The Cairns Class

Class was writ large on whatever Chris Cairns did on the field. Whetherbatting, bowling or fielding, a fully fit Cairns often gave the impression oftrying to soar higher than most of the other Kiwis. The famousCairns charisma won't be on display in Test matches any more as the brilliantall-rounder has decided to bid adieu to the heavyweight division of cricket.Thankfully, he has made himself available for national duty for at least theshorter version of the game.

The third and final Test against England at Trent Bridge was his farewellappearance on the big stage of cricket which he graced with his super skills andoutstanding exploits. But what a way to go! Those who had the cheek to sayCairns had lost some of the old sting in his bowling were in for a shock when heripped apart the English batting line-up in the first innings with a burst offive wickets.

As if that weren't enough, he provided his teammates with a glimmer of hope of whatwould have been a pride-salvaging victory with another fine spell in the secondinnings that fetched him four victims more. It's a pity he didn't have adequatesupport from the other end and, more crucially, the evergreen Graham Thorpestood like a rock and not just essayed a memorable hundred but also authored asplendid win that enabled England to make a 3-0 clean sweep of the Kiwis.

Cairns the bowler couldn't possibly have done more in his last Test.Interestingly, despite injuries slowing down his speed, he didn't like tobe called a medium-pacer. Not till his last hurrah. It was in keeping with theCairns persona. He always loved a challenge. In fact, second-best had no placein his outlook. The bigger the stage, the loftier he would be in terms ofperformance. There was this competitive edge to Cairns -- even when playingdrinking games or tiddlywinks.

With cricket flowing in his veins, and given the rare talent for batting andbowling he was endowed with, Cairns was bound to carve a niche for himself ininternational cricket. Of course, it took him a while to emerge from the hugeshadow of his illustrious father, Lance Cairns, a robust speedster more renownedfor his lusty hitting down the order and towering, flamboyant sixes on publicdemand.

But when he finally did, there was just no stopping Cairns as he began totest the best of batsmen and bowlers with his quality pace bowling and powerfulbatting. That he was an all-rounder of rare ability and even rarer brilliance wasobvious enough. Even a cursory glance at his scintillating, sunshine cricketconvinced the most die-hard of pundits that Cairns wasn't a journeyman sportsman.

In a way, Cairns was a perfect cricketer who excelled equally well both withbat and ball. When in prime fitness, in belligerent mood and onsong, Cairns was the most dangerous cricketer imaginable. He was possibly themost handsome among his contemporaries, although his dazzling popularity had moreto do with his top-notch cricket than his looks.

Like most teenagers of the 1980s, Cairns grew up idolising Ian Botham and VivRichards. And his great cricketing dad, of course. Cairns, a megastar in his ownright, may have lived up to their deeds in more ways than one. If anything,Cairns had as much a penchant for smashing sixes as Botham, Richards and CairnsSr. It was in the fitness of things that Cairns surpassed Richards'long-standing record of 84 Test sixes just before bringing down the curtain onhis career.

Like his father, Cairns also stood out for the very size and style of hissixes. "On a couple of occasions he entertained us royally after partyinghard the night before because he didn't want to run too many. In a pre-seasoninnings in Pretoria, he kept clearing their biggest stand. The locals' jaws wereall dropping because they'd never seen anyone do it before,'' said hisNottinghamshire colleague Paul Johnson.

Ironically, more than his batting or bowling, it was his hair that caught theeye when Cairns was first sighted, like a comet, on the cricket plains of NewZealand. Ditto at Nottinghamshire when he first arrived there on a scholarship.With his long, loose and curly hair he looked more like a footballer than acricketer. "It was the ultimate hairdo of all time. It was a big, bushything," recalled Johnson. "One or two players in the current Kiwi sideseem to have taken it on board."

Cairns, whose belligerence sometimes landed him in trouble, not the leastwhen he had been thumped in nightclubs, or when he gave vent to his fastbowler's aggro and invited the wrath of the authorities, may not have been an ideal,virtuous man. But few cricketers have shown the kind of commitment anddedication Cairns did almost throughout his career. He was nothing less than atrump card for all his captains, not just for Stephen Fleming.

An eternally injury-prone cricketer, Cairns' figures and feats would havebeen more startling, if he hadn't missed nearly the same number of matches thathe played for his country. If New Zealand is no longer a Cinderella side it hadbeen for so many years, it's thanks to gifted, fighting cricketers like Cairns.He was inarguably the finest all-rounder to play for New Zealand. If not bowling,his batting was far better than that of Sir Richard Hadlee.

An intelligent man, Cairns was one of the most misunderstood Kiwi cricketerssimply because he tended to call a spade a shovel. But he was a fine human being, regardless of his occasional bouts of a young hunk's escapadesand shenanigans. Given his stunning looks and excellent voice that gave himquite a majestic personality, Cairns could have made a successful career in thetinsel town.

Once, when this writer suggested he try his luck in films, Cairns said:"Me and movies? No way, maan! I'm fine with my cricket and my girlfriend.Let alone acting, I'm not cut out even for modelling. But I'm really thrilledthat you consider me good enough to be a film star."

As it transpired, silver screen's possible loss was the willow game's gain. For, besides being acricketer of a very high order, Cairns was a colourful character, too. Testcricket will sorely and surely miss him.