Chris Cairns cleared of perjury charges

Chris Cairns has been cleared of charges of perjury and perverting the court of justice on Monday (November 30) by the jury at the Southwark Crown Court after a ten-hour, 17 minute deliberation. The verdict ended an eight-week trial and essentially cleared him of any involvement in match-fixing.

Barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland, Cairns's friend and advisor, was also found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.

In an emotional statement outside court, Cairns said he had been through "hell" and would not be returning to cricket."It has not been a victory as such, because in a case like this there are no winners. It's been hell for everyone involved."

Asked if he would work in the sport again, he replied: "No, no, no" and added, "It's my choice. I think it would be quite a hard environment to go back into. There has been a lot of damage done and I think that's unfortunate."

Cairns, the former New Zealand captain, was accused of lying under oath when he told a court during a libel case in 2012 against Lalit Modi that he had "never cheated at a cricket game" and would not contemplate doing so. He successfully sued Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League, for accusing him on Twitter of match-fixing in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2010.

Both, Fitch-Holland and Cairns, then were accused of trying to persuade Lou Vincent of testifying on the latter's behalf.Vincent was one of the key witnesses in the trial - one that began on October 5. He told the court that his involvement with match-fixing began when playing with Cairns in the ICL in 2008. He was subsequently handed a life ban.

Evidences for prosecution came from a host of cricketers that included Daniel Vettori, Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Shane Bond, Chris Harris, Kyle Mills and Andre Adams, but the jury - consisting of seven women and five men - couldn't reach a unanimous decision.

Ellie Riley, Vincent's ex-wife, also provided evidence for the prosecution.

The jury was also asked by Mr Justice Sweeney, the judge, to treat Vincent's evidence with caution given his involvement with corruption. For the verdict to have been pronounced guilty, two of three key witnesses McCullum, Vincent and Riley had to be credible.

Nevertheless, a decision was arrived upon within thirty minutes on the morning of the verdict that was announced at 10:40 am local time.

Cairns, who played 62 Tests and 215 One-Day Internationals between 1989 and 2006 for New Zealand, has been cleared of all charges.