Lou Vincent has been banned for life from having any involvement in cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board after pleading guilty to match-fixing.
Vincent, a 35-year-old who won 23 Test caps for New Zealand and played more than 100 one-day internationals, is a much higher-profile scalp for the ECB than Naved Arif, the little-known Pakistani who was also handed a life ban earlier this month after admitting to fixing when playing alongside Vincent for Sussex in 2011.
Vincent’s punishment also relates to a Twenty20 match three years earlier, when he was playing for Lancashire, against Durham at Old Trafford. He pleaded guilty to a total of 18 breaches of the ECB’s anti-corruption regulations.
He pre-empted the ECB’s confirmation of the suspension with a lengthy personal statement released to the New Zealand press overnight beginning: “My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat.”
David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, said: “This has been a complex case which has crossed different cricketing jurisdictions and required close collaboration and intelligence-sharing between both our own anti-corruption unit, other domestic boards and the ICC’s ACSU [the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council].
“We are extremely pleased that the matter has now been brought to a satisfactory conclusion and that an individual who repeatedly sought to involve others in corrupt activity for his own personal gain has accepted that his conduct warrants a lifetime ban from cricket. It once again highlights our resolve to keep cricket clean and rid the game of the tiny minority who seek to undermine the sport’s integrity.”
In his first full public statement since he was named by the New Zealand Herald last December, Vincent revealed that his girlfriend had played a significant part in his decision to come clean.
“I have abused my position as a professional sportsman on a number of occasions by choosing to accept money through fixing. I have lived with this dark secret for many years, but just months ago I reached the point where I decided I had to come forward and tell the truth.
“It’s a truth that has rightly caused uproar and controversy in New Zealand and around the world. I have shamed my country. I have shamed my sport. I have shamed those close to me. For that I am not proud.
“It is entirely my fault that I will never be able to stand in front of a game again. It is entirely my fault that I will not be able to apply my skills in a positive way to help future cricketers. But it is entirely possible that I can use this moment to convince others not to be tempted by wrongdoing. To do the right thing for themselves, for their families and friends, and for the sport they love.
“I do suffer from depression but it is absolutely no reason or excuse for all that I have done wrong.”
Fellow New Zealand international Chris Cairns is also under investigation for match-fixing. He denies the allegations.
