He was the golden boy of the cricket world, but prosecutors in Chris Cairns's perjury trial say the New Zealander had been match-fixing for some time when he claimed under oath he'd never cheated.
Cairns is charged with perjury in relation to a 2012 libel case against Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi, during which the New Zealander stated he had "never, ever cheated at cricket".
He also faces a joint charge with barrister and friend Andrew Fitch-Holland of perverting the course of justice by allegedly trying to induce fellow cricketer Lou Vincent to provide a false statement.
As the trial got under way at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, the prosecution said it would present clear evidence that Cairns was repeatedly involved in match-fixing during his time in the Indian Cricket League.
"When he denied it, he was lying to the court," prosecutor Sasha Wass QC told the London court in her opening statement. "He committed perjury."
Ms Wass said witnesses would give evidence that Cairns had openly boasted that match-fixing was undetectable in the ICL and had targeted players he hoped would help him, including Vincent and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.
A number of other professional cricketers are also set to give evidence for the prosecution, including New Zealanders Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills and Chris Harris, and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Ms Wass said Ponting would detail a 2008 conversation with McCullum in which the latter said Cairns had telephoned to offer him a "business proposal".
Other witnesses would also provide evidence to support McCullum's version of events.
The crown case also includes a recording of a Skype conversation between Vincent and Fitch-Holland, which, Ms Wass said, was concrete evidence of match-fixing.
In the recording, which was played to the court, Fitch-Holland asks Vincent to provide a statement for Cairns's libel case and to say that "from where you were standing, everything seemed OK, full stop".
Vincent replies: "... Obviously it's not, you know because it wasn't."
Then, later, he says it's a "big ask" for him "in a legal document to say something that isn't true".
Vincent's now-estranged wife, Eleanor Riley, is also due to appear as a crown witness and testify about an occasion when Vincent told her he had "lost Chris Cairns $250,000", apparently in reference to a match in April 2008.
Ms Wass said Vincent's fixing skills failed him and he remained on the pitch until he was stumped for 28 runs from 27 balls, and was threatened with a cricket bat by Cairns following the performance.
Ms Riley is also expected to give evidence about a dinner she and Vincent had with Cairns, his wife, Mel, and former England captain Andrew Flintoff in 2008.
While Flintoff spent time just drinking, the conversation between the other four turned to match-fixing and Cairns reassured Ms Riley that "everything would be all right because everyone was doing it" in India.
Ms Wass said other players described Cairns as a hero, a role model and a legend.
"He was the golden boy in the cricket world whom every cricketer wanted to emulate," she said.
But, she said, Cairns was "an arrogant individual and very sure of the power he held over the people around him".
"When he brought his libel action in the High Court, he would have felt very confident that there would only be little, if any, evidence saying he was guilty of match-fixing," Ms Wass said.
"After all, the only people who knew for certain that Mr Cairns was engaged in match-fixing were those people who had been match-fixing with him."
The jury will begin hearing evidence on Monday, with Vincent expected to be the first witness called.
The trial could last until November 20.
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