Cairns made match-fixing approach, says McCullum

London, October 15

Former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns approached current skipper Brendon McCullum with a "business proposition" about match-fixing, McCullum told a London court on Thursday. McCullum, 34, told Cairns' perjury trial that Cairns made the approach in a hotel in Kolkata in April 2008, explaining to him that other players "did not have the balls to do it". 

McCullum said he was "shocked" by the approach and was contacted by Cairns regarding the matter a further two times that year.

Wicket-keeper batsman McCullum was playing alongside Australia's Ricky Ponting for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the time of Cairns' alleged approach. 

He told Southwark Crown Court that over a bottle of red wine in Cairns' hotel room, Cairns had asked him if he knew "anything about spot-fixing in cricket". According to McCullum, Cairns gave a "quite thorough" description of the practice, breaking down different periods of the game and noting when the match could be influenced.

"I was shocked. I sort of thought he may have been joking, but I quickly became aware that he was not joking,” said McCullum. — AFP