Cricket: Cairns fielding offer to winter over

NAPIER - New Zealand Cricket plans to meet allrounder Chris Cairns in the next few days in a bid to thrash out a deal to keep him here this winter.

A spokesman for NZC said nothing had been confirmed, and Cairns and his manager, Leanne McGoldrick, would meet chief executive Christopher Doig in Christchurch.

A sizeable financial offer is likely to keep him in New Zealand.

Cairns has been linked with English county Nottinghamshire and was also understood to have spoken with several other English teams.

A Wellington report said he could command more than $150,000 with an English county and that he was keen to take advantage of a rare gap in New Zealand's playing schedule over the winter.

But NZC was concerned at his workload this year, with New Zealand likely to have a hectic seven consecutive months of cricket, starting in August.

Cairns is New Zealand's top strike bowler and has taken on added responsibility and workload in the series against Australia because of the absence of Dion Nash through injury.

- NZPA