5 Mar 2012

NZ cricketer suing former head of IPL

7:33 pm on 5 March 2012

A libel suit taken by retired New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns will open in the High Court in London on Monday.

Cairns is suing the former head of the Indian Premier League, Lalit Modi, over posts he made on Twitter in 2010.

In the tweet, Modi suggested Cairns had been barred from playing in the League because of what he called his past record in match-fixing.

Modi says he is happy to be sued so he can put his case claims before the court.

Cairns says he is innocent of any match-fixing claims.

A Radio New Zealand correspondent in London told Morning Report that such cases are a now growth industry for the legal profession.

The case will be hard solely by a judge and is expected to take 10 days.