A FORMER New Zealand cricket captain and Lancashire League professional has been cleared of perjury charges over match fixing allegations made in India.

Chris Cairns, who played for Bacup in 2006, insisted he was telling the truth when he launched a libel action against Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi, who had accused him on Twitter of cheating.

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Prosecutors had lined up witnesses, including former Ramsbottom CC pro Lou Vincent and current Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum, to support claims that Cairns was involved in match-rigging.

Cairns was the captain of the Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League, a forerunner of the Indian Premier League, at the time the allegations were centred on.

Vincent, a self-confessed cricket cheat, maintained that he had been approached by Cairns to underperform in four games in 2008.

McCullum told jurors he had been approached with a “business proposition” by Cairns, involving match-fixing.

Cairns, 45, repeatedly denied he had rigged games, or approached fellow professionals, and denied offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He said he reacted with “shock” and “anger” at Vincent’s suggestions, and while he admitted to discussing “spot-fixing” and spread betting with McCullum, as they were hot topics at the time, but never suggested match fixing to him.

Cairns, from Auckland, was cleared of both offences after a nine-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

His co-defendant, lawyer Andrew Fitch-Holland, was found not guilty, on the direction of trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney, of perverting the course of justice.

Speaking outside court, Cairns said he had no intention of returning to cricket, saying he had been through “hell”.

He added: “I think it would be quite a hard environment to go back into.

“There has been a lot of damage done and I think that’s unfortunate.”

Cairns said the case had “completely scorched” him and his family and told how was ‘very happy’ at his acquittal.