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The Rediff Interview/ Chris Cairns

'Compared to the Australians in Australia and the West Indians in the West Indies, I reckon the Indian tour is the most demanding'

Christopher Cairns has, since he made his debut, been talked of as the most likely to carry on the traditions of the great all-rounders -- Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham...

Yet, his own temperament, coupled with injuries, have ensured that the promise inherent in his talent with bat and ball is yet to be realised.

Cairns comes to India after a great tour of England, where he destroyed the home side with a 5-31, then weighed in with an 80 after seeing his side tottering at 39-6. That knock clinched the win, and gave the Kiwis a historic series win.

India has not proved as kind to the son of the illustrious Lance Cairns -- while he has had good, solid knocks and interesting spells with the ball, he has not provided his side that winning edge they were looking for from him.

In an exclusive interview with Faisal Shariff, the enigmatic all-rounder from Canterbury speaks about his role in the side, and flashes back to New Zealand's World Cup campaign.

From your debut in 1992 to the 1999 World Cup campaign in 1999 -- how has the journey been for you thus far?

Cricket is a tough game. It is one of the hardest games I know. When you are batting, you are just one ball away from getting out -- you try to make that up by bowling, where every ball gives you a fresh chance to do something. That's the game, and the journey for me. Every day is the same, I go out there and do the same thing, I never know how it will go on the day, and that means I am as excited as anyone else to see how the game will unfold on that day.

How have you evolved as a cricketer, over the years?

I don't really know. I have got a bit of stickability now, because I have been around for 10 years. So I must have done something right. I'm learning all the time, I enjoy what I do, and I think you just grow with the game.

As a person, I don't think I have changed much. I have always been strong on my thoughts and beliefs, maybe I don't voice them as much nowadays.

You have played under Martin Crowe, Ken Rutherford, Lee Germon and Stephen Fleming. Which of these captains has really helped you develop your potential?

I would say Steve Rixon and John Graham have been very good. They were the coach and the manager, and formed a very good combination. I think I really enjoyed their company and their time. They worked very hard, they pushed a lot of us very hard, and that was very good.

And how has David Trist been as a coach so far?

Good. I have known Trist for quite some time. He coached my provincial side in New Zealand, he is very good. He has a completely different approach, he is very relaxed with you, the onus is on you to keep up your standards.

What is it about Steve Rixon that you liked so much?

I think he pushed us a bit more. Sometimes, we did not realise why he pushed us so much and we used to curse him. Then we realised that he was just pushing you to get the best out of you as a player. And that is what he was good at.

But, amongst the captains whom would you rate as the best of the lot?

Martin Crowe was the best. He was an inspirational player and so his captaincy was also very good. He could lead from the front, and that's the way Stephen Fleming will go.

Martin, without doubt, will go down as New Zealand's greatest ever Test captain, Stephen still has a long way to go. With respect to his batting and his captaincy, Stephen has it in him to be one of the finest captains we have had, though.

You have always been talked of as one of the leading all-rounders in the world. Do you think you have realised your full potential?

I don't think my statistics do justice to what I have done. I think over the past three or four years, my record is a lot better than my career statistics suggest. I had a bit of a bad patch there after I started, I was scoring too few runs and I was not getting enough wickets, and that has affected my overall stats. It is in the past three or four years that I have realised what I am capable of.

What are your experiences of playing in India? What is it like playing in the sub-continent?

I came here in 1995 and it was tough. Very tough!

Tough, why? Why did you find it difficult playing here?

Basically, I am a seam bowler. I don't swing the ball, so it's very tough for me. Having said that, I have learnt things on this tour which should hold me in good stead for later on. It's very demanding mentally, firstly because of the heat and the crowds, and the class of the Indian players in their own conditions. There is no challenge like it. Compared to the Australians in Australia and the West Indians in the West Indies, I reckon that the Indian tour is the most demanding, besides being the hardest place to play in.

You came here fresh from a win against England in England -- how much did that help team morale?

A lot! It did a lot for the history of our game, for New Zealand cricket. And that was the most important thing, because there have been a lot of cricketers who tried to achieve what we did, and faltered. We won at Lords, we won two Tests in England. And so it was a great moment in my career.

You guys have come here with a six member support team, all kinds of experts backing you up -- how do you analyse their contribution to the team effort?

I am a big believer in individual choice, and if an individual wants to go the video analyst or to the psychologist, the coach or the manager, it's entirely his choice. So these things that we have with us should be encouraged, at the same time, no player should be pressurised into doing something. I think there is no harm in giving the individual player the choice of whether or no he wants to use the backup.

How has it helped you in particular?

It has helped some guys a lot. It has helped me quite a bit, too. Personally, I use the video analyst a lot. If I think I'm doing something wrong or want to see something, then I'll go and have a look at it. And I see that as a purely individual choice. So I don't have a problem with it at all.

You have played in two of the three semi-finals that New Zealand has reached in World Cups. What do you think keeps your side from going the full distance?

Pakistan keeps us out all the time!

