Jury told to treat Lou Vincent’s testimony with caution
Cricket, cash and corruption — the judge in charge of the Chris Cairns trial spent an entire day outlining every single piece of evidence and sordid allegation heard in the eight-week hearing.
Justice Nigel Sweeney started summing up the case on Friday when he warned the jury to be particularly cautious of Lou Vincent’s evidence. He also told the 12 jurors they must believe at least two of the three key Crown witnesses — Vincent, Brendon McCullum and Ellie Riley — to convict Cairns of perjury.
Justice Sweeney took them through the evidence of Vincent and Riley. He was to start with McCullum and the defence case overnight and it was then expected the jury would retire to consider its verdicts.
Yesterday, the senior judge reminded them of the evidence given over the past eight weeks. He traversed Cairns’ career for New Zealand until his international retirement in 2006, his relationships with fellow players such as McCullum, his lucrative contracts in the Indian Cricket League and eventually his dismissal.
Vincent’s evidence was recounted in great detail, starting with the “dark space” of his depression following his axing from the New Zealand team and his excitement at playing for the Chandigarh Lions with Cairns.
Justice Sweeney recounted the now infamous offer of cash and sex to Vincent to matchfix from a man now known as Varun Gandhi.
The cricketer said he told his agent Leanne McGoldrick, fast bowler Shane Bond — which they confirmed — and his captain Cairns.
Cairns denied the conversation ever happened.
Mrs Riley recalled her former husband ringing her in tears about a fix he “stuffed up” for Cairns, a story which he told to friends Phil Hayes and Stephen Pearson when confessing his descent into corruption in India and the United Kingdom.
Vincent also attempted to recruit his friend Andre Adams, a fellow New Zealand international playing for the Kolkata Tigers in the ICL, as well as English county cricketers Mal Loye, Murray Goodwin and Auckland Aces player Azhar Mahmood.
Adams also told the court about a conversation about match-fixing where Cairns said the ICL was unsanctioned and how would fixing ever be proven, or words to that effect.
Turning to Mrs Riley, Justice Sweeney said most of her evidence was confirming the fact Vincent had previously made allegations against Cairns before repeating them to the ICC in 2013.
However, the judge said the Crown relied on Mrs Riley as the second direct evidence to
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visit our website infer Cairns was lying in the High Court and therefore committed perjury.
This was because Mrs Riley recounted a drunken conversation on June 25, 2008, where she expressed concerns to Cairns about Vincent’s matchfixing.
The background was Vincent had approached Adams and Loye to fix games, said Justice Sweeney.
Too many players were involved and they were too greedy, so Mrs Riley was concerned he would get caught.
She said Cairns told her “everyone did it in India and they would not get caught”, and backed up by Mel Cairns.
Both Chris and Mel Cairns said no conversation took place, and Mrs Riley was drunk and involved in an ugly argument in the women’s toilets.
Justice Sweeney said Mrs Riley was concerned about being implicated in money laundering offences in relation to her husband’s crimes, but police told her she would not be charged shortly before she gave evidence at trial.
On the other hand, Justice Sweeney said she parted with Vincent on bad terms but did not come to the perjury trial to tell lies.
“If Ellie Riley is right, the clear inference is Cairns was involved in cheating too.”