20 Oct 2016

McCullum on Cairns: 'I want nothing more to do with him'

12:20 pm on 20 October 2016

Former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum has told RNZ's Nine to Noon he has not forgiven his former teammate Chris Cairns for putting him in the gun during Cairns' trial for perjury.

Cairns was found not guilty in 2015 of lying under oath about match-fixing in a 2012 libel case.

Brendon McCullum. New Zealand Black Caps v Australia. Day 1, 2nd test match, Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand. Saturday 20 February 2016.

Brendon McCullum Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The prosecution argued Cairns cheated at cricket and built its case on testimonies from McCullum and disgraced New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent.

In court, McCullum and Vincent said Cairns propositioned them in 2008 to fix matches.

McCullum said he refused two approaches, but Vincent said he fixed five games on "direct orders" from Cairns.

McCullum told Nine to Noon he felt the case became about him versus Cairns, especially after his testimony to the International Cricket Council was leaked to the British press in 2014.

"I felt that I was the one on trial and I found that really hard to deal with."

He was normally "a very forgiving person" who did not hold grudges, he said.

"The last thing I wanted to see was one of my former teammates rotting away in a cell - and I'm actually pleased he's not. But I can't forgive the other behaviour, the way that [he] effectively lobbied to put me in the gun publicly.

"I want nothing more to do with him."

Chris Cairns arrives at Southwark court on Friday the 30th of November 2015

Chris Cairns was found not guilty at the 2015 trial. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

McCullum, who talks about the controversy in his new biography Declared, told Nine to Noon he held off reporting Cairns' match-fixing approaches until 2011.

"I didn't want to necessarily report it but when I found out that you're as liable for conviction as what the person who approached you is ... then it became apparent that I had to step forward."

"Once people understand that and the fact I didn't want to rat on my mate, they will hopefully understand a little bit better."

He was critical of both the reporting process and the way his testimony was subsequently treated by the ICC.

He gave three statements to the ICC - the first "a very, very casual conversation" - which gave the impression in court that his statement had grown.

"The final statement, which was taken by the [Metropolitan] police, was completely different again, and a lot more thorough questions, and taken in a lot more of a police manner.

"In hindsight that was one of the things that should have been done at the outset."

It was "incredibly unprofessional" that the ICC was unable to prevent his testimony from being leaked, he said.

"If we are serious about combatting corruption within our sport, then you need to ensure that when information is presented by a player or an administrator or whoever it is ... that they are protected."

The case was a distraction to his captaincy of the Black Caps, he said.

"At times, it did affect me.

"You just want to get out there and play cricket."

McCullum also opened up about the way in which he came to the captaincy, saying he had nothing to do with coach Mike Hesson's decision to stand Ross Taylor down from the job in 2011.

"Initially I was asked to captain the one-day and T20 sides ... After that I was offered the test capatincy once Ross had turned it down.

"What happened before that, I wasn't in that room."

Fractures appeared to have mended since then, he said.

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