Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns on life support after suffering an aortic dissection in his heart

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is severely ill in Australia after having suffered an aortic dissection in his heart in Canberra, Australia last week. Reportedly, he is currently on life support. An Aortic dissection happens when a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery.

Cairns is expected to be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sydney soon. Cairns is understood to have undergone a couple of operations since but hasn’t responded to these treatments as expected, as reported by Newshub.

51-year-old Cairns, the son of Black Caps legend Lance Cairns, is a right-hand batter and fast-medium bowler who was renowned as one of the finest all-rounders of his generation. He featured in 62 Test matches, 215 one-day internationals, and two T20Is for New Zealand between 1989 and 2006. He carried the hopes of the Kiwis’ fans whenever he held the willow or the skipper showed trust in him with the ball.

Chris Cairns – A match-winner and legend of the Black Caps

Being an all-rounder is a demanding and tedious job. But there comes some who do the task with certain versatility and Cairns was certainly one of them. The 6 ft 2 inches tall guy was explosive with the bat as he once held the record of hitting the most sixes in Tests which exemplifies his flair. He registered his career-best figures of 7-27 in 1999 against West Indies which is etched into the hearts of the New Zealand fans.

In 62 Test matches, Cairns has scored 3320 runs and scalped 218 wickets. Whereas in the ODIs he has chipped in 4950 runs and has picked up 201 wickets. He has been a proven match-winner for the Kiwis helping the team in winning matches during many crunch moments. His achievements and plethora of passion for the game of cricket had always made him the fan’s favorite.

He was also named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the year in 2000. Chris Cairns has also been the chief executive of SmartSportz, a company specializing in virtual sport. Over the course of his career, he proved to be an important cog in the wheel of New Zealand’s team.