London (CNN) -- Two top international cricket players from Pakistan were found guilty Tuesday of plotting to cheat and to take bribes in a major match against England last summer.





Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif could potentially go to prison for up to seven years for the criminal offenses, part of a scandal that rocked the international sport.





A third player, Mohammad Amir, pleaded guilty to the same charges. The court barred the press from reporting his plea until the jury reached their verdict on Butt and Asif, for fear of affecting the deliberations.





They are due to be sentenced on Wednesday.





"This is a case of cheating, pure and simple," Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Matthew Horne said in a statement after the verdict. "The defendants, who are world-class cricketers, sought to cheat to enhance their substantial legitimate earnings."





He said they had "let down the cricketing world, their fans and the hardworking people that buy tickets to watch."





"They were role models to countless children around the world and have betrayed their trust," the officer said.





The Pakistanis were accused of spot fixing, which involves deliberately throwing parts of a game rather than the whole match.





Prosecutors accused Butt and Asif of taking part in a betting scam, allegedly arranged by Mazhar Majeed, during a match between Pakistan and England played at the Lord's cricket ground in London.





The News of the World, the British tabloid that first reported the allegations, said players deliberately bowled "no balls," or fouls, at specific points in the game and that the alleged ringleader made 150,000 pounds (about $230,000) in the scam.





The News of the World has since folded in an unrelated scandal.





But Horne praised the newspaper's work, saying it was "unlikely" the corruption would have been exposed without "the good work of investigative journalism; and as an investigator I acknowledge the skill involved in such work."





Prosecutors used audio and video recordings the newspaper made secretly last year involving Majeed, a 36-year-old businessman from London.





In one, Majeed is heard telling an unknown contact it is "not a problem" to fix the result of a match, adding: "Boss, you know how many [players] I have got, you know that they do it."





The jury also heard a series of audio and video recordings of conversations and meetings between Majeed and a reporter from the newspaper, who was posing as a rich Indian businessman. One of the recordings showed the reporter handing over $140,000 in a London hotel room that had been fitted with secret cameras.





Majeed is heard to give the reporter precise details of events in the match, due to start the following day, that would be rigged by the Pakistani players. Specifically, he describes three no-balls -- illegal deliveries -- that the Pakistani bowlers would concede at particular points in the match.





The price of fixing a no-ball, Majeed was heard to say, is $10,000; he went on to tell the undercover reporter that his contact in India made four to five times that amount by betting on no-balls.





The jury was then shown extended clips from the Lord's match, during which the Pakistani bowlers did exactly as Majeed had promised. Before one of the no-balls, the cameras even showed Butt, who was captaining the Pakistani team, consult with Amir, the bowler.





Earlier in the trial, the jury was told the betting market in the Asian subcontinent is "breathtaking in size." Conservative estimates, the prosecution said, puts the value of the market at between $40 billion to $50 billion dollars per year.





Alan Peacock, an anti-corruption official at the International Cricket Council, told the court that the betting market had developed over the years from a focus on fixing match results, to spot fixing: contriving small events within the game, like no balls, or particular patterns of scoring.





Asif and Butt denied the charges.





Majeed was not on trial; the jury was told there
Who is guilty of plotting to cheat and take bribes? What is worth up to $50B a year? who pleaded guilty who was found guilty Who pleaded guilty to the same charges? what is the betting market worth What was reported? What is the size of the Asian betting market? What were they guilty of?
Two top international cricket players betting market in the Asian subcontinent Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif Mohammad Amir, between $40 billion to $50 billion dollars per year. allegations, between $40 billion to $50 billion dollars per year. to cheat and to take bribes in a major match against England
question: Who is guilty of plotting to cheat and take bribes?, answer: Two top international cricket players | question: What is worth up to $50B a year?, answer: betting market in the Asian subcontinent | question: who pleaded guilty, answer: Mohammad Amir, | question: who was found guilty, answer: Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif | question: Who pleaded guilty to the same charges?, answer: Mohammad Amir, | question: what is the betting market worth, answer: between $40 billion to $50 billion dollars per year. | question: What was reported?, answer: allegations, | question: What is the size of the Asian betting market?, answer: between $40 billion to $50 billion dollars per year. | question: What were they guilty of?, answer: to cheat and to take bribes in a major match against England