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. [caption id=“attachment_1731083” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chris Cairns. Reuters[/caption] “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. Reuters