Cairns leaves for South Africa

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 32

Cairns leaves for South Africa

PA Whangarei Lance Cairns, the former big-hitting hero of New Zealand cricket, left for South Africa yesterday as part of a team he calls “past hacks.” The team, the International Wanderers, will be playing in the republic as part of the South African Cricket Union’s centenary celebrations. • ' Its matches are expected to be against South African Golden Oldies sides, which will include many players prevented from playing.internationally while at their peak because Of sporting bans. 'Eddie Barlow, Mike Proctor and the Pollock brothers, Graham and Peter, are believed to be among them. These games are set down for Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

The former England captain, Tony Greig, who originally hailed from South Africa and who is now a television commentator in Sydney, will be one of Cairns’ team-mates.

Greig said from Sydney that he “can’t wait to catch up with old friends both on and. off the cricket field.” Cairns, too, is looking forward to the tour excitedly. The South African Golden Oldies would be “great fun to play against.” Tour organisers are covering the travelling costs and expenses for Cairns and his wife and any profit from the tour would go to the development of black cricket in South Africa.

Cairns said he was opposed to the sporting ban against South Africa and it was a shame great players of the past had been unable to play in the test arena. He would not have contemplated the trip if he was a current first-class or test cricketer.

“Any ban about going there as far as I am concerned applies only to test players and my playing days at firstclass level are well and truly finished.” Cairns said South Africa had done everything asked of it in cricket and it was still not enough. “I am not interested in politics. I am interested in sport," he said.