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LONDON: Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent told a London courtroom on Monday that he had helped to fix matches under “direct orders” from his captain, Chris Cairns.
Speaking at Cairns' perjury trial, Vincent, 36, said that Cairns persuaded him to take part in match-fixing while they were playing for the Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League in 2008.
“I was under direct orders from Chris Cairns to get involved in fixing,” said Vincent, who claimed Cairns promised him $50,000 per game to under-perform.
Former New Zealand captain Cairns, who is also accused of perverting the course of justice, denies the charges facing him.
The charges relate to a libel case that Cairns, 45, brought against Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), in March 2012.
Cairns successfully sued Modi for #1.4 million ($2.14 million) after being accused of match-fixing on Twitter in January 2010, but now faces allegations that he lied during the case.
Vincent, now retired, said he had turned down an approach to get involved in match-fixing from an Indian man who had offered him cash and the use of a prostitute.
But he claimed that when he told Cairns, captain of the Chandigarh Lions, about the approach, he was told: “You're working for me now.”
“Immediately I went to Chris Cairns and told him what had happened,” Vincent said.
“The deal, the room, the woman and being offered the money and how I went to report what had just happened.”
“Chris was obviously interested, then there was a pause for a short period of time.
“And then he turned to me, looked at me and said 'You did the right thing' and 'That's good cover. Right, you're working for me now.'”
Vincent told the jury at Southwark Crown Court that he deliberately under-performed in four games in 2008.
He said that he had been suffering from mental health problems and depression at the time and “felt good to be part of a gang”.
According to Vincent, that “gang” also included former New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Tuffey and former India batsman Dinesh Mongia.
Vincent said that he was not paid the money he had been promised but did not confront Cairns because he felt “too intimidated”.
He also alleged that Cairns threatened him with a cricket bat after he “messed up” a proposed fix.
Vincent said that he continued to fix matches after leaving the Chandigarh Lions, before confessing to the cricket authorities in 2012.
A big-hitting all-rounder, Cairns played in 62 Tests for New Zealand and is one of the few players to have achieved the double of 200 wickets and 3,000 runs.
He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000.
