Oh, how the mighty fall! Once at the helm of cricket, former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is now washing bus shelters to meet day to day expenses of his family.
The 44-year-old Cairns, who represented the Black Caps in 62 Tests and 215 ODIs, was once the sporting hero in the kiwi nation, before being dragged into the match-fixing scandal.
Cairns is currently tangled in a number of legal battles to prove his innocence in the fixing scandals. And, the latest of those is the perjury charges livid upon him by the London Police.
Former Black Caps Lou Vincent, who has accepted his involvement in match fixing, has dragged the Cairns’ name in fixing, while Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum has also allegedly took his name in a report to the ICC.
The former Kiwi all-rounder is going through a financial crunch and is working at a nominal $17 an hour wage with Auckland Council but is determined to prove his innocence.
“He has no choice, he has to provide for his family,” Cairns’ wife Mel Croser said. “We have bills to pay like everyone else. We don’t own a house, we’re paying rent like many other people and getting by is a struggle.”
The former cricketer resides in one of the luxurious localities in Auckland, Herne Bay, and will shortly fly to United Kingdom to contest perjury charges.
The world has turned upside down for the former Black Caps but he still has support of friend and former cricketer Dion Nash on his side.
Nash, who also captained New Zealand in 1999, has extended his support for Cairns and insisted that his former teammate will come out clean from the charges framed against him.
“He’s trying really hard and supporting his family the best way he can,” Nash said. “He’s not moping around, he’s showing guts and doing hard work by cleaning bus shelters.”
“All I can do is support him, but as a friend it is really hard to watch his name being dragged through the mud with no conclusion in sight,” he added. “He’s a champion guy and he will come through this stronger.”
