Spot-fixing controversy | Jury retires to consider verdict

The judge presiding over the alleged spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court involving Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif retired the jury at the close of Thursday's proceedings and asked them to return the following morning.

The jurors were released to begin their deliberations before lunch, then spent all afternoon in debate and came back into court at 4.15pm to hear the judge officially release them for the evening, as is the custom.

"It's even more important now than at any other point in the trial that you don't talk to anybody about this case and you are back in good time in the morning," Justice Cooke said. "You can then deliberate some more."

The judge earlier completed his summing-up on what was the 17th day in the trial and he offered some guidance to the 12-person jury who will decide the fate of the two players.

"The only satisfactory verdict in a criminal trial is a unanimous verdict," the judge said. "I do not want to hear anything about majority decisions at the moment." The judge may consider a majority verdict, though, should there not be a decision within several days.

He added: "There is no set time for a verdict. You can take as short a time or as long a time as you need within reason. There is no pressure on you."

Former captain Butt and pace bowler Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord's Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.