Seventeen years after playing his 100th ODI, Lou Vincent finally received the commemorative cap from New Zealand Cricket.
A belligerent strokeplayer who could be electric on the field and keep wicket if needed, Lou Vincent played 23 Test matches, 102 ODIs, and nine T20Is between 2001 and 2007.
At the highest level, he is best remembered for his 104 on Test debut, at Perth in 2001/02, but he also held the highest ODI score (172) for New Zealand at one point. He also played for domestic sides and franchise-based T20 leagues in several countries.
Match-fixing involvement
In 2014, the ECB banned Vincent for life for his involvement in match-fixing after he admitted to 18 breaches of their anti-corruption code. The opening line of his confession, “My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat”, had stunned the cricket fraternity back then. However, the ban was lifted in December 2023.
On August 29, New Zealand Cricket awarded Vincent with a commemorative cap for his 100th ODI – a match where he made 18 runs but got his only international wicket, of Jacques Kallis, at Cape Town in December 2007.
Richard Hadlee, the chair of the national selectors who picked Vincent in 2001, was in tears when he handed the cap in front of Vincent’s family.
Surprised not to have seen anything in any media about this. Lou Vincent recently presented with his 100th ODI cap in an initiative led by NZC & NZCPA. Photo and details from Seddon CC facebook. pic.twitter.com/sNcCXnXAmz
— Andrew (@shortflyslip) August 27, 2024
“It was a lovely way to be acknowledged for my cricketing career, and to be able to use the night as an avenue to say thank you very, very much to people who’ve been by my side through the great times and the tricky times,” Vincent told The Post. “It was a really memorable, special night with some lovely words spoken.”
“We’ve been sitting on his cap for probably 13 years,” admitted NZC chief executive Scott Weenink. “We thought, what an appropriate way to welcome him back into the cricket family. You can’t forget what he actually did and he would be the first to admit that, but he’s done his penance and no one has done more to fight match fixing than he has by being so open and telling everything that he knew.”
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