Cricket: A bit of glory, then down to business as usual

Chris Cairns is hoping his 200th ODI cap will trump Brett Lee's 100th when the one-day series starts today in Wellington.

The champion New Zealand all-rounder played his 199th one-day international last month for the Rest of the World XI at Melbourne, and will join a select group of compatriots when he walks out into Wellington Stadium this afternoon.

In terms of New Zealanders, only Chris Harris, who has played 250 ODIs, and Stephen Fleming, who will clock up his 231st today, have reached the 200-mark, although Nathan Astle is closing in with 188.

Cairns, who will reach the milestone on the same day Lee is expected to play his 100th ODI, said yesterday that the recognition was nice, but that the ultimate would be tasting success against Australia.

"A win over Aussie would be about as good as anything I could hope for," he said last night. "But the key is to make sure your mind is on the job, so I won't be dwelling on it."

Cairns made his ODI debut against England in the summer of 1990-91, but his career has been badly affected by injury, to the extent that he's missed - for one reason or another - 99 games in the interim.

Since retiring from the test arena last winter, the 34-year-old Cantabrian has concentrated solely on the shorter version of the game and has been pleased with the way his one-day form has developed.

Cairns has already expressed his hopes of playing in the 2007 World Cup, but said he would also jump at the chance to be involved in this year's inaugural Super Series, between the No 1 ranked Australian team and a Rest of the World XI.

"I've had a pretty good run lately and if I have a good series against Australia, well, who knows what might happen. I guess I'm not in a bad position, so the key is just to keep playing well.

"The big thing for me at the moment is Australia. It's a great challenge, I thoroughly love playing them because they've been a special rival for us in the ODI arena."

He said the fact that today's contest would also double as his 200th ODI would only make the match more special.

"I'm sure that when I walk out on the park I'll take a second to absorb the moment and have a look around. But then it's business as usual."