Judge sends jury home in spot-fixing trial

The judge presiding over the fixing trial of former Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif has sent the jury home for the day in hope it can reach a majority decision.

The jurors will report back to Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday after judge Jeremy Cooke said he would accept a 10-2 verdict on whether the pair plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth test against England at Lord's in August 2010.

The jury initially retired at midday Thursday but reported to Cooke on Monday that it was unable to reach a unanimous decision on charges of conspiracy to cheat and conspire to accept corrupt payments.

Bowler Mohammad Amir pleaded guilty to the same charges before his teammates' trial.