ECB charges Lou Vincent and Naved Arif with match fixing

Former Sussex players Lou Vincent and Naved Arif have been charged with match-fixing by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Vincent was charged with 14 offences in relation to two matches in 2011, while Arif was charged with six offences, the BBC reports.

If both are found guilty, it will be the first time the game's authorities have proved that the outcome of a county match in England was fixed.

Vincent's charges arise from two Sussex matches played in August 2011 - a Twenty20 contest against Lancashire and a 40-over game against Kent. Arif's charges are in relation to the latter of those matches.

ECB managing director Paul Downton described match fixing as potentially a cancer for any sport.

The ECB charges come after details of a separate International Cricket Council (ICC) investigation into fixing involving Vincent, 35, were leaked to the media last week.

Vincent is reported to have provided evidence to the ICC of fixing involving 12 matches around the world between 2008 and 2012, and has since agreed to co-operate with the game's authorities.

Three of those matches are believed to have taken place in England during his time as a player with Sussex and Lancashire.

Vincent played 23 Test matches and 102 one-day internationals for New Zealand before he retired from international cricket to become a Twenty20 specialist playing in India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, England and New Zealand.

Arif, 32, was released by Sussex in 2012 and has since played occasional T20 matches in Pakistan.

Both Sussex and Kent have declined to comment.