New Zealand’s disgraced batsman Lou Vincent was today banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Champions League Twenty20 within hours of publicly confessing his role in match-fixing and offering “deepest apologies” for shaming the game and his country.
“My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat. I have abused my position as a professional sportsman on a number of occasions by choosing to accept money in fixing,” Vincent said in an emotional statement.
“I have lived with this dark secret for so many years, but 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. And for that, I am not proud,” he added.
Within hours of this statement, the ECB banned Vincent for life.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced that the former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has been banned from cricket for life after he admitted breaching the ECB’s anti-corruption regulations,” the ECB stated.
“Mr Vincent pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of the regulations in total. Four breaches related to a Twenty20 match between Lancashire and Durham in June 2008. The remaining 14 charges related to two fixtures played at Hove in August 2011, namely a Sussex v Lancashire Twenty20 match and a Sussex v Kent CB40 match,” it added.
He was also banned for life by the Champions League Twenty20 after pleading guilty to seven charges of spot-fixing.
“Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) today announced that former Auckland Aces batsman Lou Vincent has been banned for life from participating in the tournament after pleading guilty to seven charges relating to spot fixing,” CLT20 said in a statement.
It was found that Vincent attempted to corrupt two matches involving the Auckland Aces during the October 2012 CLT20 played in South Africa by entering into agreements with a bookmaker for financial gain.
Vincent had also accepted bribes for fixing games during the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. He has also been held guilty for failing to report approaches by bookies during the Bangladesh Premier League last year.