Cairns, 45, was acquitted of perjury by a jury in London after a marathon trial lasting eight weeks.
Among those who testified against Cairns was Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum.
The two men were both adamant they were telling the truth. But their stories differed.
Hours after the verdict was delivered the chairman of New Zealand Cricket told the Herald the organisation would not rule out Cairns being involved in cricket in New Zealand in the future.
But NZC chairman Stuart Heal said his priority was ensuring McCullum was not attacked for his involvement in the Cairns case and to protect him if he was.
"Brendon is an employee of ours, so we've got a duty of care around him that makes sure he's in a safe working environment and free of harassment and all that humiliation stuff," Mr Heal said.
"I hope it doesn't come to that, but of course we will support Brendon. As I say, he's our current captain and an employee of New Zealand Cricket.
"We need him on the park leading our side and doing what he does best."
Mr Heal said it was too early to discuss whether Cairns had a future as an ambassador for cricket in New Zealand.
"What hasn't changed is Chris Cairns is one of our great players. The Cairns family is one of our great cricketing families," he said.
Cairns had played more than 60 test matches for the country as well as many one-day internationals and Mr Heal said he was and is "a great player".
While NZC had not ruled it out, Cairns had a firm opinion on whether the sport would have a place in his future.
"I have been burnt pretty much beyond recognition in cricket and I have been thrown from pillar to post and used as a rag doll to try and reach a certain scenario for organisations or for people," he said in an interview with Sky Sport.
"I have got no time for cricket at all. I am pretty resilient but it has taken its toll."
Mr Heal said despite the high-profile trial and Cairns' opinion that his reputation had been "scorched" as a result, he would "never say never" when it came to a future relationship between the former player and NZC.
"What he wants to do on the field, and what we want to do, I think we need to work through that. While he says it's scorched - his reputation is scorched, he's not scorched as a past great player."
Mr Heal said he felt "empty" after the verdict and that the overwhelming emotion today for NZC and all those involved was one of relief.
"This has been a particularly unpleasant and very difficult episode right through and I've been saying before any verdict, irrespective of the verdict, there's simply no winners in this whole situation.
"No matter what happened, or happens."
The Herald sought comment on the verdict from McCullum.
His wife Ellissa answered the door of their Christchurch home yesterday.
"He [McCullum] is not home and we don't have any comment [on the trial]," she said.
Last night McCullum's lawyer Garth Gallaway told the Herald his client had been asked by the Crown in the UK to give evidence at the trial.
"People will appreciate that it took great courage for him to do so. The adversarial process is an extraordinarily demanding one," he said.
"Brendon firmly believes that the appropriate place to refer to his evidence was in the court in the UK. He will make no further comment on it or the verdict."