I think it's belief. We perhaps don't have that inner belief in ourselves when it comes to those semifinals. Perhaps sometimes its the other team has more desire than we have. And it's not because we are not trying, we are trying exceptionally hard. I think on the day, the opposition we come up against seems to be better than we are. Saeed Anwar did it this time, and last time Inzamam-ul-Haq hurt us.

Sometimes, you are beaten by a better man.

You seem to enjoy playing against Australia. What is it that pumps the entire Kiwi team up every time they play Australia?

I enjoy beating Australia. They are the best competitors, and I really admire them for their tenacity and for their aggression. I love getting involved in the game against them. And to beat them in the World Cup was a highlight.

You personally seemed to be very aggressive in the game against Scotland, where you were fighting for that semifinal spot. Do you think the Aussies were justified in deliberately playing slowly against the Windies to try and keep you out?

I think they were justified in what they did. We didn't blame Australia because we would have done the same. They were playing within the rules. There was nothing unsporstman-like about it. If you are going to look at anybody, you look at the people who make the rules. Australia was playing within the rules and so, if you have a problem, then you need to go and look at the format of the World Cup.

You have never been considered for captaincy. Does it bother you?

No, not really. My role in the team is such that I am involved in the team all the time anyway. I open the bowling and bat anywhere from six to eight. So I have a heck of a lot on my plate anyway. To captain your country is a great honour and sure, if it had come to me then that's fine but I have a very good role in the side as a senior player and I have a lot of say. Stephen Fleming is a fine captain and he is still learning, he is learning all the time.

To get to the current tour, how has India been for you thus far?

Disappointing really. I have only taken four wickets and averaged about 16 with the bat. It's really tough. You are mentally battling with yourself all the time. Sachin is there, and he isn't making it any easier. But then it only takes one ball, you tell yourself, and you keep going. And when you are batting you have to face quality bowlers like Kumble, Harbhajan and Srinath, who is a great bowler under these conditions. India is one team when you play them here, another when you play them away.

What do you reckon is the reason for that? Why do Indians play so well at home and perform poorly overseas?

When they go abroad, they try to play the way they do here. Your batters hit through the line here, they can't do that overseas because of the length they bowl there. But Sachin and Rahul, who is a terrific player, have the technique which lets them succeed anywhere in the world. They play the ball on its merit and they leave well.

To get back to your team, what does New Zealand cricket lack? Why is it you are not producing players of top class in more numbers?

We are a nation of 3 million people, you are a nation of a billion people. We have a deep-set pride in what we do, and I think we do very well considering the size that we are. What we need to do is take that extra step and reach the final of the World Cup, maybe even win the World Cup, that will give the game a fillip back home. We have never won a one-day series away from home, these are things that we need to work on, we have to get over that mindset of not being able to do it. Once we get good results, the interest back home will go up and then there will be more players taking to the game.

You think the domestic scene back home could do with some changes?

You know, because we play so much of international cricket that we are hardly home. So the guys back home tend to suffer a little bit. It's tough, because the guys need to play us so that they better themselves. So it's like the chicken and the egg.

Do you put the New Zealand players back in the domestic league and then not have international cricket? That one is for the administrators to crack.

Who is the toughest batsman you've bowled to?

Sachin Tendulkar, without doubt, is the toughest batsman to bowl to. He stands above everyone else in that respect. The hundred I saw him get when I played alongside him in the Lady Diana Memorial game at Lords was one of the finest knocks I have ever seen. He was against Srinath, McGrath, Donald and Kumble and he went and scored a hundred with amazing ease and finesse. I am a great admirer of his game, but when I play against him I want to get him out. Don't get me wrong, but I want to compete and I want to get his wicket.

But then, I also acknowledge that you do get special players and he is one of them.

What is the toughest part about bowling to him?

You have got a very small margin for error. He is so strong around the wicket that your line and length has to be spot on or he will take toll. Sometimes that gets him into trouble because he wants to dominate, but on other days he will destroy you. But that's the beauty of bowling to him as well. He will always give you a chance -- but if you don't take it, he will destroy you.

Don't you think that bowlers and fielders are going overboard with sledging on the field?

Not really! It's an international sport. The media calls it sledging; the players call it gamesmanship. If you are stupid enough as a batter to listen to me talking to you, then you should not be there in the first place. That is part of international cricket, and I think it is not going overboard and the match referees have a hand on it.

All we are trying to do is unsettle the players and if he is foolish enough to fall for it then it's his problem.

But doesn't all the rude language and obscene gestures set a bad precedent to the young people watching?

That's not our fault. The television people are the ones who bring it there. They are the ones who focus on us. If you don't want that to happen, tell them to focus on the game, not on what is said or done between deliveries and overs.

You have the reputation of being a very explosive character. Where did you get this image?

I am very passionate about what I believe in. I stick to what I think is right. I am prepared to listen to reason, obviously nowadays I am learning to choose my time to say what is needed. Before, I used to just fling it out. But now I've figured there is a time and a place for it.

People