Majeed's appeal in Pakistan cricket scam rejected

Mazhar Majeed, the agent behind the Pakistan cricket betting scam that rocked the sport, on Thursday lost a legal challenge against his conviction.

Majeed, 36, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced in November to two years and eight months in jail after pleading guilty to conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to make corrupt payments.

In a scandal that shook the world of cricket, former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were also jailed for their roles in fixing elements of the August 2010 Test match against England at Lord's.

Lord Igor Judge, the head of the English judiciary, sitting with two other judges at the Court of Appeal in London, rejected the challenge.

Former Essex county player Mervyn Westfield also lost an unrelated separate challenge against his conviction.

The appeals were heard together as they raised the same point in law, that the offences the men were charged with did not reflect the facts alleged.

Westfield, 24 -- the first county cricketer in England to be prosecuted for spot-fixing -- was sentenced to four months in prison in February and has since been released.

He had admitted a charge of accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment to bowl in a way that would allow the scoring of runs, relating to a match between Durham and Essex in September 2009.

The legal challenges centred on the interpretation of gambling and betting legislation.

"The rulings... were right and these appeals against convictions are dismissed," the judgment read.