Banned New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent claimed that he is a 'cheat' in a promotional video against anti-corruption that was shown as a warning to more than 200 players in Australia and New Zealand for the Cricket World Cup.
Vincent was banned for life last year after he admitted to a range of match fixing offences. And the International Cricket Council (ICC) used the tainted batsman to issue an emotional video message to players ahead of the tournament, which got underway on Saturday.
Vincent appeared for about 30 seconds in footage that was shown to players from the 14 competing nations, as well as team management and other staff, before they were also addressed by the ICC anti-corruption unit chairman, Ronnie Flanagan, Stuff.co.nz reported.
Vincent's participation in the video emerged from ICC's belief that the message would have more impact on players if it came from one of their peers rather than an anti-corruption official.
It was a different video to the confessional that Vincent had filmed, which was released last July just before the England and Wales Cricket Board issued a worldwide ban on the batsman. However, the video included the same opening sentence in which he introduces himself as a cheat.
Vincent went on in the address to explain the personal toll his accepting of money to fix in English county cricket and the Twenty20 Champions League games had had on his life, the report added.
