Chris Cairns: Not Guilty!

As you all know by now, one of New Zealand's greatest cricketers is currently in the middle of a major trial at the High Courts in London, fighting against allegations of match fixing by former Indian Cricket League (ICL) chairman, Lalit Modi. The sight of Cairns and his wife walking the cold spring streets of London to court has been a key feature of the nightly news bulletins.

The waters are rather murky with more evidence that Cairns may have been involved in match-fixing while he was captain of Chandigarh in the ICL. Even cricket commentator, Tony Greig has weighed in saying the former New Zealand all-rounder did in fact prevent the younger team members from playing for the team in order to please the bookies.

However, there are of course always two sides to the story as in all major court cases. But Lalit Modi's abstinence from taking the stand has certainly put a chip in proceedings, to the disgust of Cairns who had to be restrained after hearing the news.

So is Cairns really guilty of match-fixing or has he been framed by his teammates? Was that seemingly innocuous tweet of 150 characters by Modi in 2010 accurate or just defamation?

Firstly, New Zealanders, in general are from the least corrupt people on earth. In fact, New Zealand is often considered one of the most uncorrupt countries in the world and people are aware of things like fixing matches for money. Yes there are people alleged to have been involved in such practices like New Zealand lawn bowler, Garry Lawson but they would be given a very dim view by the media and become instant villains - as they should.

Cricket is certainly a sport that has been dogged by match-fixing in its history. Of course we've recently seen the three Pakistani cricketers spend time in jail for match-fixing during the 2010 tour of England. We've seen high profile cricketers who previously had clean reputations - and a Christian background to boot - have their careers ended by match-fixing, i.e. Hansie Cronje.

Chris Cairns is certainly a hero for all Kiwis although he has had his problems with alcohol in the past. However, Cairns is fondly remembered by all sports fans in New Zealand whether its for those big sixes and bowling exploits or for his philanthropy efforts, i.e. a campaign to stop Kiwi drivers speeding through train crossings following the death of his sister in Rolleston as a result of a train-car collision.

So if Cairns really did match-fix, it would be a major shock for the New Zealand sports community and I believe he should be exonerated from these very dodgy allegations. But then again, I don't know all the facts am not qualified to provide legal advice so it's really down to the courts. But I pray for the Cairns family that these allegations aren't true.

UPDATE: 26 March 2012, Chris Cairns has won his libel case against Latih Modi. More here: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/cairns-wins-libel-case-4799151