'One more shot' says Cairns as he awaits surgery

Chris Cairns hasn't been frustrated out of cricket yet by his run of injuries and said his over-riding emotion after his latest knee problems was to give it 'one more shot'.

Cairns will undergo surgery again next week and be out of action for the remainder of the winter with extensive rehabilitation before he will be fit to play again.

His hope is that he will be able to use the home series against India next Christmas-New Year as a less strenuous comeback that he had in Australia this summer.

Cairns said playing at home in a less rigorous campaign would be a much easier way to prepare himself for next year's World Cup, and for continued cricket for a season or two after that.

Cairns was offered a period of rest and rehabilitation, or surgery, and he opted for surgery because over the longer term that was less of a risk than undergoing the rest option with the chance of breaking down again.

"Should the injury recur I would face surgery at that time," he said.

"That could mean leaving Nottinghamshire in the lurch mid-season and could also mean that I would not be recovered in time to play for New Zealand against India or to play in the World Cup.

"For both of these reasons I felt the best option was to deal with the injury immediately," he said.

His option with Notts is a two-year one and discussions were underway for the second year of the deal with his coming through the World Cup campaign without injury concerns being a central part of the discussions.

"I would love to be able to be involved for a few more years.

"It would have been tempting to have gone economically. With the weakness of the New Zealand dollar, for all New Zealand sportsmen and women it is very attractive to go overseas and play," he said

Even business people looked to go overseas to maximise their earning potential, he said.

Cairns also clarified the situation with his original contract with Notts. He said his contract ran out with New Zealand Cricket at the end of April and he was a free agent and that was why he looked at the Notts option.

"To go there, play two months, get injured and let Notts down would have been very unprofessional, but more importantly I would have missed out on the chance to play in the World Cup," he said.

"I'm not ruling out having another operation [should something happen in the future] but it is the rehab that is the hardest thing to do. I'll be 32 this year and I would like to think I could give New Zealand cricket a few more years yet.

"I love the game too much. I love being involved with New Zealand Cricket. I love playing, I love being involved with this team and that's why I want to try and give it one last crack, to try and get it right. If I do that it could give me three years.

"If it doesn't go right, which we also calculated, I feel I can get through one more season and play the World Cup and then maybe look at things after that.

"The temptation to keep playing at this stage is too strong," he said.

It was frustrating sitting back and being one of several players dogged by injuries because over the last four years a very competitive side had been brought together.

He most felt for the effect that had on New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming.

While it was hard on the young players coming into the team with the responsibility of trying to perform like the more experienced players it was tough that they had no senior players in the side to learn from.

It was something he had experienced when coming into the New Zealand team.

"I went through a lot of my career like that as well when a lot of senior guys finished and we had a similar scenario, especially with our batters and it is disappointing that we don't have a senior bowler to guide our young guys at the moment.

"It is very tough for Flem," Cairns said.

He said he knew the moment his injury happened that something serious had occurred and said despite that he bowled in the second innings because he had got a duck, and he felt New Zealand was still in the game.

"I wanted to contribute. A lot of the advice was left in my hands and I just felt that if I had got a couple of wickets and we were still in the game very much I could have said, 'OK that is all I can do'."

The next day he said the issue was dealt with less emotionally and he made the more calculated decision not to bowl.

Injuries were a factor at any stage of a career and while he hadn't been as lucky as some he was not totally down about his misfortune.

"That's part of sport. It's about being resilient, about being strong and dealing with all sorts of things. And this is just another thing that has occurred in my career. I'm going to try and beat it and I am determined to do that."

He said that while the injury was a downside in his professional life, with the birth of his first child later in the year it was going to be very exciting in his personal life.