Disgraced former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent on Tuesday was banned for life from cricket for match-fixing, admitting he was a cheat who had shamed the sport 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 through fixing," he said in a statement.
The punishment, which was confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, stems from one-day matches that Vincent admitted he helped rig in English county cricket. His former Sussex team mate, Naveed Arif, was also banned for life last month after admitting similar corruption offences. The ECB said in a statement that Vincent pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of its anti-corruption regulations. Four charges related to a Twenty20 match between Lancashire and Durham in June 2008. The remaining 14 concerned two fixtures played in August 2011 - a Sussex v Lancashire Twenty20 and a Sussex v Kent CB40 match. "We are extremely pleased that the matter has now been brought to a satisfactory conclusion and that an individual who repeatedly sought to involve others in corrupt activity for his own personal gain has accepted that his conduct warrants a lifetime ban from cricket," said ECB chief David Collier. Vincent, 35, has given additional evidence to ICC anti-corruption investigators about his involvement in fixing in five countries between 2008 and 2012.