Hope I never cross paths with Cairns again: Brendon McCullum

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum spoke his heart out about match-fixing allegations against Chris Cairns. Cairns, who was alleged in the match-fixing claims, was acquitted of all the charges last year. McCullum happened to be the prosecution star witness in the perjury trial of Cairns last year. The former Kiwi all-rounder was first involved in the match fixing during the now-defunct ICL in 2008. As per the claims, he had booked matches for the Chandigarh Lions.

Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent, an admitted match fixer, had said that Cairns had approached him about fixing matches.  Brendon McCullum had also told the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of the ICC, that Cairns made a match-fixing approach to him. Since then, there have been sour relationships between McCullum and Cairns. In a recent interaction, McCullum asserted that he would not like to be cross paths with Cairns at any stage of life.

Recalling the trials, the former wicket-keeper said that he found it more difficult to deal with.”I felt that I was the one on trial and I found that really hard to deal with,” quoted the swashbuckling former opener. He further said that he does not like holding grudges against any player. He said he would have never liked any of his teammates rot in jail. And thankfully it is not the case with Cairns now.

“I’m a very forgiving person. I don’t keep a lot of grudges… The last thing I wanted to see was one of my former teammates rotting away in jail and I’m actually pleased he’s not,” quoted Baz. However, he did add that the kind of behavior Cairns showed was not good. Cairns had brought up McCullum’s name to the fore during the trials. “But I can’t forgive the other behavior, the way… (he) effectively lobbied to put me in the gun publicly and heap a lot of pressure on. Hence I want nothing more to do with him,” he added.

Also read – Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns not found guilty for match fixing

When asked why he did not reveal these things early, he responded that he did not feel like wasting time on it. The case had first come to the fore in 2008. However, it was only in 2011, when players started speaking against Cairns. “I did not want to rat on a mate,” said McCullum.

He was also not particularly pleased with the way ICC dealt with the issue. He felt that in order to combat corruption, one needs to have a proactive approach. Baz asserted that the approach was definitely not very good. “I felt it was incredibly unprofessional, the way it was dealt with. If we’re serious about combating corruption within our sport then we need to ensure that when evidence is presented by a player or administrator or whoever, that they are protected,” he quoted.

Lastly, he conceded that both of them are surely going to continue on their paths in their lives. He is just hoping that he doesn’t get to cross paths with Cairns ever again.

“I’m sure he’ll get on with his life, and I’ll get on with mine, and let’s hope they never cross paths. I’m done with it now and I want to move on with the rest of my life and I am sure as hell hope that my career is not defined by my involvement with Chris Cairns,” he quoted.

Also read – Cairns approached me thrice for Spot fixing: McCullum

Brendon McCullum was promoting his autobiography at Radio NZ when he quoted the above. With the autobiography lined up for the release, it will be interesting to see what new revelations he will make.