New Zealand All-Rounder Chris Cairns Suffers Aortic Dissection In His Heart, Put On Life Support

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been put on life support after suffering an aortic dissection in his heart and falling severely ill in Canberra, Australia last week. An Aortic dissection happens when a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery.

51-year-old Cairns, the son of Black Caps legend Lance Cairns, is a right-hand batter and fast-medium bowler. He is counted as amongst one of the best all-rounders to play the game of cricket and his ability to hit big sixes and even open the bowling set him apart from others of his era.

He featured in 62 Test matches, 215 one-day internationals, and two T20Is for New Zealand between 1989 and 2006. He also featured in 1992, 1996, 1999, and 2003 World Cups for New Zealand and has played a vital role in New Zealand winning their first-ever ICC trophy in the 2000 ICC Knockout Tournament in Kenya.

Chris Cairns- A New Zealand Cricket Legend

It is believed that Cairns suffered a tear inside the body’s main artery. Cairns has reportedly undergone several operations since collapsing but a number of New Zealand media outlets – including the New Zealand Herald – say he has not responded to the treatment.

It has also been reported by Newshub that Cairns will be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sydney soon.

Cairns had made his New Zealand debut in 1989 and made 3320 Test runs, 4950 ODI runs, and 3 T20I runs with a total of 9 international centuries with a Test-best of 158 and ODI best of 115. He also picked 218 wickets in Tests, 201 in ODIs, and 1 wicket in T20Is with Test-best bowling figures of 7/27 and ODI best of 5/42.

He also played for Nottinghamshire in English county cricket and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers in 2000.

In December of 2013, Cairns was subject to allegations in an ICC investigation into match-fixing. He is alleged to have attempted to manipulate games in India when he was captain of the Chandigarh Lions in the short-lived Indian Cricket League. However, Cairns rejected those claims.

Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent who admitted to fixing matches has said that Cairns had approached him about fixing matches. And even Brendon McCullum told the Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of ICC that Cairns made a match-fixing approach to him.

Also Read: Michael Vaughan Points Out Three Changes England Need To Make for the Lord’s Test