Chris Cairns gets ready for face-off with Lalit Modi in defamation case

Wellington (ANI): Former New Zealand all rounder Chris Cairns will fly to England in the coming days to challenge former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi in court.

Cairns had filed a defamation case against Modi for his comment on Twitter, where he had said in early 2010, that he had barred the New Zealander from taking part in the IPL due to ‘his past record in match-fixing’.

In the aftermath of the controversy, Modi was quoted by various media outlets as saying: “Let him sue us, and then we will produce what we have to in court.”

Cairns’ lawyer, Andrew Fitch-Holland, said from England last night that he would be unable to represent the cricketer because he was a witness in the case.

Fitch-Holland said Cairns would instead be represented by the country’s leading libel barrister, Andrew Caldecott, QC.

The case will be heard in the High Court in London on March 5 and is expected to last up to 10 days. Fitch-Holland said his friend was determined to clear his name in court and was confident he would be successful in the coming weeks.

“He’s in the rudest of health, as is his little girl and his wife, and he’s looking forward to getting over to the UK next week and clearing his name,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Fitch-Holland as saying. “Our case has always been completely consistent and this is just a matter of Chris wanting to clear his name. We are confident that is now a very short time away and we are looking forward to it,” he added.