Cricket: Adams out, Cairns in the frame

Andre Adams has been sidelined by a freak accident to a finger. Picture / Dean Purcell

Chris Cairns' international recall received another surge of momentum last night after all-rounder Andre Adams was ruled out of the Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia with a finger injury.

One of the few New Zealanders to return from the tour of South Africa with his reputation intact, Adams will be sidelined for the next six weeks as he attempts to recover from a tendon injury suffered at fielding practice last Sunday.

Initially thought to be a minor dislocation to the ring finger of his left hand, it has now been found the tendon has separated from the bone at the top joint.

The news means extreme frustration for Adams, who missed last year's home-and-away series against Australia through illness, and had earlier been forced out of calculations with a back injury.

"I'm very disappointed," Adams said last night. "It always seems to happen to me at the worst times. I was sick last year, had a back injury before that, so I'm pretty fed up with all that side of it.

"It was just a freak accident during fielding practice.

"We were even working with the slaz ball - the heavy tennis ball variety. It just swung on me a bit, got a bit big and took me right on the end of the finger as it went in."

Adams will have the finger in a cast for five weeks, but says if it doesn't heal as planned he might have to have a wire inserted, a procedure that would mean more rehabilitation.

However, while the news was grim in Auckland, it only seemed to grease the wheels of progress for rejected all-rounder Cairns, who now appears on track for a return to the big-time against Australia on December 3 at Eden Park.

Jettisoned from the South African squad on fitness grounds, Cairns has been busying himself on the Christchurch domestic scene and, from all reports, has shown strong form with bat and ball.

With Adams' ability as a bowling all-rounder now missing, and Jacob Oram's all-round skills also to be left on the physio bench, Black Caps coach John Bracewell is sure to be keen to select anyone who can contribute in both disciplines.

Bracewell will name his squad next Wednesday for the first ODI knowing that Adams' setback is another reason for recalling Cairns.

"I spoke to Braces today and he told me to aim at Sri Lanka [who arrive at the end of next month] and that's what I'm going to concentrate on now," said Adams.

"I'm still able to bowl, do some one-handed throw-downs and some catching so I can keep myself involved. But I can't afford to play any club cricket because if I get another blow on the end of the finger, it's poked."

Adams wished his team-mates well against Australia and said he was confident of a far more productive effort from the top-order in particular, after the lack of runs in the previous one-day series against South Africa.

"It's always a tough ask against Australia, but I know the top-order is still smarting about what happened in South Africa and that they're determined to turn things around ... They're hungry for runs and they've got plenty to prove, so there's no lack of motivation."