Chris Cairns has been labelled "arrogant" by a prosecution lawyer who says she can prove he is guilty of perjury and match fixing.
Cairns sat in London's Southwark Crown Court as lawyers outlined a case built on evidence given by his old friends and teammates.
Crown prosecutor Sasha Wass QC started gentle, calling Cairns a hero and a role model – the golden boy of cricket.
But then she struck hard, calling him arrogant and saying she can demonstrate he had been involved in cheating or match fixing for some time and that when he denied it, he was lying in court and had committed perjury.
She says a Skype call, played to the jury, is all that's needed to prove it. The call was between confessed match-fixer Lou Vincent and Cairn's co-accused Andrew Fitch-Holland.
The prosecution says it shows Fitch-Holland pressuring Vincent to give a false statement in favour of Cairns, at Cairns' request.
It relates to the successful libel case against Lalit Modi, who accused Cairns of match fixing.
Fitch-Holland is heard saying "between you and I, we all know some of what is being said is clearly true."
A statement is then discussed, and Vincent says, "It's a big ask from me to … in a legal document, say something that isn't true."
The Crown says the conversation then turns to payment.
Vincent will appear in person for the Crown, followed soon after by Brendan McCullum.
The Black Caps captain will say Cairns approached him about match fixing, and the Crown says Daniel Vettori, Ricky Ponting and Kyle Mills will back him up.
However, this is just one side of the story, as the defence does not begin cross-examining witnesses until next week.
Both Cairns and Fitch-Holland deny the charges against them and refute the Crown's case, though Cairns' lawyer still refuses to comment on the case.
3 News
