Cairns: "Hero? Me? Never"

[Smudge]

Interesting little spat developed in the NZ media over the last few days. Joseph Romanos - who I have some time for, due to his prolific book-writing came out with this:

OPINION: Chris Cairns is in the news again for the wrong reasons – defending himself against match-fixing charges.

It's set me to pondering the nature of sports heroes, and why Cairns, despite his cricket heroics, has never quite qualified.

Why does Cairns, who scored more than 3000 runs in tests and took more than 200 wickets, not belong among our iconic figures? He was a one-day wonder and bashed a record number of sixes in test cricket.

He bowled fast, hit hard and should have been every schoolboy's hero.

His father Lance was definitely a hero, though he wasn't half the batsman his son was, and was no more than a fast-medium in-swing trundler. Lance's team-mate Ewen Chatfield was also a hero.

More recently we've elevated to hero status two test figures – Mark Richardson and Chris Martin – who didn't (or don't) play nearly as explosively as Chris Cairns.

So what is it about Cairns?

He's been accused of match-fixing in the rebel Indian Cricket League. There are no grounds yet for believing he did, and he denies it strongly.

What's undeniable is that he was sacked for disciplinary reasons, said at the time to be failing to declare an existing injury when he turned up to play for the Hyderabad Heroes.

However, when he was sent packing, stories swirled about the cricket world that the injury story was a coverup for the more-serious charge of match-fixing.

Now Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi has raised the match-fixing allegations publicly and Cairns has vowed to take legal action.

This is a big call on Cairns' part because Modi is worth billions and legal action could cripple Cairns financially.

We should feel sorry for a Kiwi who, on the face of it, is being hard done by. Yet we hesitate, we wait to see what develops. Why?

Were there too many stories from his playing days about ill-discipline – arriving at the team hotel in the middle of the night during a test, scuffles outside nightclubs and so on?

Or was there a feeling that as good as his cricket statistics were, he had more to give and didn't deliver?

Perhaps that's unfair because Cairns suffered from all sorts of injuries throughout his 15-year test career. But it is a lingering impression, nonetheless.

Reaching hero status is no easy thing, and it's not something that can be actively sought.

Martin Crowe would love to have been a sports hero, but never was. Stephen Fleming never reached that status either.

John Reid and Bert Sutcliffe of an earlier generation were real cricket heroes.

So what's the key?

A combination, really. The sports public likes its heroes to be good at sport, obviously. But more than that, it likes to see lots of honest endeavour and players who aren't afraid to get down and dirty for the cause. Smart alecs aren't tolerated, and neither are players who get ahead of themselves, talk themselves up, or offer what is seen to be false modesty.

We like our sports heroes to look as if they are having fun – we like them to sweat and strive.

Somewhere along the way, Chris Cairns has fallen short.

Now to describe Chris Martin and Richardson as 'heroes' is pushing it - folk heroes, maybe, but that is more an appreciation of their limitations. In Richardson's case, he made the most of his limitations - in Martin's case, he's still ****.

Here is Cairns' reply:

I am a man who played cricket as a profession. Nothing more, nothing less. If some people derived enjoyment from that then I am a happy man. For those I have never met and didn't like my play then that's OK too.

I read the article by Mr Joseph Romanos (Jan 12) and it got me thinking.

First, however, we must clarify that I don't believe I have met the author Mr Romanos, who is judging me here.

One thing is certain, he is not particularly fond of me.

He is, however, entitled to his opinion.

With this biased version, Mr Romanos has given his thoughts from afar on my ability to be a hero.

Now I'm all for heroes, but what are they?

My dog Max thinks I'm a hero when I give him his food twice a day.

Ed Hillary is a hero in anyone's context.

Batman and Superman are superheroes but do they really count?

Michael Watt is a hero for all the unpublished good he does throughout the world and so are all the emergency services people who attend level-crossing collisions throughout New Zealand.

People who donate their time for charity are heroes and so are people who act on instinct to save others.

The closest to a hero I have seen on the cricket field was Nathan Astle when he nearly beat England on his own in 2002 at Lancaster Park. It was the purest hitting I ever witnessed.

As for Mr Romanos' non-heroes list of Martin Crowe and Stephen Fleming ... I can name test cricketers from around the globe who think Martin Crowe is the best batsman to have graced a cricket field.

To them, he is a hero.

Stephen Fleming is the best captain New Zealand has ever produced.

