NOTTINGHAM, England, 9 June 2004 — Chris Cairns said yesterday he had no complaints about ending his Test career.

The New Zealand all-rounder, who has been plagued by knee injuries, will make his final bow in the five-day game against England in the third Test starting tomorrow at Trent Bridge, a ground where he starred for Nottinghamshire.

“For me the timing is right. It’s about balancing my life, pure and simple,” Cairns told reporters at Trent Bridge.

“In my life now I have business interests, I still have a love for the game, but most importantly I have a young family and having all of those things in my life means it’s basically too hard to juggle. “So Test cricket is the one I’ve foregone to bring a balance in my life.”

Cairns, whose father Lance was an all-rounder in the New Zealand side of the early 1980s, said he would remain available for One-Day Internationals.

“For me and my body Test match cricket has been the hardest thing,” added Cairns, who has had three knee operations since inspiring New Zealand to a 2-1 Test series win in England in 1999.

“I think I have just managed to play more than I’ve missed, so it’s been a long haul,” added Cairns who in 61 Tests has scored 3,307 runs at 34.09 and taken 209 wickets at 29.77, fine all-round figures.

But there have been few highlights for Cairns or his teammates on this tour so far. Monday’s nine-wicket thrashing at Headingley, following a seven-wicket defeat at Lord’s, left New Zealand 2-0 down in the three-match series.

Shane Bond, New Zealand’s quickest bowler, left England without sending down a solitary Test match delivery, the former policeman still not recovered from a stress fracture of the back. That left the tourists without a spearhead and Cairns, who once led the Black Caps’ attack, made no secret of his frustration.

“The last two years have been particularly tough for me because the mind is willing but the body at times is not.

“I’ve always been somebody who has played aggressively, wanted to lead from the front and really take the game on and I found myself for the first time ever in my career wondering if I could do it.”