Chris Cairns is a former New Zealand cricketer and former captain of the ODI team of New Zealand. He played as an all-rounder in the team, and in 2000, he was named among the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Chris Cairns was born Christopher Lance Cairns [1]ESPN on Saturday, June 13, 1970 (age 51 years; as of 2021), in Picton, Marlborough, New Zealand. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′ 1″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Chris’ father’s name is Bernard Lance Cairns, a former all-rounder for the New Zealand cricket team. Chris’ mother’s name is Sue Wilson. He had a sister, Louise Cairns, who died in a train accident in August 1993. In her honor, Chris completed a 1,001 km (622 miles) walk in September 2008. The purpose of the walk was to spread awareness regarding safe rail safety.
Chris Cairns father, Lance Cairns
Chris Cairns with his mother, Sue Wilson
Wife & Children
In 1997, Chris got married to a woman named Ruth Leslie; however, the wedding ended after a year, in 1998, due to some differences. In 2004, he got married for the second time to Carin. They had two sons together- Thomas Cairns and Bram Cairns. However, the couple filed for a divorce in 2009 due to irreconcilable differences. Later, Chris got married to Melanie Croser in 2010. They have two children together, Noah Cairns and Isabel Louise Cairns.
Chris Cairns with his wife, Melanie Cairns
Career
Chris started his career at the age of 18 when he began playing for New Zealand with the U-19 Championship in 1988. He made his first-class cricket debut in 1989 and then made his test debut in November 1989 against Australia. He made his ODI (One Day International) debut against England in Wellington in 1991. In 2000, Christopher Cairns participated in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy, where he played from New Zealand against India and won the final match. He made his T20 International debut against Australia in February 2005. In his test career, Chris played 62 matches and scored a total of 3,320 runs with 218 wickets. He played his last test match on June 13, 2004, against England. Chris finished his ODI career with 215 matches in which he scored 4,950 runs and took 200 wickets. He played his last ODI match on January 8, 2006, against Sri Lanka. He played his last T20 match on February 16, 2006, against West Indies and retired from all forms of games.
Chris Cairns playing a shot during a test match
In 2007, he was appointed as the captain of the Chandigarh Lions, a team in the Indian Cricket League. The league came to an end in 2008, and after that, Chris played for Nottinghamshire in the English T20 Cup Competition.
Chris Cairns bowling during an Indian Cricket League match
Controversy
In 2010, former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi posted a tweet on his Twitter account claiming that Chris Cairns was involved in the match-fixing during the 2008 Indian Cricket League series. In response to this, Chris sued Modi for false accusations and won the costs and damages caused by Modi to him. After the final verdict by the court, Chris gave his statement during an interview and said-
Today’s verdict lifts a dark cloud that has been over me for the past two years. I feel mixed emotions. Firstly, sadness that I should ever have had to put myself, my friends, and my family through this because of one man’s misdirected allegations. But I also feel great joy because my past career has come through unscathed and remains intact and because I had the courage to stand up in the highest court to defend my name. Lastly, I feel great relief that I am able to walk into any cricket ground in the world with my head held high.”
Later, in September 2014, the Metropolitan Police announced that Chris would be charged with perjury for the Lalit Modi case in 2012. The jury spent over ten hours giving the final verdict, and on December 1, 2015, the Southwark Crown Court found him and his co-accused, Andrew Fitch-Holland, not guilty of perjury and for corrupting the course of court’s action. [2]NZHerald
Facts/Trivia
- Chris Cairns had several records in his name such as he formerly held the world record for most sixes (87) in test matches, but it was surpassed by Adam Gilchrist. He also held the record for the fastest century in ODIs (75 balls). However, Corey Anderson broke this record by making a century in just 36 balls.
Chris Cairns celebrating after scoring a century
- He is among the only eight players who managed to reach all-rounder’s doubles of 200 wickets and 3000 runs. The top names on this list are Ian Botham and Kapil Dev, who reached this milestone in just 50 test matches.
- Chris Cairns’ career-best bowling performance was during a test match against West Indies in 1999, where he bowled 27 runs and took 7 wickets. He is also New Zealand’s sixth-highest wicket-taker in test matches.
- The long gaps in his cricket career have been due to several serious injuries that forced him to take the bench for recovery.
- On 10 August 2021, Chris was rushed to a Canberra hospital after he collapsed due to a health problem. Reportedly, his condition stabilized but he is on life-support.
