Image Credit- Getty
Earlier this month, Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand international, was honoured with a unique cap to mark the achievement of his 100th ODI, which was accomplished over 17 years ago in 2007. In a private ceremony held in Auckland, Sir Richard Hadlee gave Vincent the cap in front of his family and a few of his former teammates.
Vincent participated in 23 Test matches and nine Twenty20 matches between 2001 and 2007, amassing 2413 runs in 102 ODIs. After that, he participated in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is no longer in existence. He continued to play in domestic leagues until 2014, when the ECB permanently banned him due to his unethical practices on the county circuit.
“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.”
In December 2023, the ECB revised the punishment, allowing Vincent to return to working in domestic cricket.
The past is the past,” Vincent said in Auckland. “It was powerful that I had such huge support for the application for the ban to be appealed and there was no opposition from the ECB, they fully respected the work I’d done behind the scenes over the last few years and using my experiences to help educate the next generation of players.”
According to Vincent, Hadlee – the former chairman of selectors who had first picked him for New Zealand – was in tears while presenting the cap.
“I was able to say to him ‘Richard, you are New Zealand Cricket, you are the best player we’ve ever had, you’ve achieved so much, and for you to take time out and fly to Auckland to want to present this cap to me is so, so humbling and a reflection of the great man you are,” Vincent said. “And he was in tears. Sir Richard Hadlee in tears!”
In December 2007, Vincent made his 100th ODI appearance in Cape Town, when he took Jacques Kallis’ wicket and scored eighteen runs. Vincent, who is 45 years old and gradually making a comeback to cricket, recently played for the Seddon Cricket Club and participated in a five-day match aimed at bringing attention to men’s mental health.
“Life moves on, and my life has moved on now. I’ve been blessed with a little son, and I’ve got two daughters who are teenagers,” Vincent said. “To have the opportunity to start a family again and be settled in the far north and have the beach life – a simple life – this is all I’m focused on now.”