A public online confession began: “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 in fixing,” Vincent wrote and 11 days later the ban was announced.
“I have lived with this dark secret for so many years, but months ago I reached the point where I decided I had to come forward and tell the truth.”
A testimony to an ICC investigation was leaked and revealed that Vincent had admitted taking money to throw a one-day fixture while playing in England in 2011.
Lou Vincent hoped in 2020 to be let back into the sport he loves for a more successful second innings. Photo / Geb Burns
The terms of his ban mean Vincent cannot earn a living from playing the sport and he is not permitted to enter a ground while a match is in progress. He pleaded guilty to a total of 18 anti-corruption breaches during a three-year period.
It is understood Vincent could participate in a charity cricket game in Whangārei on Thursday, which features a number of former New Zealand representatives.
Matches that don’t fall under New Zealand Cricket’s jurisdiction are said to not be in breach of his ban.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach, believes the punishment Vincent suffered did not fit the crime.
“It was a game that gave him life, because he has had some troubles mentally and he’s confessed to some of those. At time’s he was suicidal.”,” Bracewell told Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave.
“I felt so sorry for him that that’s the way his career had ended, it ended with a life sentence and I thought it was always a bit unjust. He hadn’t killed anybody. How do you get life?”
John Bracewell in 2008. Photo / Photosport
Bracewell coached Vincent and told Waldegrave he considered him as someone who looked out for other people, mentioning how much he supported teammates on tour.
“Personally I think it’s one of the cruellest things that can happen. To cut him off from a game that gave him so much and that he gave us so much. He gave us a lot more than he took.”
During a six-year international career, the right-handed batter played 102 ODIs, nine T20s and 23 tests. Known for punishing bowling attacks, he averaged 34.15 with the bat and scored three test centuries, including on debut against Australia.
In a frank interview with Newstalk ZB in 2016, Vincent revealed that confessing to match-fixing drove him to attempt suicide.
The former Black Cap lifted the lid on the desperate mental health problems he plunged into as a result of admitting he cheated, saying he knows now he is “blessed to be alive”.
“From my point of view, I had given up on the good of the world. I believed that bad was the best way to go and stuff the system, so to speak,” Vincent said.
