Ricky Ponting testifies about Cairns's "business proposition"

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, on Tuesday, testified in the Chris Cairns perjury trial, and laid out the events that transpired when his then IPL teammate Brendon McCullum received a 'business proposition' from Cairns in a phone call.

Appearing at the trial via video link from Australia, Ponting, 40, said that he had been in a hotel room with McCullum in India in 2008 when the New Zealander received a phone-call from Cairns.

"I was staying with Brendon in the team hotel in Kolkata in 2008 on the eve of the first IPL tournament," Ponting recalled. "We were just sitting, sharing a drink, when he received a phone call - his phone rang. It was a very brief phone conversation, probably less than five minutes. He put the phone down, hung up and said it was Cairnsy and he 'just made me a business proposition'.

"As soon as I heard it was about business, I wasn't interested anymore," Ponting said. "Brendon's business and personal life were none of my business. I was never going to ask him about business propositions.

Lawyer Orlando Pownall, defending Cairns, then asked Ponting if the 'business proposition' that McCullum had received had appeared "unremarkable". Ponting replied: "Yes, because I had no idea what the proposal or proposition was, so it wasn't a remarkable thing." The former batsman also said he was unaware that McCullum had later met Cairns and stated that they have never discussed the phone-call again.

Responding to Ponting's testimony, Pownall stated that cricket was a game affected by several factors which become clear only in retrospection. "Cricket is like any other sport in that decisions can be made that may later be criticised by pundits, fans and perhaps other team-mates," Pownall said. "Whether you bat first, who's chosen to be part of the team, these are examples of decisions made that may, depending on the outcome, come under scrutiny."

Referring to the Edgbaston Test of the 2005 Ashes series that Australia lost by two runs, Pownall asked Ponting if the Australian skipper would in retrospect, change his decision to field first, to which the former Australian skipper replied in the negative.

Pownwall then noted that Ponting's nickname 'Punter' stemmed from his affinity to betting and that both McCullum and Ponting liked to gamble on race horses.

The charges facing Cairns relate to a libel case that the 45-year-old brought against Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL, in March 2012. Cairns successfully sued Modi for 1.4 million ($2.14 million) after being accused of match-fixing on Twitter in January 2010, but now faces allegations that he lied during the case. The trial continues.