Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is gravely ill and on life support at a Canberra hospital, Newshub reported.

The 51-year-old suffered an aortic dissection in his heart in Canberra last week and has undergone several operations since, but has not responded to treatment as hoped, as per Newshub. He will be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sydney. An aortic dissection is a tear in the body's main artery.