Lou Vincent's ex-wife Riley testifies against Chris Cairns

Chris Cairns was "very confident" of getting away with match-fixing because "everyone was doing it in India" and he threatened players that they would "never play again" if they did not agree to take part in fixing, Eleanor Riley, the ex-wife of Lou Vincent told the Southwark Crown Court in London.

Riley, married to Vincent until their divorce in 2012, recollected a conversation the couple had with Cairns and his wife Mel in a restaurant near Manchester in 2008, when the two New Zealand cricketers were in England to play county cricket. Riley, who was worried about Vincent's match-fixing activities as he had a "tendency to talk to anyone who listened" said she got assurances from both Cairns and his wife that Vincent will not get caught.

Riley, who took the stand to provide evidence in the Cairns perjury trial, was asked by Orlando Pownall QC, Cairns' defence lawyer, if she was "infected" by alcohol and her memory was muddled during the recollection of the 2008 meeting. "When I've had a large meal it doesn't matter how much I drink, I'm as clear as a bell," was the reply.

The crown prosecutor, Sacha Wass, QC, asked Riley if she had any reason to lie about the incident, and she replied: "No, not at all. I certainly wouldn't come to a perjury trial to lie."

Riley also told the court of her first exposure to match-fixing in April 2008, when a sobbing Vincent called her and informed her about an offer from Cairns and how he could not get the job done.

"He said he had been approached by a man with a suitcase in Abu Dhabi. He [Vincent] said he refused, and told me that part of the training was how to handle situations like this - being approached for match-fixing." Vincent later changed the story, Riley said. "He was crying. He told me that he had lied, that he had taken the money for the match-fixing. He told me that he had stuffed a game up. He just hadnt played how he was supposed to play. He said that he was working with Chris - Chris Cairns."

Vincent, Shane Bond, the New Zealand bowling coach, and Brendon McCullum, the current skipper, testified in court last week against Cairns. Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, is due to provide evidence soon.