Cricket: Cairns giving it another shot

Chris Cairns. Photo / Mark Mitchell

He's 39 years old and played his last game of international cricket four years ago. But Chris Cairns may be about to return.

The former New Zealand allrounder is seeking to make a comeback to international cricket via the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) after registering for a player auction later this month.

Cairns, who was most recently aligned to the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition, is among 97 players chasing a contract.

Cairns learns on Tuesday whether he is included on the final auction list - the eight franchises then bid for those players on January 19.

Shane Bond also features on the list of nine New Zealand players seeking a contract through the third IPL auction.

A former ICL rebel, the 34-year-old made a successful return to international cricket last year though injury forced his retirement from the test format after a match-of-the-match winning performance against Pakistan in Dunedin last month - his first cap in two years.

Daryl Tuffey, who also made his comeback to test cricket against Pakistan after severing ties with the ICL, is also keen to join a franchise. Lou Vincent, another former international with ICL history, has also put his name forward for consideration.

New Zealand is already well-represented in the IPL with Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder and Kyle Mills signed up.

Outside of Bond, batsman Martin Guptill might hold the greatest appeal as a hard hitter at the top of the order.

Cairns, who debuted against Australia in 1989, played the last of his 62 tests against England in 2004.

He also played 215 one-day internationals before wrapping up the limited overs component of career with a Twenty20 against the West Indies in 2006.

The number of overseas players a franchise may have on its roster is capped at ten and at present it is unclear how many slots are available.

In 2009, more than 100 players registered for the auction out of which 50 went under the hammer to fill 17 available overseas slots. The number of places could be substantially lower this time.

Other former internationals to have registered include former Pakistan spinner - and occasional New Zealand assistant coach - Saqlain Mushtaq and Australian batsman Damien Martyn.

New Zealand players registered for auction: Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Brendon Diamanti, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Nathan McCullum, Daryl Tuffey, Lou Vincent.

- NZPA