Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has claimed in court that he was ordered by his former captain Chris Cairns to underperform in matches played in India, with the latter paying him up to $50,000 (AU $68,376) a game to do so.

The fixing occurred in matches played in the now-defunct Indian Super League in which Vincent played for the Chandigarh Lions team in 2008. According to him, a bookmaker called Varun Gandhi approached him in a hotel, offering him a bundle of cash and even the services of a prostitute. Vincent then approached Cairns who then asked him to join his own match-fixing operations.

"I was under instructions to fix. When you are underperforming you just play dead-bat shots, play more defensive, you can control your scoring tempo but the actual art of getting out is actually quite hard. One of the easiest ways is to get run out, hit the ball to a fielder and keep running. Try to get stumped. Miss a straight ball. I didn't master the art of getting out very well. Cairns suggested if I was playing club cricket in England I practise the art of getting out," Vincent revealed in court, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Vincent claimed the initial approach was made by bribing him, using an advance on a bat sponsorship as cover. He then earned around $50,000 (AU $68,376) for each of the matches he was involved in fixing. Vincent was banned for life last year after he was found guilty of match-fixing.

Cairns is under trial for perjury and obstructing natural course of justice. He had successfully sued for libel against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi in 2012, who had claimed on Twitter that Cairns was involved in match-fixing. However, prosecutors now claim that Cairns lied during the libel case as there was proof he was actually involved in match-fixing, meaning he lied under oath in court.

Cairns is also reported to have approached current New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum to fix matches back in 2008. McCullum and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting are also expected to give testimony in the case.

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