All set to be banned for life for fixing matches across nations, New Zealand’s disgraced cricketer Lou Vincent on Tuesday offered his deepest apologies for shaming the game and his country, saying that he will regret his actions for the rest of his life.
“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 said in an emotional statement.
“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. It’s a truth that has rightly caused uproar and controversy in New Zealand and around the world. I have shamed my country, I have shamed my sport, I have shamed those close to me. And for that, I am not proud,” he added.
Vincent is expected to be banned for life later this week for indulging in match-fixing during his county stints in England and the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. He has also been held guilty for failing to report approaches by bookies during the Bangladesh Premier League last year.
“I lost faith in myself, in the game, I abused the game I loved. I had to put things right. Speaking out, exposing the truth, laying bare the things I have done wrong is the only way I could find to begin to put things right,” said the 35-year-old, who played 23 Tests for his country.
The former opener said he could muster the courage to speak the truth only after being inspired by his wife.
“The time has come for me now to face them like a man and accept the consequences — whatever they may be. I could not live with my wrongdoings any longer and after meeting my future wife Susie, after learning what unconditional love really is, I felt strong enough to tell her what I’d done and she has helped me take the painful steps in telling my parents, my wider family and then the authorities,” he said.
