November 22 Friday 2002
Cairns' book not as spectacular as true-life

AUCKLAND: Chris Cairns has seen many things in his cricketing life -- match-winner one day, moody the next, variously under surgeons' or critics' knife - but you always approached a Cairns effort with hope of something special and very likely spectacular.

So offer of reviewing Cairns' biography brought the same expectation that words behind his often breath-taking all-round skill would be as fascinating as his cricket. What disappointment, then to find that "ghost", Hamish McDouall, wrote the entire book in third person.

The book, published by Hodder Moa Beckett, is all about what McDouall thinks about what Cairns thinks - with my apologies to the Irish. Did sourness play a part in Cairns' desertion from New Zealand side which Germon captained in West Indies in 1995-96? Or Germon losing captaincy in 1996-97?

Libel lawyers' reputations have been made from less. Cairns was on injury break when New Zealand tour of South Africa in 1994/95 produced pot-smoking spree which had Stephen Fleming, Dion Nash and Matthew Hart fined, and some other players keeping their heads low. This led, according to McDouall, "to allegations and rumours of excessive drinking, widespread drug use, rape and even diamond theft."

This appears to be the first time "rape" is included among the rumours. The much-publicised split between Cairns and Glenn Turner, New Zealand coach is dug over again, with Turner villain and Cairns aggrieved one, especially over injury which he used to lever himself out of West Indies tour.

The injury must have been worse than it first appeared. At the time, one of New Zealanders watched Cairns sustain training injury and said to me: "Well, that looks like Cairns has fixed up his ticket for Notts."

Perhaps McDouall might also have mentioned that Christopher Doig, New Zealand Cricket CEO, was puppeteer who had both Cairns and Turner on a string. McDouall suggests John Graham, new New Zealand manager, was at fault when dealing with Cairns' early-morning ill-discipline during a Test at Wellington when Doig made the policy, but at least McDouall does allow Cairns to offer warmest tributes to Graham for his later deeds as manager.