Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has broken down emotionally while giving evidence at Chris Cairns's perjury trial in London.
Vincent, who played for the national side between 2001 and 2007, on Monday appeared as the first Crown witness in the trial at Southwark Crown Court, declaring he worked "under direct orders from Chris Cairns" to fix matches in the Indian Cricket League in 2008.
In cross examination, Cairns's lawyer Orlando Pownall QC zeroed in on the "lie after lie" that Vincent had told to "save his own skin".
"You keep saying Mr Cairns was your hero ... You're using Mr Cairns now to mitigate your own responsibility," Mr Pownall told Vincent.
Cairns faces a charge of perjury in relation to a 2012 libel case in which he said he "never, ever cheated at cricket".
The former New Zealand cricket star also faces a joint charge with barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland for perverting the course of justice by trying to get Vincent to provide a false statement.
In court on Monday, Vincent said he went to Cairns after being approached about fixing when he arrived at the ICL, and, unexpectedly, was encouraged to work for him by cheating.
"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'."
Cairns told him the ICL was corrupt and he and Vincent needed "to get a piece of the pie", Vincent said. The 36-year-old described a number of games he helped Cairns fix, including one in which Vincent accidentally hit a six then a four from two consecutive balls as he tried to get himself stumped.
"The art of getting out is quite hard," Vincent said, adding that he was eventually dismissed for about 28 - well over the 10-15-run target Cairns had instructed.
Afterwards, he was summoned by a "fuming" Cairns, who he said threatened him by holding a bat over his head.
When prosecutor Sasha Wass QC turned her attention to 2009, when Vincent's first marriage broke down, Vincent became visibly upset, asking the court for a break and leaving the room in tears.
Vincent told the court that when he was fixing he felt good, but looking back he was "completely ashamed", which was partly why in 2013 he eventually owned up to cheating.
"I didn't like the man I was looking back at in the mirror. I was living a double life," he said.
Vincent also gave evidence on Monday about being asked to provide a statement in support of Cairns's libel action.
After refusing Cairns's request, Vincent said he was contacted soon after by Fitch-Holland asking him to reconsider giving a statement to say that from Vincent's position on the field "everything seemed OK" with the games.
A Skype call between the pair, recorded by Vincent, was played to the court, and included the cricketer saying: "It's a big ask from me to ... in a legal document to say something that isn't true".
The trial could last until November 20.
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