Published: Nov 28, 2015, 10:29 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 28, 2015, 10:29 AM (IST)
London: The jury in the perjury trial of former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns will return to court on Monday after being unable to come to a verdict after two days of deliberations. The jury of seven women and five men began considering the evidence at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. The court did not sit on Wednesday or Thursday. On Friday, judge Nigel Sweeney told the jury he would accept a majority verdict. Cairns, 45, faces a charge of perjury after successfully suing Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi for accusing him of match-fixing on Twitter in 2010. Cairns won £90,000 ($135,700) in damages from Modi in the March 2012 trial, but he is alleged to have lied to the court when he said that he had “never, ever cheated at cricket”. READ: Chris Cairns perjury trial jurors retire to consider verdicts
The former national captain also faces a charge of perverting the course of justice over allegations that he persuaded fellow cricketer Lou Vincent to provide a false witness statement for him during a Skype conversation. Cairns’s legal adviser Andrew Fitch-Holland is also accused of perverting the course of justice. Both men deny the charges. READ: Lou Vincent gets warning to remain cautious in Chris Cairns perjury trial
Current Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum said that Cairns, the Lions captain, had approached him with a “business proposition” about match-fixing. Modi’s allegations concerned two editions of the ICL that took place between March and April 2008 and between October and November of the same year. As well as the £90,000 damages, Modi was also obliged to pay out £1.4 million in damages and costs following Cairns’s libel action. Perjury is a criminal offence in Britain, for which those found guilty can be sent to prison. READ: Brendon McCullum receives praise from Justice Mudgal
