Cricket: Change of approach for Cairns

By RICHARD BOOCK

Chris Cairns may follow the lead of New Zealand's greatest fast bowler in an attempt to prolong his international cricket career.

The star ingredient in New Zealand's mini-World Cup triumph in Kenya provided his side with another major boost yesterday with news that he would remain in Africa for the series against the Proteas, despite the concerns over his injured right knee.

An MRI scan in Johannesburg apparently showed inflammation but no serious damage to Cairns' troublesome patella tendon, leaving New Zealand officials hopeful that he may be available for tomorrow night's opening one-day international against South Africa at Potchefstroom.

"It's all very favourable from our perspective," New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe said. "He will be staying with us on tour, monitored on a match-by-match basis, and any pain he suffers from the knee will be managed by our medical team."

Cairns received the man-of-the-match award for his efforts against India on Monday, when he first saved the match with the ball and then won it with an unbeaten century as New Zealand chased 264 for the title.

Brought on as New Zealand's third seamer in the final, the 30-year-old was initially expected to bowl only five overs off a much-shortened run-up, but emerged from the match surprised by the effectiveness and economy of his modifications.

As a result, coach David Trist said, Cairns was considering making a long-term change to the shorter run-up, in much the same way Sir Richard Hadlee cut down his approach to prolong his international career in the early 1980s.

"I think Monday's final signalled a change in responsibilities for Chris Cairns, considering he's now 30 and having a few injury problems," Trist said.

"You get to a stage where some hard decisions have to be made in order to preserve a player's long-term future, and as far as Chris is concerned, I think during the final we received an insight into how we might go about that."

At a time when Indian openers Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar were pasting the New Zealand opening bowlers to all points of the compass, Cairns was able to rein in the run-rate with a demanding line and clever change of pace, eventually giving up just 40 runs from his 10 overs.

"He found that he was probably better off with his modified approach," Trist said. "He may have been better balanced and certainly seemed to have a better platform from which to deliver all his variations and change-ups."

Sir Richard, who took 431 wickets in a test career which spanned 18 summers, changed from his full run to a more economical approach in the 1981-82 series against Australia.

Trist said there was no reason why Cairns should not last the tour - including three tests - if managed correctly.

"The scan will certainly ease Chris' mind ... but he remains a day-to-day management issue because the knee is not 100 per cent," he said.

"It's still seems feasible to believe he can continue on the tour, but if he has to miss a couple of one-day games, he will."