Tuesday 1 July 2014 17:09, UK
Michael Vaughan hopes Lou Vincent’s lifetime ban from cricket will send a shockwave through the whole game.
Former Black Caps batsman Vincent received the punishment from The England and Wales Cricket Board after issuing a video statement acknowledging he is guilty of match-fixing.
Vincent, who had spells at Sussex and Lancashire, pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of the regulations - four related to a Twenty20 match between Lancashire and Durham in June 2008.
The other 14 charges relate to two matches played at Hove in August 2011, a Twenty20 against Lancashire and CB40 against Kent.
The best message for the whole game is that if you decide to go and cheat the game, no matter how big or small you do it, then a ban for life is exactly what’s required.
Reacting to news of Vincent’s punishment, former England skipper Vaughan told Sky Sports News: “I’m delighted – I think it’s the best deterrent in the game.
“Lou Vincent has admitted what he’s done and he’s tried to help out the process of the investigation.
“But I think the best message for the whole game is that if you decide to go and cheat the game, no matter how big or small you do it, then a ban for life is exactly what’s required.
“So I applaud the ECB for the way that they’ve acted and I think it will send, I hope, a shockwave through the whole of the game that if you are stupid enough or silly enough to cheat the whole game, this is exactly what should happen to you.”
Vincent expressed regret in his statement for his involvement in match-fixing at Lancashire and Sussex and also admitted other offences in the Indian Cricket League and Twenty20 Champions League.
Former England paceman Steve Harmison said that the 35-year-old had to be made an example of.
“It’s great that the ECB have done that – and, correctly, the ICC has sanctioned it as well,” he said.
“Hopefully people waking up around the world will see Lou Vincent banned from cricket for life for cheating the game of cricket and hopefully that’s a deterrent for every young cricketer coming through. They know that if you go down that path, your career is finished.”
