Exhausted Chris Cairns Says He Has Gone Through Hell in Last Five Years
Chris Cairns was cleared by a British jury of perjury charges over match-fixing in Test cricket. The former New Zealand captain was one of the world's leading all-rounders between 1989 and 2006
On Monday, former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns was found not guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice, ending what the 45-year-old described as "five years of hell". (Chris Cairns' Trial Was an Unpleasant One: New Zealand Cricket Chief)
Charges were brought against Cairns after he sued Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi for libel in 2012 over a 2010 tweet in which the administrator accused him of match-fixing. (New Zealand Cricket Back Brendon McCullum After Chris Cairns' Verdict)
"Other than being exhausted and very, very tired I'm just looking forward to getting home, seeing my family and being with them," Cairns told the media in London. (Chris Cairns Cleared of Perjury Charges)
The allegations against 45-year-old Cairns resurfaced in December 2013 when the International Cricket Council confirmed it was investigating match-fixing claims involving three former New Zealand internationals.
"It's been hell for the last five years, in particular the last couple of years. I think my reputation is completely scorched, burnt completely.
"It hasn't stopped me and it won't stop me. I'll keep going forward. I think that's the most important thing. For my dad (Lance Cairns) back in New Zealand, he's a cricket man through and through. I'm not sure what cricket holds for me," Chris Cairns said.
Cairns' friend and "legal adviser", barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland, was also cleared of perverting the course of justice.
"At the start (of the hearing on Monday) I couldn't hear the foreman, I didn't actually know what he had said. And so when I saw Fitch's (Andrew Fitch-Holland) face and the jubilation, there it came home to roost had occurred.
"I think I've been through the mill and now I've came out of the other side. I'm just a very happy man."
Cairns was one of the world's leading all-rounders between 1989 and 2006, when he played his last T20 international against West Indies in Auckland. He played 62 Tests and 215 ODIs, with over 400 wickets and 8000-plus runs.