I know he has never tried to be a hero but to many young cricketers throughout the world he is.

Am I a hero to others? I don't know. Am I fallible? Absolutely.

Anyone in their right mind would not set out to be a hero. Where would you start? Where is the instruction manual?

I played the game of cricket as best I could.

There were some things along the way that I could have done better and some things I am very proud of.

My mum thinks I'm OK (hero might be stretching it) and the bloke who tried to fix my computer today and stuffed it up definitely doesn't think I'm a nice guy at all. My Dad thinks I'm not as good as him (he's getting old) but he still loves me because our relationship is unconditional.

The only times I want to be a hero are for my two boys, Thomas and Bram, and the family I plan to have in the future. Like any other parent, I want them to understand it is OK to make mistakes, and that everyone does, but you must explore boundaries and try to learn from those mistakes. I have never claimed to be perfect – perhaps others wanted or expected me to be – but I am human and because I played cricket it does not make me immune to the flaws of everyday life.

Mr Romanos, I do not profess to be a hero, I didn't ask to be a hero and I certainly do not class myself as a hero. Also, I am not sure who proclaimed you worthy of handing out the hero badges.

Your "voice of the nation" article suggesting I am a smart alec and someone who "talks myself up" is completely unfounded. If you had ever taken the time to meet me rather than judge me on what I might be, I feel your article may be written from a different angle.

I am a man who played cricket as a profession. Nothing more, nothing less. If some people derived enjoyment from that then I am a happy man.

For those I have never met and didn't like my play then that's OK too. I don't know you so I won't judge you.

Thoughts? (ignoring the comments about match-fixing, as that'll get this thread closed).

 

[Uppercut]

I thought he was a hero. He bowled fast and hit big sixes. I just presumed all the kids in New Zealand thought the same .

 

[Smudge]

They do. It's just that Romanos is seemingly remarkably out of touch.

 

[Richard]

I thought he was a hero. He bowled fast and hit big sixes. I just presumed all the kids in New Zealand thought the same .

Was Cairns ever really all that fast? I only ever saw him bowling at 87-88mph at the absolute most - and averaging out at perhaps 83-84mph. Never remember him being proper, Darren Gough style, fast.

Cairns was, when fit and firing, a damn super bowler. But he wasn't out-and-out fast in terms of his pace, UIMM.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah, it's a weird thing to say and I'm really struggling to understand Romanos' motivation here if not malice. I mean, if this was a response to Cairns asserting that he was a hero, that's one thing. Can only guess he's trying to give context for why the response to the match-fixing allegations has been lukewarm in NZ. Maybe it's more likely that people give it short shrift because they rate it as so unlikely Cairns would engage in match-fixing?

Thought Cairns was a legend myself. Got the opportunity to meet him and that was only enhanced.

 

[Top_Cat]

Was Cairns ever really all that fast? I only ever saw him bowling at 87-88mph at the absolute most - and averaging out at perhaps 83-84mph. Never remember him being proper, Darren Gough style, fast.

Cairns was, when fit and firing, a damn super bowler. But he wasn't out-and-out fast in terms of his pace, UIMM.

Before 1990 was considered really quick but had back troubles from memory. Dunno if he was ever clocked but the consensus at the time was that he dropped a yard or two after that time.

 

[Athlai]

Cairns was totally one of my heroes, very peculiar article.

 

[Richard]

Before 1990 was considered really quick but had back troubles from memory. Dunno if he was ever clocked but the consensus at the time was that he dropped a yard or two after that time.

No-one was clocked accurately until 1998 (1999/2000 in the case of the Antipodes). Cairns barely played any cricket before 1990 - he can't've been more than 21, if that, in said year surely? He'd be incredibly unusual if he was at his quickest barely after his 20th birthday, injuries or no injuries.

 

[Blakey]

And back to the original point of the thread...

Cairns and Nash were my heroes. They were the young guns damnit. When NZ had a seriously young team these guys stepped up, stood on managements toes and said "damn the man". That show of rebellion excited me. That and listening to the world series against Aussie and SA in the car on summer holiday oh and Degroen's run out..

What a summer.

 

[Polo23]

I'm pretty sure Cairns was around 145km/h before he had back trouble. That's pretty quick.

Anyway, talking about how quick he was isn't really relevant to the topic.

Not sure what Romanos was trying to get at but I found this comment from Cairns funny "Also, I am not sure who proclaimed you worthy of handing out the hero badges". Too true.

