London, Dec.10 : England off-spinner Graeme Swann has admitted that he was surprised by the severity of the punishments handed out to the three Pakistani cricketers for their role in last year’s spot fixing scam.
“There was nothing funny about England''s controversial series against Pakistan last year and the subsequent jailing of three Pakistan players, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, for spot-fixing,” Swann told the Daily Mail.
“I was shocked. Even when the trial was going on, I didn''t think they''d end up in jail,” he says.
“I was the first to say that if you do something like this, you shouldn''t be allowed to play the game again and I stand by those comments, but when it came down to custodial sentences, I had to take a step back,” he adds.
“Hopefully, it''s the deterrent it should be, because, I can only assume they didn''t realize the seriousness of what they were doing. Surely they wouldn''t have done it if they''d known they could end up in Wormwood Scrubs. That hit home,” Swann said.
Now, England is preparing to face Pakistan again in the United Arab Emirates in 2012.
“I actually think this series will be the most civil there has been between England and Pakistan in living memory,” says Swann.
© ANI
