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Lou Vincent

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Wikiquote-logo Image: Wikimedia Commons. Rei-artur / Public domain

Overview

Lou Vincent (born 11 November 1978) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played as an opening batsman. He represented New Zealand in Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and turned out for Auckland in New Zealand domestic cricket as well as Worcestershire and Lancashire in English county cricket. His career later became the subject of one of cricket's most prominent match-fixing investigations, leading to a lifetime ban from sanctioned cricket in 2014.

Key Facts

Full name Lou Vincent
Date of birth 11 November 1978
Nationality New Zealander
Role Opening batsman
International teams New Zealand (Test, ODI, T20I)
Domestic teams Auckland, Worcestershire, Lancashire
Status Former international cricketer

Playing Career

Vincent played international cricket for New Zealand across all three formats — Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. At domestic level, he represented Auckland in New Zealand and had stints with two English counties, Worcestershire and Lancashire. He was primarily known as a top-order opening batsman.

Match-Fixing Investigation and Ban

In December 2013, it emerged that Vincent was under investigation by the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) over allegations of involvement in the spot-fixing of numerous professional matches. The matches under scrutiny reportedly spanned several leagues, including the Indian Cricket League, the ECB 40 in England, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Champions League Twenty20.

In June 2014, the Bangladesh Cricket Board found Vincent guilty of failing to alert the authorities that he had been approached by corruptors, and imposed a three-year ban. On 1 July 2014, Vincent accepted that he had been involved in match-fixing on a number of occasions. Following this, the England and Wales Cricket Board imposed a lifetime ban on him from playing any form of cricket sanctioned by the ECB, the ICC or any other national cricket federation.

Partial Lifting of Ban

On 8 December 2023, Vincent's ban from domestic cricket was lifted, although the ban relating to international cricket remained in place.

Later Career

In March 2026, Vincent joined Ibiza Cricket Club as captain. Under his captaincy, the club won the Balearic Cup in May 2026.

Significance

Vincent's case is one of the most extensively documented match-fixing episodes in modern cricket, notable for the range of leagues across multiple countries that featured in the allegations and for the eventual lifetime ban handed down by the ECB. The case underscored the role of the ICC's anti-corruption machinery and national boards in investigating and sanctioning corruption in franchise-era cricket.

References