(Image source from: Ex-New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns cleans bus shelters to earn a living now!})

It's heartbreaking to see a superlative sportsman of his cadre resort to desperate measures to make ends meet. We are talking about former Kiwi all-rounder Chris Cairns who has taken up odd jobs like cleaning bus shelters and driving a council bus to support his family and pay for his mounting legal expenses. In case you don't remember, this former New Zealand cricketing great in under investigation by British authorities for alleged match-fixing.

Chris Cairns, who lives in Auckland's poshest suburb, earns a meager $17 an hour for his service.

Talking about his plight, former team-mate Dion Nash revealed to New Zealand Herald: "He's trying really hard and supporting his family the best way he can. He's not moping around, he's showing guts and doing hard work by cleaning bus shelters. All I can do is support him, but as a friend it is really hard to watch his name being dragged through the mud with no conclusion in sight. He's a champion guy and he will come through this stronger."

Says Cairns' wife Mel Croser: "He has no choice, he has to provide for his family ... We have bills to pay like everyone else. We don't own a house, we're paying rent like many other people and getting by is a struggle".

Way back n 2010, Cairns proposed to Croser with a 3.2 carat diamond ring.

Cairns has denied all charges of rigging a match and has called the accusations 'absurd, bizarre and scary'.

Cairns retired from international cricket in 2004. He is one of the only 12 players in Test history to score the all-rounders' double of 200 wickets and 3,000 runs.

In 2012, Cairns won £90,000 ($146,000) in a libel action against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in London over a tweet alleging he was involved in match-fixing.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury