The former owner of Croydon Athletic Football Club was “central” to a plot to fix international cricket matches.

Mazhar Majeed, 36, who also works as a sports agent, is embroiled in the trial of Pakistani fast-bowler Mohammed Asif and former captain Salman Butt.

The pair is alleged to have fixed parts of a test match between Pakistan and England at Lord’s Cricket Ground in August last year.

Southwark Crown court heard how Mr Majeed, who has been involved with Croydon Athletic FC since June 2008, was secretly filmed accepting money from undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood.

Mr Mahmood, working for the News of the World, posed as a representative of a large gambling syndicate.

The video showed Mr Majeed telling Mr Mahmood when to expect two bowlers, Mr Asif and Mohammed Amir, to bowl no-balls in what is known as spot fixing.

Large amounts of money can be made by betting syndicates by gambling on when no-balls will be bowled.

The court heard the betting market was worth £40-50 billion in India in one year, with up to $200m gambled on a single Twenty20 match in Mumbai.

Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC told the court: "It is the prosecution's case that all four men were involved.

"And by the time the last Test match at Lord's took place, each of them was well at it, the two bowlers being orchestrated by their captain and the captain's agent, Majeed, to bowl three no-balls at a pre-arranged point in the game...

"The bowlers were willing participants so that they could all profit, those lower down the ladder probably profiting less than those at the top."

The jury had heard how Mr Majeed had called Mr Butt, Mr Asif, fellow fast bowler Wahab Riaz, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, and batsmen Umar Akmal and Imran Farhat, “his boys”.

Towards the end of the meeting between him and Mr Mahmood, the subject of fixing games was broached.

Mr Mahmood said at least three players would be needed to be involved in the scam, the court was told.

Majeed allegedly replied: "Boss, I've got six already."

Butt and Asif deny conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments between August 15 and 29 last year.

The trial continues.