The beginner's guide to the Cairns trial

Over the past nine weeks, Southwark Crown Court has heard evidence from more than 30 witnesses in a trial which has spanned the cricket fields of India, New Zealand and England. Jared Savage explains the key points.

So what's this all about?

One of New Zealand's greatest cricketers, Chris Cairns was accused of being involved in fixing games in the Indian Cricket League. One of the three key Crown witnesses was Brendon McCullum, formerly a close friend of Cairns and now captain of the New Zealand team. The others are Lou Vincent, another former Black Cap, and his ex-wife Ellie Riley.
Cairns has been found not guilty of perjury and will walk home to his wife.

Who else has given evidence?

A number of Cairns' former New Zealand teammates including Dan Vettori, Shane Bond, Chris Harris, Andre Adams and Kyle Mills. The most famous is Ricky Ponting, the former Australian cricket captain.

What's the Indian Cricket League?

The ICL was a Twenty20 cricket tournament created by the largest television company in India in 2007 and 2008. It was described as a rebel league which means it was unsanctioned by the International Cricket Council or the Board of Cricket Control in India. Both pressured other governing bodies, such as New Zealand Cricket, to make players who signed for the ICL ineligible for playing international cricket or in domestic leagues. ?For this reason, most international players who signed lucrative ICL contracts were at the end of the careers. The ICL collapsed at the end of 2008 amid allegations of corruption.

So if Cairns is accused of match-fixing, why is he charged with perjury?

One of the most powerful figures in world cricket, Lalit Modi, publicly accused Cairns of being a match-fixer in January 2010. Cairns sued Modi for defamation and won in March 2012. During the course of the libel trial in the High Court of London, Cairns said he "never ever cheated" at cricket or even contemplated it. According to the Crown prosecution, that statement is a lie under oath - or perjury.

What about the perverting the course of justice charge?

Before the libel trial in 2012, Cairns asked Vincent to sign a statement to support his libel case against Modi. Vincent was reluctant and Cairns' friend Andrew Fitch-Holland tried to persuade him during a conversation on Skype, which Vincent recorded. The Crown say Cairns and Fitch-Holland tried to convince Vincent to sign a false statement - because Vincent is a self-confessed match-fixer - or pervert the course of justice. Both deny any knowledge of match-fixing.

What happens next?

If convicted of perjury, Cairns will almost definitely go to jail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. If acquitted, he will walk free and return home to his wife, Mel, and two children in Australia. Regardless of the verdict, the saga is likely to return to court. Lalit Modi has indicated he will seek to have the libel judgment overturned in a bid to recoup more than 1 million pounds paid in damages and legal fees. This is because the current criminal trial has heard different evidence from the libel trial three years ago.