Vincent ban too harsh - NZPA chief

Heath Mills, the head of the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association, has questioned the life ban imposed on Lou Vincent by the ECB for match-fixing, saying that such an extreme level of punishment will deter other players from reporting further instances of wrongdoings.

Vincent had given information to the ICC's anti-corruption unit regarding approaches made during his time with Sussex and Lancashire. He pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of the ECB's anti-corruption code in reference to three English domestic matches and was charged with 11 offenses that were punishable by a life ban. Vincent had issued a statement calling himself a "cheat" and that he had accepted money to to underperform.

"What Lou Vincent has done is unacceptable and it required a heavy sanction," Mills said. "However, the bigger goal here has to be the fight against corruption in our sport. The anti-corruption officers have few tools in this fight and their most important tool is information from players.

"So by not giving people credit for coming forward and providing information, you are effectively putting up a significant barrier for anyone coming forward in the future."

However, the sentence imposed on Vincent had received support from NZC chief executive David White and ECB CEO David Collier said it had ""the approval of the ECB's independent Cricket Discipline Commission".