Cricket: Sweetener for Cairns to stay?

By RICHARD BOOCK

The Chris Cairns retirement mystery is expected to be solved early next week.

The champion all-rounder was last week reported to be leaning heavily towards retiring from tests at the end of the season to prolong his one-day career and spend more time with his family.

The news appeared to take his team-mates and officials by surprise, but there were no denials.

There have been suggestions that New Zealand Cricket officials have been desperate to persuade Cairns to reconsider his retirement, and have possibly offered a sweetener.

There are also those who believe he has decided to stand down from test duty and that an announcement will be made public next week, possibly via a women's magazine.

Cairns was present at New Zealand Cricket's annual awards dinner on Wednesday night, when his achievement of completing the coveted 3000-runs-200-wicket double was honoured.

In a brief interview he told commentator Ian Smith that it would be nice to leave at a time when the team were performing and there was adequate depth, and then attracted widespread applause when he said: "On the other hand, maybe I want to carry on."

The 33-year-old Cantabrian struck a rich vein of form during the series against South Africa, provoking calls for him to remain in the test arena, at least until the end of the tour of England.

The trip includes three tests, the last at Trent Bridge where Cairns was based during his county days with Nottingham. A 14-man test squad should be named within a week.