LONDON, (Reuters) – Former England stalwarts Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison are hoping the life ban handed out to Lou Vincent for match-fixing will act as a deterrent to other players tempted to cheat the sport.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the suspension earlier on Tuesday after the disgraced former New Zealand batsman admitted he was a “cheat” and had shamed his country and the sport by fixing games.
“I’m delighted,” the 39-year-old Vaughan told Sky Sports television. “I think it’s the best deterrent – Lou Vincent has admitted what he’s done and he’s tried to help out the process of the investigation.
“But I think the best message for the whole game is that if you decide to go and cheat the game, no matter how big or small you do it, then a ban for life is exactly what’s required. “I applaud the ECB for the way they’ve acted,” said former England captain Vaughan who played in 82 tests and 86 one-day internationals.
“I think it will send, I hope, a shockwave through the whole of the game that if you are stupid enough or silly enough to cheat the whole game, this is exactly what should happen to you.”
The ECB said Vincent had pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of the board’s anti-corruption regulations in three matches in England and had accepted the ban which barred him from playing or coaching in any form of recognised cricket.
The 35-year-old top-order batsman, who played 23 tests and more than 100 one-day internationals for New Zealand, pleaded guilty to offences relating to two matches he played for Sussex and one for Lancashire.
Former England paceman Harmison also supported the life ban given to Vincent.
