Thaindian News

Wellington, March 27 (IANS) Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns hopes to be involved with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) after winning his libel case against former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi.

The former New Zealand captain won the case after the London High Court Monday ordered Modi to pay him 90,000 pounds in damages.

Cairns sued Modi after the Indian businessman posted a Twitter message in 2010 that Cairns was released from Chadigarh Lions in the 2008 Indian Cricket League (ICL) on charges of match-fixing.

A relieved Cairns said now that his name has been cleared, he wants to give back something to the game.

Cairns said he was happy that his career remains untarnished and he could now walk into any cricket field with his head held high.

“For me it’s always about the present and the future, but the one thing I am proud of is what I have achieved for New Zealand.

“By receiving this complete vindication, it means my past is preserved. I can now move on,” Cairns was quoted as saying by TV3’s Campbell Live.

Cairns said the two-and-a-half-year battle was the toughest he had faced and during the troubled times he also questioned himself whether he could win.

“It was one of the hardest thing, if not the hardest thing I have ever been through,” he said.

Cairns’ father Lance said his son had approached the cricket board to work with them in an official capacity.

“They expressed some initial interest but then Justin Vaughan (former NZC chief executive) said it was best to wait until the match-fixing charges had been resolved.

“I’m very pleased for Christopher after what he has been through during the past two years. Until you find yourself in that position I don’t think you really understand,” Lance said.