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The three Pakistan cricketers and their agent, who were earlier found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, were all sentenced to time in jail yesterday at London's Southwark Crown Court for their part in a fixing scandal which rocked the international game to its core.

Former captain Salman Butt, 27, received a 30-month term, while fast bowlers Mohammad Asif, 28, and Mohammad Aamer, 19, were handed 1-year and 6-month sentences respectively.

Their agent Mazher Majeed, 36, was given the longest sentence -- two years and eight months.

Butt and Asif were found guilty of fixing parts of the August 2010 Lord's Test match against England on Tuesday, while Aamer and Majeed pleaded guilty to the same charges earlier in September.

The group's fixing scam was exposed last year in August during a sting operation by the now-defunct News of The World British tabloid.

"These offences, regardless of pleas, are so serious that only a sentence of imprisonment will suffice," judge Jeremy Cooke told the four men, adding that they would each serve half their sentences and then be released on licence.

Cooke called Butt the "orchestrator" of fixing within the Pakistan team and said that given his "leadership status" and direct involvement with Majeed, he was "more culpable than either of your two bowlers".

After the verdict, Butt's lawyer revealed that his client will appeal against the sentence.

The ICC had already banned Butt for 10 years with five suspended, Asif for seven years with two suspended, and Aamer for five years straight after finding them guilty of corruption in February. They are all appealing the bans.

The scandal and the ensuing verdict have rocked the cricket and sports world, drawing varied reactions from Pakistan and around the globe.

"It is painful to listen (to) the news as a former Pakistan cricketer and I feel really sorry for their families," said Pakistan's 1992 World Cup winning captain Imran Khan, who was on a political meeting in Sharjah, told AFP.

"In a way I also feel sorry for these cricketers because they are from Pakistan where there are massive corruption cases against president (Asif Zardari) and they must have thought crime pays," said Khan, who now heads his political party -- Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice).

"I always felt sorry for Aamer," said Khan, himself a great fast bowler. "He may have been influenced by the atmosphere around him, secondly he was the best young fast bowler and for the fact that he came out with a confession."

Aamer's mother, Nasim Akhtar, tearfully insisted that her son was innocent while speaking at her home in the village of Changa Bangial outside the Pakistani capital after the verdict.

"My son is innocent and he did the no ball at the asking of the captain,” said Nasim, who fears that she may not survive long enough to see her son return.

"I spoke to him two days ago and he asked me to pray for his acquittal... I'm ill after this case, suffering from several diseases and I may not be here (when he gets out)," she added.

The world of cricket has reacted with dismay to the worst fixing scandal since South Africa captain Hanse Cronje in 2000, but the head of the anti-corruption unit of the International Cricket Council, Ronnie Flanagan, denied that corruption was rampant in the sport.

"The vast, vast majority of cricketers are not only wonderfully talented, but wonderfully ethical people," he said