Cricket: Bracewell - why I had to test Cairns out

John Bracewell gave an insight into the vast emptiness of his cupboard yesterday when he spoke of a bid to lure Chris Cairns back into the test team.

Confronted by a injury list more in keeping with the winter codes, Bracewell confirmed he had checked on the availability of Cairns as he pondered the composition of his side for the first test against Australia, starting next Thursday.

Cairns last played a test for New Zealand during the ill-fated tour to England last winter, after which he packed away his whites to concentrate on staying fitter and adding to his longevity as a specialist one-day player.

Although captain Stephen Fleming said on Tuesday that Cairns had made his decision and that it wouldn't be fair to ask him to reconsider, Bracewell said it was an issue that he was obliged to clarify, given the current injury toll.

"I was pretty serious about it," he said yesterday. "The gist was that he was flattered by the offer but that he had drawn a line under that [part of his career], and didn't really think his ankle could stand the rigours of a test match.

"He's probably going to have another operation on it anyway, to have it cleaned out again, and I respected his decision. I had to ask him and he understood that."

Cairns retired after the third test at Trent Bridge in June last year, bowing out with match figures of 9-187, having earlier become just the sixth member of the 3000 runs-200 wickets club, alongside Ian Botham, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.

When he stepped down at the end of the England tour he'd played 62 tests, scoring 3320 runs at 33.53 while taking 218 wickets at 29.40.

The veteran all-rounder said yesterday that Bracewell's question was almost of the rhetorical nature, as he knew already what the situation was.

"I think he knew the answer before he asked the question," said Cairns.

"I guess with the numbers who are out - we're down so many - it was him just making sure I hadn't changed my mind.

"But I've closed that chapter of my career. I've still got a goal to play the next World Cup [in 2007] and if I play test cricket I could ruin that. The [left] ankle problem means the longer term stuff just wouldn't work.

"It's about me following a dream and I still think I can get there."

Meanwhile, Bracewell warned of another onslaught from Australia in the final one-dayer at Napier tomorrow, suggesting that the style of the tourists' game was designed to inflict as much damage as possible on New Zealand before the start of the tests.

New Zealand are already 4-nil down in the series and will field another virtually unrecognisable combination tomorrow, when Auckland all-rounder Tama Canning is poised to play his fourth one-day international.

"Australia demonstrated that it [the ODI series] has a great deal of relevance in terms of a psychological edge, if the way they played against us at Wellington is any guide," said Bracewell.

"I thought they were almost prepared to jeopardise their winning chance in order to hammer home the advantage and clean us up as quickly as possible."