Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has revealed before the London court that he was with New Zealand batsman Brendan McCullum when the latter received a phone call from Chris Cairns regarding business proposal linked to match-fixing.
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Such has been Australia’s dominance over New Zealand in test cricket that the last three series there have been limited to two matches. He told Vettori and Mills that Cairns had approached him twice to spot fix in games, with one of those occasions in England.
Mr Rhodes could not recall Vettori telling him that information, but accepted it was true if Vettori wrote that in his statement.
He said: “It’s nice [to be on a cricket field and not a court room]”.
Giving evidence at Cairns’s perjury trial in London on Thursday, Vettori faced tough questions about his initial claim that Brendon McCullum reported a spot-fixing approach by Cairns to him in 2010.
On hearing this, Cairns dropped his head into as hands as he sat in the dock.
She continued: “I asked him whether he was absolutely certain what Chris had meant – had he misunderstood anything – and Brendon said, no he hadn’t”.
“But I think we have also had results where it hasn’t swung”.
Vettori did not, however, encourage McCullum to report Cairns to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit until a briefing in 2011, after which he attended McCullum’s meeting with the Australasian head of the ACSU, John Rhodes, but did not play an active part in the interview.
It read: “We had general conversation and then after about half an hour he (Cairns) asked me if I knew anything about spread betting”.
“There’s been a few good New Zealand sides come over here in the past and I think it’s shown how formidable Australia are in their own backyard”. “I made a mistake but it never crossed my mind that I might be sanctioned”. He told me you could make between 80,000 to 250,000 USA dollars a day.
“I was never going to ask him about business propositions”.
When asked why he did not report the incident, Adams said Vincent’s future in New Zealand cricket appeared to have ended and he did not want to be “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
The witness replied: “The inference is in the statement. It is clear to me than an approach is being made by Mr Cairns to Mr McCullum”.
Players can be banned if there is an “undue delay” in them reporting fixing encounters, even if they hear of them through a third party.
Under McCullum’s leadership, New Zealand have earned praise for their fearless but fair-minded style of play in 2015. He said it was “innocuous” but felt it was wise to tell Mr Rhodes. “I would need to corroborate it, for it to become momentous”.
The pacer told the jury that during TV replays Cairns looked particularly unhappy whenever the Lions’ wicketkeeper scored runs quickly.
Cairns successfully sued Modi for 1.4 million pound ($2.14 million) after being accused of match-fixing on Twitter in January 2010, but now faces allegations that he lied during the case. Cairns is standing trial on charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice.
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Sir Ronnie continued: “Young men may find their hotel rooms being knocked by young women. They might be enticed into compromising positions with their photographs, and they are then ensnared or sometimes physical violence may be threatened against them”.
