E80 | Chris Cairns

Episode summary | Chris Cairns

For 15-years, Chris Cairns was an ever-present in living rooms across New Zealand as one of the best cricketers the country has ever produced, smashing sixes and taking wickets on TV – he was a sporting hero.

In 2014, after years of allegations, it was revealed he was under investigation for match-fixing and his life has never been the same. In 2015 he was acquitted of charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice after an eight-week trial in London's High Court and in his words “dug a hole in Australia, disappeared from the spotlight and got on with life”. 

Then in August of last year, he suffered a heart attack. He underwent four open-heart surgeries and had a spinal stroke, which left him wheelchair-bound and paralyzed in his legs. Then in early 2022, he revealed he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

His life has been a rollercoaster, and we’re grateful he felt comfortable and open enough to share so much of it in great detail.

Show notes | Chris Cairns

2.06 A day in life of Chris Cairns

5.41 How the cochlear implant changed communication with Lance Cairns

11.43 Aortic dissection and spinal stroke

18.22 Waking up to the reality of being paralysed and reflecting on life after the injury

25.41 Bowel cancer

33.25 Mental resilience, choice, and purpose

35.41 Looking ahead: getting back into work

36.58 Looking back: Cairns Fudge

40.20 The mental strain of the two month trial in 2015

43.57 Waiting for the verdict and the experience of sitting in the dock

50.33 Reflecting on the role of former teammates and the trial

53.25 The end of the commentary career

57.09 His friendship with Dion Nash (and Pilates)

59.42 Telling the story with detail: A book on the horizon?

1.00.53 Going back to the tweet from Lalit Modi

1.04.22 The transition from “son of” to New Zealand international

1.11.39 When did you realise you would be an international cricketer?

1.14.12 A man child?

1.16.03 Behind the scenes of the Young Guns

1.18.33 A look into the future, and is Isabel Cairns a future tennis star?

1.23.25 A dad with a forgotten cricket career: T20 beige kits and a bowl-off with the West Indies

1.26.28 Cricket Max and Beach Cricket

1.30.27 Medical professionals

1.32.36 Rehab and explaining things in layman’s terms

1.34.55 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Chris