PCA chief: Chris Cairns case could discourage players from reporting information
Wednesday 2 December 2015 08:28, UK
Chris Cairns' acquittal of perjury and perverting the course of justice could deter cricketers from reporting information about match-fixing in the future, according to Professional Cricketers' Association chief executive Angus Porter.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Cairns was on Monday found not guilty of lying under oath during his successful libel case in 2012 against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi, who accused him of match fixing on Twitter two years earlier.
The verdict followed evidence from the current New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum testifying that Cairns had approached him about fixing matches in 2008.
Both McCullum and another revered former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori were accused by Cairns' defence of not telling the truth in court.
Players' union chief Porter told the Daily Mail: "It doesn't encourage people to believe that if they come forward with information they are going to have a happy experience following on from that.
"People have seen how tough and challenging it can be, both in the witness box and in terms of how their reputation might or might not be affected by it.
"It builds on a concern we've all had for some time that the process of reporting is one that asks a lot of people and doesn't give a huge amount back.
"It is important they don't feel they are going to be treated as a suspect or in some other way suffer personal damage, whether by reputation or otherwise."
Porter, though, is confident players are more well-informed about how to react should they find themselves subjected to an illegitimate approach.
He added: "What would concern me would be if a new case came along and indicated that there was a widespread issue recently, where the evidence was the players didn't understand what they were supposed to do or what their responsibilities were.
"We should feel, without being complacent, at least confident that people understand what they need to do."
