"I Was On My Own, Cast As The Villain, That Was My Role" - Chris Cairns Opens Up On Match-Fixing Allegations On Him

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has become a pariah in the world of cricket after he was named as one of the match-fixers by a number of former cricketers including Brendon McCullum, and Lou Vincent, and others, who accused him of approaching them to fix matches.

However, recently, Cairns suffered from a torrid time in his personal life as the 51-year-old was on life support, and was paralyzed from below the waist after suffering a stroke during one of his four open-heart surgeries last year. Following that, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer earlier this year.

However, after a near-death experience, Cairns has been recovering well and he believes the past few months have made him mentally stronger. Speaking on a podcast hosted by NZME, Chris Cairns described how those high-profile trials had affected his mind.

He said: “I harbored a lot of anger and frustration, but I carried that silently,” he said. “I dug my hole in Australia and got on with life … but I was angry. But now, after the last seven months, it’s so far down my thinking. It’s not a priority. It seems like another time, another place.”

“Maybe during that time it (the match-fixing trials) built up the steel in me that allowed me to survive what I went through – because it was about survival at that time,” he said.

“I was on my own, cast as the villain, that was my role. Building that resilience up, who’s to say that wasn’t a contributing factor in helping me fight.”

Cairns, who played for New Zealand from 1989-2007, was considered to be one of the best all-rounders the 1990s saw as he helped New Zealand to multiple victories with his fast bowling and big-hitting abilities.

“You Have To Stand Up For What You Believe” – Chris Cairns On Proving Lalit Modi’s Accusations Wrong

Cairns played 62 Tests and 215 ODIs for New Zealand, making 3320 Test runs and picking 218 wickets, While in ODIs, he made 4950 runs and picked 201 wickets for the Black Caps. He was also part of New Zealand’s 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy-winning team, where he hit a century in the final against India in Nairobi, Kenya.

Cairns also opened up about proving the match-fixing allegations levied against him by Lalit Modi false. Although it took time for that to happen and it eventually affected his cricketing career, Cairns does not regret taking the matter to the court.

He said: “No, you have to stand up for what you believe,” he said. “Lalit did his thing by firing that (tweet) off. He was the most influential name in the game of cricket and the unintended consequence of that set things in motion.

“If you had asked me that question in July of last year, I know there would be a different response.”

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