Former New Zealand all-rounder Cairns charged with perjury

Former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns was charged in a north London police station on Thursday with perverting the course of justice.

The charges stem from a 2012 libel action he brought against Lalit Modi, the former boss of the Indian Premier League. The court ruled in Cairns’s favour and ordered Modi to pay damages.

“We can confirm that we have authorised police to charge Chris Cairns with one count of perjury, which arises from a libel trial held in the United Kingdom in March 2012,” the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement.

Perjury carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years in Britain.

All-rounder Cairns, who played 62 test matches and more than 200 one-day internationals, flew to Britain in May to be interviewed by police and the sport’s anti-corruption officials in a separate investigation into allegations of match-fixing.

He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent was banned for life in July from all cricket after admitting to match-fixing in games in England.