The lawyer for Chris Cairns has attacked the credibility of the former Black Cap Lou Vincent, who says Cairns paid him to fix cricket matches. Cairns, 45, a former New Zealand all-rounder, is on trial in London accused of lying under oath during his successful defamation case against the former Indian Premier League chairman, Lalit Modi, who had accused him on Twitter of match fixing.
Vincent, 36, is the first in a long list of well known New Zealand and international cricketers to appear as a witness in the trial at the Southwark Crown Court in London. Vincent told the court his introduction to match fixing for Cairns came after he was approached to fix by an Indian man, Varun Gandhi, with offers of cash and a prostitute.
Vincent refused his offers and said he told Cairns about the approach and how he had reported it, to which Cairns replied that would be "good cover" and that Vincent was now working for Cairns. But, Cairns's lawyer, Orlando Pownall QC said Vincent's account of events had changed over the years and he had lied on numerous occasions.
Mr Pownall attacked Vincent's credibility and referred to his troubles with depression, cannabis and alcohol, saying the cricketer could have said anything to anyone.
He also questioned why it took Vincent six or more years to recall the events of and suggested he collected a trail of evidence over the years in the hope it would help him later. Vincent said the reason why he never came clean about match fixing sooner was because he was not in a good place mentally.
