Cairns calls in lawyers over fixing claims

Wellington: Former New Zealand great Chris Cairns said Monday he has engaged lawyers after being linked to a match-fixing probe, even though investigators have still not contacted him.

Cairns is reportedly one of three former New Zealand representatives under investigation by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for alleged match-fixing. Two ex-Black Caps, Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey, have confirmed they are cooperating with the inquiry. But Cairns said he had not been contacted by the ICC, nor received any official confirmation he was part of the probe. Cairns, one of only 12 players in Test cricket history to score the all-rounders` double of 200 wickets and 3,000 runs, said he wanted to know how his name had been leaked to the media in connection to the investigation. "At the moment I`m still 100 percent in the dark, I know as much as you guys, that`s probably the most frustrating element," he told Radio Sport. The 43-year-old last year won 90,000 pounds ($147,000) in a libel action against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in London over a tweet that alleged he was involved in match-fixing. He said the same lawyers were now looking at the latest allegations. "I`ve engaged people who were in my team in England and also here in New Zealand," he said. "We`re looking at every facet but really it`s about getting to the bottom of that leak." Cairns said he returned to New Zealand after the libel case planning to "get on with my life" but now feared the match-fixing allegations could end his fledgling media career. He was due to commentate on the first Test between New Zealand and the West Indies in Dunedin when news of the investigation broke last week, prompting him to drop his television duties and return home to Auckland. "For me that now is potentially in jeopardy," he said. The ICC`s anti-corruption unit has spent four months in New Zealand investigating match- and spot-fixing, which The New Zealand Herald said took place in more than one country. No charges have been laid. Vincent confirmed last week that he was cooperating with the inquiry while Tuffey`s lawyers released a statement over the weekend saying he was also assisting the probe. "Mr Tuffey does not believe he is the focus of this investigation. He intends to fully cooperate with the ICC and provide them with any relevant information in his possession," the statement said.