Sasha Wass is known for her relentless cross-examinations. Photo / Chris Gorman
Sasha Wass is known for her relentless cross-examinations. Photo / Chris Gorman
Seven weeks after they were selected for the jury in the Chris Cairns case, five men and seven women have finally retired to consider their verdicts. Two of London's finest criminal lawyers have played a significant role in determining Cairns' fate. Jared Savage reports from London
As far as opening deliveries go, Sasha Wass' first question was a bouncer.
Did Chris Cairns agree he was a "most unfortunate individual" to have former teammates and acquaintances accuse him of match-fixing?
The Queen's Counsel leaned in over the folders stacked at her table, and pressed her point whenCairns failed to answer.
"Because if you're telling the truth, you've been accused of match-fixing not once, not twice, but on three separate occasions. Do you think it's unlucky to be accused on three separate occasions of something you haven't done?"
Cairns played a straight bat to say he was not in the witness stand to give his opinion, but to give his evidence and answer questions.
"Well, perhaps you'll answer this one," the Crown prosecutor shot back, pressing for a yes or no answer.
She pointed out that "perfectly reasonable, sane people" do not make up false allegations without a motive, repeating the question several times, then adding: "Perhaps if you answer the questions rather than think about where they're going."
The feisty exchange carried on; they even sparred over whether the video-link, used in court for a number of overseas-based witnesses to give evidence, was of sufficient quality.
The theatre was gripping. But the relentless cross-examination of Cairns was often Wass' comments dressed up as questions. In the end, the judge rebuked both of them.
In closing the Crown case, she would go on to compare Cairns - somewhat provocatively - with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Cairns should be ashamed, she said, and urged the jury to find him guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice.
The 57-year-old is not afraid to lock horns with rival Queen's Counsel either, inspiring one to retort "spare me the faces" in one legal debate during the marathon trial.
Recently recognised by her peers as "Crime Silk of the Year" shortly before the trial started, Wass shuns the limelight but is perhaps best known for the prosecution of Rolf Harris for historic sex crimes.
Following that, she was also handpicked to lead a British government inquiry into sexual abuse and conspiracy allegations in the British territory of St Helena.
The mother of two has admirers outside the legal profession too. The second suggested Google search for the QC is "Sasha Wass married".
Similarly, online research shows Orlando Pownall on a barrister "hottie list" - labelled as a "true dish" and "silver fox" - while tabloids wax lyrical about his handsome profile and "muscular approach".
The 63-year-old would laugh at the description with the same self-deprecating humour he uses in court.
Often seen deep in thought, "vaping" during court breaks, the Queen's Counsel representing Cairns is one of London's most sought-after silks and was once a senior prosecutor in cases such as the murder of Jill Dando and the Birmingham bombings.
Tall and broad as Wass is wispy, Pownall is gentlemanly in cross-examination of witnesses, almost at pains to not appear bullying because of his physical presence.
Despite the lack of open aggression, there is no mistaking the intent behind the words.
Scorn was poured on nearly every aspect of Lou Vincent's account; a self-confessed cheat and liar who, according to Pownall, implicated Cairns in match-fixing in order to save his own skin.
Orlando Pownall QC arrives at Southwark Crown Court. Photo / Chris Gorman
Vincent replied "I can't recall" to so many questions, Pownall suggested he scored a century. His former wife Ellie Riley was not drunk but "infected with alcohol". Discrepancies in Brendon McCullum's statements were "shifting sands", while the evidence of others evolved to fit an agenda.
Pownall forensically picked holes in the Crown case and asked the jury to focus on the evidence - not words.
"This case is all about words," said Pownall in his closing speech.
"Words which describe deeds, when the evidence of the deeds themselves more often than not contradict the words used to describe them."
Emotive language and the comparison to Lance Armstrong should also be ignored, said Pownall, making notes of the "frustration" of Cairns under questioning from Wass.
"He is vulnerable like anyone else. He was vulnerable, but he wasn't shown to be a liar. That's not because he's some clever dick who is able to evade, he's a combative individual."
When the trial at Southwark Crown Court ends, when the cameras are packed away and the final headline written, Pownall said everyone would return to their normal lives. And Cairns should be one of them. Not as an act of charity or out of sympathy, Pownall said, but because of the evidence.
"For the Crown to say they should be ashamed of themselves provides an assumption of guilt. We ask you to make no assumptions.
"Beyond rumour, beyond self-motivated lies, you cannot be sure Mr Cairns is guilty.
• Known for: "Relentless cross-examination", being "clever and ice cool" and a photographic memory.
• Big cases: Prosecuted Rolf Harris on historic sex crimes, and Britain's biggest banking fraud. Leading a government inquiry into allegations of corrupt officials covering up sex crimes on St Helena. Defended serial killer Rosemary West, who murdered 10 people.
• Known for: Being one of "the leading jury advocates of his generation", "silky smooth" and a "class act who is conscientious".
• Big cases: Prosecuted the Jill Dando murder and the Birmingham bombings. Defended a number of high-profile murder and sex cases, as well the Omagh bombing and other attacks in Northern Ireland.
