Hong Kong's Ahmed brothers handed life bans for match-fixing

Hong Kong's Irfan Ahmed and Nadeem Ahmed have been banned from cricket for life for match-fixing and their team mate Haseeb Amjad has been banned for five years, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.

The trio were provisionally suspended by the world governing body in October after being charged for "fixing or contriving" aspects of Hong Kong's World Cup qualifiers against Scotland and Canada in 2014.

Irfan was found guilty of nine offences under the ICC's anti-corruption code and his brother Nadeem and Amjad were found guilty of three offences each.

The anti-corruption unit's general manager Alex Marshall said https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/1326475 the Ahmed brothers' actions were "premeditated and sophisticated".

"This has been a long and complex investigation which has uncovered systematic attempts to influence moments in matches by experienced international cricketers over a period of time," he added.

"With the fixers finding it harder than ever before to penetrate the highest levels of the game, we are increasingly seeing them turn their attention to other avenues in the sport."

"The severity of the offences is reflected in the sanctions and I hope will deter other players from taking this path and demonstrate to cricket fans around the world our commitment to a corruption free sport."