'Emotional' ex Kiwi cricketer Cairns says he is 'not a cheat'

London, Mar 7(ANI): Former Kiwi all- rounder Chris Cairns has insisted that he is not a cheat, while defending match-fixing allegations against him.

"I must admit that I didn't realise just how intense this would be and what it is and obviously anything that's going to have Mr Modi attached to it is global news. The initial tweet started in 2010 and ... now (news of) it is all over the world. With regards to bringing my friends into this domain, I feel sorry for them," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cairns, as saying.

Cairns was speaking at a London High Court trial for seeking "substantial" libel damages from former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi, who had posted a Twitter comment, referring to Cairns' "record in match fixing".

The Twitter comment, which Cairns rejected as "wholly untrue", claimed that the latter was unfit for consideration in the Indian Premier League because he had been sacked from the Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2008 due to match-fixing allegations.

Modi's lawyer Ronald Thwaites said Cairns' claim that he was dismissed from the side due to a recurring ankle injury was "a cover story" and added that some 100,000 pounds were paid to him in his Dubai bank account as match-fixing fees.

The court was told Lions' unofficial vice captain, Dinesh Mongia was also involved in the alleged match fixing.

"It is suggested by evidence in this case that he (Mongia) was acting in conjunction with you in a joint enterprise to corrupt young players and persuade them for various reasons and have them act in illegitimate ways," Thwaites said.

Cairns, however denied the allegation and stressed: "players only stayed in my team based on performance" and added the money found in his bank account was the payment for his involvement in a rough diamond trading business for which he could produce no documentation. (ANI)