Daniel Vettori and Chris Cairns. Vettori described Cairns as his mentor and close friend. Photos / Getty Images
Daniel Vettori and Chris Cairns. Vettori described Cairns as his mentor and close friend. Photos / Getty Images
• Vettori stunned by McCullum's claims about Cairns • "Chris was one of my best friends in cricket" • Cricketer didn't think he was obligated to report accusations • Anti-corruption officer denies putting pressure on Daryl Tuffey
New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori was "shocked and then angry" when his teammate Brendon McCullum toldhim that Chris Cairns had approached him twice to fix cricket matches.
Vettori told Southwark Crown Court in London via video-link that both men were close friends and that Cairns had been his mentor since his debut in 1997.
"Chris was one of my best friends in cricket, he was a mentor to me. To feel Brendon was put in that situation...I was stunned," he said.
Cairns is accused of perjury and perverting the course of justice, both of which he denies.
Vettori told the court that McCullum approached him and Kyle Mills while they were travelling on the New Zealand team bus while on tour in Bangladesh.
McCullum wanted to speak to both of his friends and the trio later met in Vettori's hotel room. He told Vettori and Mills that Cairns had approached him twice to spot fix in games, with one of those occasions in England.
Vettori could not recall all the details of the conversation but remembered that McCullum alleged Cairns said "all the big boys were doing it".
Asked why he did not report to the International Cricket Council what McCullum had said, Vettori said he did not think he was obligated to because the alleged approach was to someone else. "I'm probably wrong in thinking this, but I didn't think so at the time," he said.
McCullum did not report the alleged approaches from Cairns until John Rhodes, an anti-corruption officer from the ICC, told the New Zealand team in February 2011 that players could be banned for failing to report match-fixing approaches without undue delay.
Vettori introduced McCullum to Mr Rhodes and also told the investigator about a promotional tour following the Champions Trophy tournament in 2006. He and Cairns were paid US$15,000 each to promote an Indian toothpaste company.
Vettori and Cairns in 2004. Vettori told the court he was angry after Brendon McCullum told him about Carins' alleged approaches. Photo / Getty Images
Vettori gave the money to Cairns to purchase a diamond engagement ring of equivalent value. Vettori never received the ring and said Cairns later repaid the equivalent sum in cash, £9000, in £20 notes. He said it was "innocuous" but felt it was wise to tell Mr Rhodes.
Under cross-examination by Orlando Pownall QC, Vettori conceded he made a mistake in the date that McCullum told him about the alleged approaches by Cairns. He was unsure whether it was 2008 or 2010. Mr Pownall suggested it was 2008 but Vettori told Mr Rhodes it was 2010 so he could not be accused of an "undue delay" in reporting the approach.
Players can be banned for between one and five years, but Vettori disagreed that he was concerned about that. "I made a mistake but it never crossed my mind that I might be sanctioned. I felt people would understand," he said.
"I understood how close [Brendon] was to Chris and how hard it would be for him to tell anyone."
Under questioning from Mr Pownall, Vettori said McCullum never mentioned the names of Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey - a former New Zealand bowler who played with both Vincent and Cairns in the Indian Cricket League - in connection to Cairns' alleged matchfixing.
However, he revealed the New Zealand management heard rumours about the trio matchfixing in the Indian Cricket League and discussed whether Tuffey should be selected. But he confirmed he never confronted Tuffey about the rumours. "No I didn't."
'No pressure, no deal'
Mr Pownall also suggested that Mr Rhodes had put pressure on Tuffey to give evidence against Cairns.
Mr Rhodes, who first took a statement from McCullum in 2011 and was in New Zealand in 2013 to investigate allegations of match-fixing made by Vincent, rejected the lawyer's claims.
Mr Rhodes, who gave evidence after Vettori, was asked about the time he flew from Adelaide to Sydney to interview Tuffey,
Mr Rhodes said the Australia Federal Police requested him to fly to Sydney to interview Tuffey in December 2013. He said he was aware the AFP had an "interest" in Tuffey but had "shared very little information" with the ACSU.
The interview with Tuffey was held in a café inside the Rydges Hotel and AFP representatives sat at a table 20 or 30 metres away, said Mr Rhodes. He did not take notes of the conversation because it was not of "any significance".
Cairns congratulates Daryl Tuffey in 2003. Photo / Getty Images
Under cross-examination by Mr Pownall, he denied mentioning the Australian Crime Commission or money laundering to Tuffey. He also denied a suggestion from Mr Pownall that he offered Tuffey a "deal to point the finger at Chris Cairns".
Mr Pownall then asked Mr Rhodes if he told Tuffey: "You do not want to go with these guys [the AFP], make a statement and move on?"
The ACSU officer said he told Tuffey needed to make a "decision about the information he had, if he had any".
Crown prosecutor Sasha Wass QC told Mr Rhodes the suggestion was that he put pressure on Tuffey to give information against Cairns, or that he was trying to coerce a witness. "That's completely incorrect...My job is to combat corruption, not try to get evidence by any means possible," said Mr Rhodes.
Mr Pownall also asked why Mr Rhodes had interviewed Daryl Tuffey and not Chris Cairns at this point.
He agreed that Cairns called him in February 2014 and asked to arrange a meeting.
According to Mr Rhodes' notes from the conversation, Cairns said: "I can't work, I can't pay my bills, my wife is crying...I feel like a leper when I go out and you guys are ruining my life".
Mr Rhodes said that he understood Cairns' position but he was not able to interview him until they had completed the investigation.
