Cricketing giant lays down bat

Wife Carin Cairns (left) and mother Sue Wilson listen as Chris Cairns announces his retirement. Picture / Simon Baker

An emotional Chris Cairns confirmed his retirement yesterday, choking back tears as he thanked his father, cricketing legend Lance, and the "unsung hero" of his career - his mother.

New Zealand's elder statesman of cricket yesterday ended an injury-ravaged international career spanning 17 years, in which he established himself as one of the sport's greatest all-rounders and biggest drawcards.

Cairns initially struggled to get the words out at a news conference to announce his retirement yesterday. He admitted it was a difficult decision.

"But it's right. The time felt right for me now to exit the game. I'm on top. To be able to walk from the arena still loving the game and enjoying it, and being happy with it, I couldn't be happier," he said.

"What I have done is what I have done and who I am is who I am. And those experiences make me the man I am - good and bad."

He said he wanted to be remembered as an entertainer.

"I just hope that people have enjoyed watching my career.

"I think the name Cairns has hopefully given people pretty good value for money over the last three decades. I have always just liked to think that if people talk about my career, they talk about it with a smile on their face and say, 'Yeah, he was worth watching'."

Cairns played 215 one day internationals, taking 201 wickets and was just 50 runs short of reaching 5000 runs. His test record was equally impressive with his 3320 runs and 218 wickets ranking him alongside Sir Garfield Sobers, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee and Shaun Pollock.

Cairns said he looked forward to spending more time with his family - wife Carin and sons Thomas and Bram - and devoting more time to his fudge business.

His sons had suffered from his constant absences.

"I can't wait to not have to pack the bag, because Tom is now at the age where he doesn't want you to go. And that's pretty tough."

Cairns' mother, Sue Wilson, said she was very proud of her son's career.

"I have probably had a week to mull [his retirement] over, so I don't feel quite so bad, but initially when I was told I was quite shocked. We have had lots of good times," she said.

"A lot of people say it's not a real job. But it's a real job for him. Since he was 5 he always wanted to play cricket for New Zealand."

Cairns' relationships with others in cricketing circles have often made for a turbulent career.

"My journey is just public. We all go through many cycles and roads in our careers to end up where we are. I'm an elder statesman by the fact of experience, but experience is just a real fancy word for stuffing up a whole lot."

Injury had plagued him throughout his career, something he blamed on his genes.

"Sometimes people will look and ask questions about what could have been. I missed as many tests as I played. But it's just an anatomical fact that my body found it very, very difficult. So I had to be strong of mind and bounce back all the time. It's those moments that define you."

He would always be involved with New Zealand cricket in some capacity.

"I work pretty hard in the background in the team with regards to passing on advice ... or helping the guys within the game. And I will always be available to do that. I will happily pass my number on to anyone who wants to learn."


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Cairns on his heroes ... on and off the pitch

On his mother, Sue Wilson:

"The unsung hero, I think, in my career. She supported me right from five years of age, right through to now. She's a very, very special lady and I wouldn't be here today or my career be the same without her."

On his father, Lance Cairns:

"He was a great help. He told me off too many times, but he was a wonderful help."

On former team manager, John Graham:

"DJ is a man who helped me an enormous amount. He helped me as a person, and for that I am eternally grateful. DJ was a very, very special man."

On former NZ Cricket chief Chris Doig:

"He was a very tough man, but he really got New Zealand Cricket on track. And he was someone who really helped me as well on the personal side of things."

On his surgeon, Paul Armour:

"Without his scalpel and his expertise, I would never have achieved what I did on the park. He's a bloke who shuns the publicity side of things, but he's as important a part of my career as anyone else."

On Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne:

"I'm a lucky man to have been in the era that he played in. He's a wonderful exponent of what he does."

On Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar:

"When you have got the weight of a billion people on your shoulders, and to go out and churn out the records he does, it is phenomenal."