Former Black Cap Chris Cairns has been found not guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Chris Cairns outside court after hearing his not guilty verdict. Photo: AFP
Speaking after the verdict, Cairns said his reputation was "scorched, burned completely", but he was looking forward to returning home to his family.
The retired all-rounder said the trial had been "hell for everyone involved".
"I think I've been through the mill and come out the other side. I'm a very happy man."
For the past eight weeks, Cairns has been on trial in London accused of lying under oath about match fixing during a successful libel case in 2012. In that trial he said: "I have never, ever cheated at cricket. Nor would I ever contemplate such a thing."
Cairns leaving Southwark Crown Court for the final time. He's "off for a beer" #cairnstrial pic.twitter.com/mIzUNbzrjA
— Cushla Norman (@Cushlita) November 30, 2015
The 45-year-old was composed and held his head high as the head juror read the not guilty verdict.
The jury took 10 hours and 17 minutes to reach the majority verdict of either 10 to 2 or 11 to 1.
Cairns asked what he'd say to Brendon McCullum if he saw him. His answer: "Why?" Ends stand up. pic.twitter.com/UyxsxkGCkB
— Cushla Norman (@Cushlita) November 30, 2015
Cairns' co-defendant Andrew Fitch-Holland, an English barrister, was also found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
He was accused of trying to procure a false statement from Lou Vincent in support of Cairns' libel case.
The Crown's case was that Cairns fixed and instructed others to fix cricket matches while he captained the Chandigarh Lions in the 2008 Indian Cricket League.
Just spoke to an emotional Cairns in the lift. He's going to speak outside the court in 15mins. Had tears in his eyes #cairnstrial
— Cushla Norman (@Cushlita) November 30, 2015
The cameras are ready for Cairns' stand up #cairnstrial pic.twitter.com/0TZnlnW84Z
— Cushla Norman (@Cushlita) November 30, 2015
How the case unfolded
This timeline shows how events unfolded - from when Chris Cairns retired from international cricket in February 2006 to the end of the eight-week trial where he was charged perjury relating to his 2012 libel trial with Lalit Modi.
February 2006: Chris Cairns retires from international cricket.
2007: Cairns joins the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). Captains the Chandigarh Lions in 2007 and 2008 in the ICL, a team which includes former Black Caps team-mates Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey.
2008: Cairns has his contract terminated after three games of the third edition of the ICL. Officials said the reason was his failure to disclose an injury.
2008: Cairns plays for Nottinghamshire in the English Twenty20 cup competition before retiring from cricket at the end of 2008.
January 2010: Former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi alleges on Twitter that Cairns was involved in match fixing during the 2008 season of the ICL, while captain of the Chandigarh Lions.
March 2012: Cairns successfully sues Modi for libel. He wins $174,000 in damages and $775,000 in court costs. The circumstances of Cairns' exit from the now defunct ICL in 2008 is a major focus of the libel case.
December 2013: Cairns, along with two fellow former Black Caps Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey, are named in international media reports as being subject to an ICC investigation over allegations of match-fixing. Soon after, Vincent and Tuffey publicly say they are co-operating with investigators while Cairns complains he is being "kept in the dark". Tuffey has repeatedly denied any involvement in match fixing.
March 2014: London based barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland, who gave evidence on Cairns' behalf at the 2012 trial, is arrested by London's Metropolitan Police under suspicion of perverting the course of justice in relation to the libel case.
27 March 2014: Cairns confirms that British police have finally contacted him over allegations of match fixing.
14 May 2014: Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports that former Black Cap Lou Vincent has provided the ICC's anti-corruption unit "with a treasure trove of information about matches which were targeted for spot-fixing and the names of players" involved.
May 2014: In the days following, British media publish excerpts of leaked confidential statements from Vincent and current New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum. McCullum's sworn evidence is that "Player X" approached him in India, then England, in 2008 to fix.
30 May 2014: Cairns returns from London after being interviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the ICC's anti-corruption unit. Cairns says it is extraordinary that Brendon McCullum took three years to report a conversation in which he claims Cairns tried to involve him in match fixing.
July 2014: Lou Vincent stuns the cricketing world by admitting to fixing while at the Chandigarh Lions in 2008, then in the England Counties scene, and during Auckland Aces matches in the 2012 Champions League in South Africa. Hours later Vincent is banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
25 September 2014: Cairns is formally charged by the Metropolitan Police for perjury relating to his 2012 libel trial with Lalit Modi. At the same time London barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland is charged with one count of perverting the course of justice. New Zealand Cricket says the perjury charges laid against Cairns are separate to the match fixing investigation being carried out by the ICC.
January 2015: At a plea and case management hearing Cairns and Andrew Fitch-Holland plead not guilty to their respective charges.
8 October 2015: The prosecution opens its case at the Southwark Crown Court in London, telling the court Cairns approached McCullum to fix games for up to $US180,000 a time.
13 October 2015: Lou Vincent appears as a witness saying he fixed five cricket games under Cairns' orders. Cairns' defence lawyer Orlando Pownall QC put it to Vincent that his account of events had changed over the years and that he had lied on numerous occasions, to which Vincent replied: "I've been a disgraceful human being."
16 October 2015: New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum tells the jury Cairns twice approached him about match fixing in 2008 offering him up to $US180,000 a game. McCullum said he was shocked when he was first approached and said 'no' but it was not until February 2011 that he made an official complaint to the ICC's anti-corruption unit.
20 October 2015: Lou Vincent's former wife Eleanor Riley told the court that Cairns reassured her the cricketers would not get caught fixing games, saying "everybody in India did it."
23 October 2015: Former New Zealand cricket captain Daniel Vettori tells the court he made a genuine mistake about the date on which McCullum first told him he was approached by Cairns about match fixing. Vettori said he did not realise he was obliged to report third-party approaches until an anti-corruption training day in 2011.
Chris Cairns arriving for defence closing. Photo: RNZ / Cushla Norman
4 November 2015: Taking his place in the witness box for the first time, Cairns rejects all accusations of match fixing.
6 November 2015: Cairns accused of receiving wads of cash from Dubai diamond magnates in exchange for match-fixing.
7 November 2015: Cairns' co-defendant Andrew Fitch-Holland tells the court that he had no reason to believe, nor did he currently believe, that Chris Cairns was involved in match fixing.
13 November 2015: The prosecution ends its closing argument with a stinging attack on Cairns saying he has made a mockery of the game.
25 November 2015: The jury retires to consider its verdict. Justice Sweeney tells the jury to consider the perjury charge first and that the "critical issue" in determining the perjury verdict is whether the prosecution had convinced the jury Cairns was a cheat. Justice Sweeney said if Cairns was found not guilty of perjury, he also must be found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