 

[Richard]

I'm pretty sure Cairns was around 145km/h before he had back trouble. That's pretty quick.

Cairns pretty much had back trouble all career, same way Shoaib Akhtar has had knee trouble pretty much all career. He was not timed until the 1999 World Cup, so any speculation on how quick he was at any point which may have existed before he suffered any difficulty with his back will only ever be that - speculation.

Batsmen and spectators are not always the best judges of speed. He may have once been out-and-out fast; he may have not. Either way, when he was playing most regularly and being most effective he was certainly merely fast-medium.

 

[Top_Cat]

No-one was clocked accurately until 1998 (1999/2000 in the case of the Antipodes).

Sorry, not the case. I can only speak of what I saw in OZ and I can't point you at a link because bowlers being clocked were rarely published (was seen more as a training/research thing is OZ) but it's been happening for many, many years. Remember a few 'Australia's fastest bowler' competitions in the early 90's when blokes like Shane George were around and can promise you most bowlers from the mid-80's were very well aware of how quick they were. What you're talking about was the rise of accurate real-time measurements of speed.

 

[Richard]

What d'you mean by real-time?

 

[Bahnz]

By all accounts, Cairns was one of the fastest U19 bowlers in the late 80's (although presumably nowhere near Waqar's pace bracket). However, how fast he actually was is anyone's guess (I'm personally guessing probably high 130's low 140's), and after his 1st stress fracture in his first test he was always a quick medium. Funnily the fastest I ever saw him bowl was in his last test, when he was regularly clocking in the high 80's, presumably as a result of bowling without any fear of injury.

Oh, and as for Romanos, my best mate is cousin's with him. Apparently he's an insufferable wanker at the family reunions. Not sure what that says about his writing, but in this case at least it seems to be a farily apt appraisal.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Absolutely adored Chris Cairns, was probably my favourite non-Australian player.

However, having spoken to a fellow who played in the IPL, fair to say that he is not a hero to many of them... (not related to match fixing, either).

 

[Top_Cat]

What d'you mean by real-time?

Cameras which are able to measure speeds using Dopler shift methods, do the calculation and present it in a matter of seconds as the game goes on as opposed to collecting data via super high-speed camera which is crunched later.

 

[Craig]

Put me into the Chris Cairns fan club.

 

[bryce]

It sounds like Romanos more trying to have a dig at Cairns' personality, probably just because Cairns doesn't seem as down to earth as say Vettori, RIchie McCaw, Dan Carter etc.
He doesn't even know they guy, it's not like he's criticising Cairns cricketing ability at all. I cannot think of a reason why Chris Cairns is not a hero, imagine if this article was published 5 years ago...

 

[Polo23]

Cairns pretty much had back trouble all career, same way Shoaib Akhtar has had knee trouble pretty much all career. He was not timed until the 1999 World Cup, so any speculation on how quick he was at any point which may have existed before he suffered any difficulty with his back will only ever be that - speculation.

Batsmen and spectators are not always the best judges of speed. He may have once been out-and-out fast; he may have not. Either way, when he was playing most regularly and being most effective he was certainly merely fast-medium.

All fair enough...but what exactly is the relevance?

 

[Bahnz]

He doesn't even know they guy, it's not like he's criticising Cairns cricketing ability at all. I cannot think of a reason why Chris Cairns is not a hero, imagine if this article was published 5 years ago...

Oh there are plenty of reasons why Cairns might not necessarily be seen as a hero. He was an arrogant little **** until Rixon got ahold of him (and always remained, to a certain extent, annoyingly egotistical). He also squandered his absurd talents for the first half of his career, and injury prevented him from making the most of them in the second. Throw in the booze and the coaching clashes and you have a frustrating and occasionally unlikeable individual who probably deserved the occasional bollocking he got from the New Zealand public and press a lot more than we now like to pretend.

However to a New Zealand Cricket Fan, I agree Cairns undoubtedly provided the moments of greatest pride since the retirement of Hadlee (the team's success from England 99 to Aus 02 was largely down to Cairns, and this period will probably stand as the high watermark of Post-Hadlee achievement for a long, long time). Back when I was a kid Cairns become a hero the moment he swatted the South Africans to all parts of the Gabba in the 93/94 World Series, and his injuries in the late 90's and early 00's inspired the same kind of collective misery that Bond's have over the past 6 years.