NZC might retire Cairns's No. 6 shirt

New Zealand Cricket is considering mothballing the No. 6 shirt worn by Chris Cairns following his retirement from international cricket.

Lindsay Crocker, the team manager, said the idea had been raised by some senior players and it has also won support among board officials. He added that there was no need to be rushed into a decision. He also dismissed suggestions that qualification levels needed to be set for future candidates "otherwise we'll start getting into more double numbers and possibly three numbers. Also it's just not Cairnsy. Obviously you'll have [Stephen] Fleming and Chris Harris who have played for a long time."

Crocker also pointed out that greats from earlier eras when shirts did not have numbers would not be comparable to modern stars. "Ten years ago you had Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe who played without numbers but were the best in the game, but they never had a shirt retired."

The only other New Zealand player to have had a shirt retired is Gavin Larsen, whose No. 36 top was put to one side on his retirement.