Mark Richardson: Cairns is missing link man

Should the Black Caps win the final ODI tonight in Pretoria, it will only pump an unsubstantial amount of air into what quickly became a deflated tour for our cricket team. At least the scoreline doesn't read 4-0 after the fourth game of five was rained out but, when you're 3-0 down and the series has been lost very quickly, it's all academic really.

The sour taste in Stephen Fleming's and John Bracewell's mouths as they fly out of Johannesburg airport will be because they know it could so easily have been 3-0 in their favour after three games. They should also have the nagging thought in the back of their minds that Chris Cairns could have made all the difference.

The Black Caps lost games from strong positions. Games one and three were lost through poor bowling at the 'death'. Game two was lost via a succession of wickets chasing a very modest total.

I'll concede that batting second under lights at Cape Town is a disadvantage as the dew puts moisture into the surface. But the Black Caps were in a strong enough position to counter this. What was missing was experience and a cool head under fire - Cairns.

The death bowling is still a problem for this team and what happens over the summer in regard to this crucial part of the game will clarify what Bracewell meant when he said it was the best thing for our World Cup chances if Cairns was left out of the tour to South Africa.

Is it so Cairns could get some cricket at the lower levels, gain confidence and form, and gain reselection? Or was it to get rid of the ageing Cairns so other younger options could be developed?

The second of these options has been tried and so far failed but I can understand if Bracewell wants to persevere. After all, Cairns has yet to have any real cricket leading into the Chappell/Hadlee series and it will take time to find combinations to take us into the future.

But I say bring Cairns back now because he has all the attributes - barring game time - that were missing in South Africa. He has experience, a cool head under pressure, desire and still a ton of talent - attributes that say 'match-winner'.

The death overs could be Cairns' opportunity for reselection and an understanding of a defined role in the team would be perfect for getting more years of quality out of our great allrounder.

The ability and confidence to get the job done under fire is what is needed at crucial times - the times the Blacks Caps are losing at present - in a limited-overs game. With a little focus and with his experience, Cairns could be the man for the job.

At the very least he provides more leadership on and off the field which could go a long way to getting a team with enough talent across the line more often.