• Cairns says players turned their backs on Lance • 'Dad, I really feel for him' • Father was a hero throughout 1970s and 1980s • Cairns' mother says last few years have been hard • Chris Cairns cleared - 'I've been through hell'
Chris Cairns has lashed out at NewZealand Cricket and former players for their treatment of his father Lance.
In an interview with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this morning after he was cleared of charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice, Cairns said that family was at the forefront of his mind.
The former New Zealand all-rounder refrained from offering any criticism of Lou Vincent and Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum, who testified against him, saving his ire for the officials at New Zealand Cricket
"Dad, I really feel for him," Cairns said of his father, who is held in high esteem not just in New Zealand cricket circles but around the world.
"There were people that he played with in the 70s and 80s, and we all have fond memories of those teams, but they turned their back on him.
"Whilst I can understand from my point of view - if people have got a view or opinion of me, then that's one thing - but those players of that era should have been rallying around dad and supporting him whether I was guilty or not guilty."
Cairns said his father was snubbed by New Zealand Cricket during the World Cup earlier this year, with Lance not invited along to a game until the semifinal.
"That was really an average display of support for dad."
'It's been pretty hard for everyone'
He broke down when he thanked his supporters back home, singling out his close friend and former teammate Dion Nash.
"He's been fantastic and a real mate, so thanks to Nashy."
Cairns' mother, who is no longer married to Lance, spoke of her relief this morning.
Sue Wilson said that she had talked to her son, revealing he was "very emotional".
"We're just really pleased and will be pleased to have him home for Christmas," she said from her Christchurch home.
"He was very emotional. He thanked us for our support and said he'd see us soon.
"It's been years... pretty hard for everyone. It'll be good to get him back home."
Cairns has had "close family support around him all the way" and she said that would continue. "We've been there... we haven't been over there but we've been supporting him from here," she said.
It was a "shame" that he indicated he'd no longer be involved in the sport.
"[Cricket] has been his life for years and ours too... we've lived it for years, haven't we. It's such a shame, but it's his choice and we have to go along with that. It's very sad."
Ms Wilson wouldn't comment on whether Cairns had been vindicated by the decision and whether some people still cast doubt over his alleged role in match-fixing.
Cairns said this morning that wasn't quite sure what he heard when the jury delivered their verdict.
As the jury foreman said "not guilty" on Count 1, the charge of perjury which Cairns alone faced, Cairns looked right to his friend Andrew Fitch-Holland, who was also cleared.
Fitch-Holland sobbed with relief. He heard "not guilty" for Cairns. And acquittal for Cairns meant acquittal for him on the perverting the course of justice charge, before the foreman could even utter the words.
Cairns told Radio Sport of the verdict: "I didn't hear it first of all. The bloke who delivered the verdict was very softly spoken...I couldn't actually hear whether he said guilty or not guilty. I turned to Andrew Fitch-Holland to my right and he was shaking and I sort of thought, 'Oh is this could be good or not good'. And then he broke into a smile.
"Two years of hell just sort of stopped."
Cairns had a bag slung over his shoulder just in case he went to prison; it will now carry his gear back home to wife Mel and their two children in Australia.
After Justice Nigel Sweeney formally released both Cairns and Fitch-Holland, Cairns sat down at a long bench behind all the lawyers, staring straight ahead in shock. Fitch-Holland walked to the back of the courtroom and put his arm around fiancée Ruth.
Chris Cairns and his mother Sue Wilson in 2006. Photo / Getty Images
Once the formalities were over, Cairns shook hands with his defence team Orlando Pownall QC and Simon Ray. It was over.
Fifteen minutes later, the 45-year-old emerged from the building to address a phalanx of waiting media.
For nearly two months, cameramen and photographers have captured his every move - even his daily walk to Pret a Manger (a British sandwich shop) for lunch.
Now, Cairns was able to have his say without fear of affecting the jury.
First, he thanked the jury and then his legal team and others helping behind the scenes.
Exhausted after living in London for three months, he was looking forward to being reunited with his family.
Life had been hell for the past five years, since Lalit Modi first accused him of match-fixing in a tweet on January 5, 2010.
He had been "through the mill" and come out the other side. But did the verdict vindicate him?
"I just think having been through the Royal Courts of Justice [the 2012 libel trial] and now the criminal system, it's a pretty robust system and the jury today came back with a not guilty verdict.
"You have to be careful because it's not a victory as such because a case like this, I really don't think there're any winners. It's been hell for everyone involved."
There were tears in his eyes at the mention of his family.
