgraced Pakistani fast bowler, on Wednesday apologised for his role in a notorious 2010 spot-fixing scandal, admitting his guilt for the first time and accepting a five-year ban.

The 30 year old is the last of three players to come out with a confession, after teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir admitted their part and presented themselves for rehabilitation.

Asif, his Pakistan pace partner Amir and then-captain Butt were banned for contriving deliberate no-balls in return for money during the Lord's Test against England in 2010.

A year later an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Butt for 10 years, with five suspended, Asif for seven years with two suspended and Aamer for five years.

Asif said he accepted the punishment.

"I accept the punishment from the ICC tribunal in 2011," he said at a news conference.

"I apologise for my actions that have brought disrespect to my beloved country, to the millions of fans in Pakistan and in the world."

The trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed by an English court over the affair in 2011. The players were released last year.

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