Cairns to fight perjury charge

New Zealand cricketing great Chris Cairns vowed Friday he would clear his name shortly before British prosecutors confirmed they would charge him with perjury over match-fixing allegations.

Former all-rounder Cairns has acknowledged previously that he is under investigation by British authorities for alleged fixing, but vehemently denied any wrong-doing.

The 44-year-old confirmed prosecutors had told him they intend to charge him with perjury and he would travel to Britain later this month to prove his innocence, New Zealand media reported.

"I'm obviously extremely disappointed, however, at least there will now be an opportunity to face my accusers in an open forum, with some rigour and proper process around that, so that I can clear my name once and for all," he said in a statement cited by Fairfax Media and TVNZ.

Later Friday, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Cairns would face one count of perjury in relation to a libel action he brought two years ago.

"We can confirm that we have authorised police to charge Chris Cairns with one count of perjury, which arises from a libel trial held in the UK in March 2012," a CPS spokeswoman said.

In 2012, Cairns won 90,000 pounds (146,000 dollars) in a libel action against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in London over a tweet alleging he was involved in match-fixing while playing for the Chandigarh Lions in the now disbanded Indian Cricket League.

The CPS have also charged London-based lawyer Andrew Fitch-Holland, a friend of Cairns who appeared as a witness at the libel trial, with one count of perverting the course of justice.