Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has "been handed a life ban" by the England & Wales Cricket Board after he admitted that he was "a cheat" who had "shamed my sport" by helping to fix matches, according to Neil Gardner of the LONDON TIMES. Vincent said in a statement, "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. I have lived with this dark secret for many years, but just months ago I reached the point where I decided I had to come forward and tell the truth." Vincent played for New Zealand from '01-07 and "appeared in county cricket in England for Sussex, Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Worcestershire." He had been charged by the ECB with "accepting money to throw a game while playing for Sussex" (LONDON TIMES, 7/1). ECB CEO David Collier said, "This has been a complex case which has crossed different cricketing jurisdictions and required close collaboration and intelligence-sharing between both our own anti-corruption unit, other domestic boards and the ICC's (Int'l Cricket Council) ACSU (Anti-Corruption Security Unit)" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/1).
