Chris Cairns: Denied the chance to get one over the Aussies

Even though we probably played above expectation in the one day internationals, we were all pretty disappointed not to be granted the chance to try and win the Chappell-Hadlee trophy outright.

We had gained a lot of confidence from the games in Melbourne and Sydney and would have loved another crack at the Aussies in Brisbane.

We had learned that, under pressure, the Australians are like any other team. They are prone to making mistakes. It is just that they are not put under pressure that often.

Although we were denied the opportunity to see how they would react in a series decider, we know that when we meet them in February we have a good chance.

We can all accept that on this occasion there was not a reserve day set aside, but I think it is crucial that in the future we see a result. We don't want to see the trophy shared, and the reason for the three matches is that we want a winner.

Still, we took an enormous amount out of the two games. First and foremost, you have to congratulate the boys for picking themselves up so quickly after the test defeats. Losing both tests by such big margins really hurt them and put a real dent in their confidence.

To play like we did was a fantastic effort and confirms our world ranking.

What has perhaps given us the most confidence is the fighting qualities we displayed. In both games we were not quite down and out, but we were certainly behind the game, and we won in Melbourne and came close in Sydney.

And here I have to make a special mention of Chris Harris. People don't realise how serious his injury was when he went out to play. His shoulder was fractured and rotator cuff gone. He was in complete agony and to go out there and do what he did was a bloody gutsy effort.

After Millsy hit those four sixes everyone looked around at Harry. I think it speaks volumes for Harry's character that he immediately said: "Yep, better go and get the pads on".

No one said anything to him. He didn't have to be asked. He just got padded up, with a lot of help I should add, and went out there and did amazingly well considering the pain he was in.

We would all like to think that if we were in a similar situation we would do the same, but you can't be sure until it happens.

I suppose we could be really hard on ourselves and say we would not have needed to have shown such fighting spirit if we had put more runs on the board in the early overs or reduced the Australians to smaller totals.

But, again, you have to acknowledge how good the Australians are. They are the world champions and still very much the best one day side in the world.

I have never had an easy victory against Australia. If you beat them, it is almost certain that the game will have gone down to the wire.

Often in a game against Australia, you find yourselves having to fight back. Maybe in the past we have not always done that so we should take enormous heart at our ability to stick with them and get ourselves back into a position to win.

We probably exceeded expectations, but in saying that there is a quiet confidence in the one-day arena. Everyone knows their role and the confidence is really building.

It would be wrong to say that we earned the respect of the Australians because I think the Australians have always respected us. They are not so silly as to think that we can't play. But I think they will come here next year knowing that they will face a really strong challenge when they come up against us, and there is no danger of them taking us lightly.

And that is how it should be. We are, after all, the number two ranked side in the world, and should be capable of causing the Aussies problems.

Hopefully it will make for a great summer of cricket, and it would be nice to see people coming down to the grounds to give us some support.