Chris Cairns pleads not guilty in London

Former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns has pleaded not guilty to a perjury charge arising from a 2012 libel trial over alleged match-fixing. Cairns, 44, fronted up at the Old Bailey before Justice Nigel Sweeney for a plea and case management hearing ahead of a trial scheduled for October.

His barrister from the 2012 libel case, Andrew Fitch-Holland, appeared alongside Cairns and also pleaded not guilty to one count of perverting the course of justice. Cairns has been charged with perjury over a 2012 libel action in which he sued the former chief of the Indian Premier League, Lalit Modi, over claims he was involved in match-fixing.

Both men have said they will be fully contesting the allegations against them. Cairns won £90,000 in damages when he sued multimillionaire Modi, who made spot-fixing allegations on Twitter in 2010.

He was arrested and charged by the London Metropolitan Police in September last year, and remains on unconditional bail until a High Court trial scheduled to take place in October.

He is accused of lying during his written testimony in the libel action when he said he had "never cheated at cricket and would never contemplate doing so".

Modi has also issued legal proceedings against Cairns to claw back $4.9 million in damages and costs. Prosecution barrister Esther Schutzer-Weissmann had asked for the trial to be held off until October to allow several cricketers to give evidence during a break in the international calendar. Brendon McCullum is understood to be among those providing evidence.

- NZ Herald