Vincent tells court Cairns ordered him to fix matches

At Southwark Crown Court in London in October 2015, Lou Vincent admitted deliberately underperforming in four cricket matches in 2008. The former New Zealand player told the jury he had acted under “direct orders” from Chris Cairns, his captain at the Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League. Cairns was on trial for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He denied both charges.

Vincent described Cairns as an early hero who later became his New Zealand team-mate. “He was the biggest icon player for me growing up and watching New Zealand play,” he said. Vincent also told the court that being dropped from a team in 2007 had left him struggling with depression and seeking professional help. He joined the Lions the following year.

His account of being drawn into fixing began with an offer he said he rejected: cash and a prostitute offered by an Indian man in exchange for underperforming. Vincent testified that he immediately reported the approach to Cairns. According to Vincent, Cairns paused, then told him: “You did the right thing” and “that's good cover, right you're working for me now.” Vincent alleged that Cairns promised him US$50,000 per game to underperform. He said he initially felt a sense of belonging, but that the promised money was never paid and he was too intimidated to confront Cairns about it.

Vincent also described an alleged confrontation after a game in which he said he had failed to carry out the fix. He told the jury that Cairns summoned him to a hotel room, picked up a cricket bat and held it above his head. “I was shaking and nervous because I knew I had stuffed up what was my job for that day,” Vincent said. He alleged that Cairns accused him of working for someone else and going against his orders. Vincent said he left the room in tears.

The criminal case concerned statements and conduct associated with an earlier libel action. In January 2010, Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi accused Cairns on Twitter of fixing matches while playing for the Lions in 2008. Cairns successfully sued Modi for £1.4 million. At the 2015 trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass alleged that Cairns had lied under oath about fixing and that his barrister and lead adviser, Andrew Fitch-Holland, had approached Vincent to get him to lie during the libel case. Fitch-Holland denied the charge of perverting the course of justice.

The prosecution separately alleged that Cairns had tried to recruit Brendon McCullum, then New Zealand’s captain, to throw games in the Indian Cricket League in 2008. Wass told the jury that Cairns first approached McCullum in a hotel and explained spread-betting. At a later meeting in a Worcester cafe, she said, Cairns asked whether McCullum had changed his mind. McCullum’s answer, according to her account, was no.

Wass said McCullum did not immediately make an official report because Cairns had been such a hero to him. She told the jury that he alerted officials after anti-corruption training at the 2011 World Cup in India, having told other people in the intervening years. This was the prosecution’s account of a separate alleged approach, not an admission of participation by McCullum.

Vincent told the court that he had confessed to authorities in 2012 with support from his family. Looking back on his own involvement, he said he was “completely ashamed and embarrassed and gutted, absolutely gutted.”