New Zealand must have hated it when they had to let go one of their most charismatic cricketers this year.
Every six months the side would look rejuvenated as the all-rounder made his way into the team, bending his back purposefully, cracking a few boundaries, taking them to the brim of success and again succumbing to the growing demands of cricket on the body.
Chris Cairns dragged his career through many injuries and setbacks, adding life to the team that has consistently threatened the bigger teams.
The biggest Kiwi success in the one-day cricket came against India when they won the Champions Trophy in 2000 in Kenya.
Cairns was again the man, who did it for them, despite of being down with fever.
"That was a great day. It was our day, we were really lucky to pull that one through," recalled Cairns on Monday during a promotional event in Mumbai.
The 34 year old, who said he wants to be remembered as an "entertainer," retired from Test cricket after the England series earlier this year.
Cricket Correspondent Deepti Patwardhan caught up with the Kiwi all-rounder, fulfilling his commercial commitments in India en route to the Bangladesh tour starting next week.
You quit Test cricket but continue to play in one-day internationals. Lots of players have quit one form of cricket. Has this trend come in because of the amount of cricket being played?
The work is a lot and by doing so the players have been able to stay in the game and remain involved.
Some like Shane Warne have decided to retire from one-day cricket and play Test cricket. But it is important for me. I have a family now and two young boys who mean a world to me, and I want to be a good father.
Was your injury-prone career a reason for retiring from Test matches?
I have had four knee operations and a back operation and many strains, but that is not the reason why I quit. They are a part and parcel of the game. As I said it was the family, I wanted to put back time for my family that is why I retired from Tests.
Is the workload on fast bowlers the reason why so many of them are breaking down?
Completely. (Javagal) Srinath has explained it to India better than most. The demands on fast bowlers are like nothing else in the world. It puts a lot of pressure on your back, on your joints and the entire body. It is very demanding.
The only way around it is what you call the rotation policy.
Not many countries have the bowlers to change around, and I understand you will always want to play your best side.
But that is why Australia has been able to do so well. They have tremendous depth to rotate, and that is one of the reasons why they have been able to keep their fast bowlers fit and preserve them.
Do you think the demands of professional cricket are getting bigger, especially with so many commercial commitments?
Yeah, although, it is a part and parcel of the game and our life. It is something we do, that's the way we derive the income. The demands of cricket alone are too much but then the rewards are high. We can't complain too much. We are supported very well and are very lucky.
You have toured India twice (1995, 1999) and been fairly successful. Would you rate it as the toughest experience overseas?
Oh yes, most definitely. It is something to do with the heat and the humidity, very very difficult conditions. Also the players here are great, they know the conditions so well.
It is hard work especially for the fast bowlers and also people from the southern hemisphere, You know, in New Zealand we don't have this kind of heat. It
That is the challenge you have to overcome.
Definitely. That is where your mental strength comes in. Conditions like these hurt your body and are physically very demanding. But any great sportsperson will like to prove his mental strength overcoming challenges like these.
New Zealand always seems to go one level up when playing against Australia. Do you enjoy playing them the most?
Yes. Of course, everybody pits themselves against the best in the world. But I also enjoy playing outside New Zealand. Everybody can play in their own country but the key to success is to perform in all type of conditions.
I know India are trying to fix the problem playing away. They are, of course, very good in India and are getting better. They showed it with the way they played in Australia last year. But yes, any player would like to be judged by they way he performs all round the world.
What do you think is been missing from the Indian armoury against Australia in the current series?
It was a very close game in Chennai. Two factors are affecting India's performance. One, of course, is the absence of Tendulkar; the other is V V S Laxman. VVS, it seems, hasn't scored as many runs in this series. He played well in Calcutta (in 2001) and was one of the highest scorers on the Australian tour last year. So he has been a big influence in past series and the biggest thorn in the Australian backside. And it seems without Laxman the batting is not clicking.
You have played against Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Who according to you is the best spinner?
In India, (Anil) Kumble is very good. His record speaks for that. He is obviously not the same when India travel. Shane Warne is more effective outside the subcontinent with his varieties in delivery.
Daniel Vettori taking over the captaincy during the one-day series against Bangladesh is an indication that the selectors are trying to groom a successor to Stephen Fleming.
Hundred percent. John Bracewell understands that Stephen Fleming is not going to stick around for a long time and has expressed his desire to quit after the 2007 World Cup. It is a very prudent move when you think that New Zealand are going to lose a lot of players, with injury or otherwise.
Even India wants someone to succeed (Sourav) Ganguly, be it Yuvraj (Singh) or (Mohammed) Kaif.
Vettori is a very intelligent man and has been around for a long time. He has all the attributes of a good captain.
Is it a worry that the youngsters in the New Zealand side haven't been able to make their performances count?
I don't think so. I think 80 per cent of the performance is generated by the seniors and that is true for any good team. It is up to the juniors to rally round that.
We have got some good youngsters coming through, some good young fast bowlers coming through. But on the batting side we would like the younger batters to take more responsibility.
What do you think of the smaller teams playing in competitions like the Champions Trophy? Ricky Ponting was very critical of it.
I agree with some of what he says. There are ways to bring in the younger countries and I am not sure if humiliation is the way to get them in. No one wants to be humiliated.
Personally, I think the Champions Trophy should be played only among the world-class teams.
New Zealand won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award last month. Was it a reward for all the sporting decisions Stephen Fleming has taken on and off the field?
I think so.
Stephen Fleming is the best captain in the world. He is certainly the most respected and again he is somebody who makes very good decisions. He is a very good thinker, he is not impulsive in taking his decisions and is very calculated with what he does.
We play the game fair; we play it hard but always stick to the laws of the game. We know it's important to have gamesmanship but I don't think we ever cross the line.
I think New Zealand deserved to win the award.
Finally, your thoughts on the upcoming Bangladesh tour.
The Test starts from Tuesday, so I will be watching it definitely. I will be going over the weekend. I have not really played there and looking forward to it. It is going to be a good series and am looking forward. I am expecting it to be a lot hotter though.
Photograph: Deepak Salvi
