Team: Cantebury, Nottinghamshire
ODI debut: 13/02/91
Past World Cups: 1992, 1996, 1999
Right-arm fast-medium bowler
There are very few players in international cricket who can destroy sides with both their bowling and their batting.
South African Lance Klusener, England's Andrew Flintoff and Pakistan's Abdur Razzaq would certainly fall into that category, but Cairns is arguably the best and most consistent of the lot.
Unfortunately for Cairns, knee and back injuries have blighted what would have undoubtedly been a prolific career.
At Test level he has a batting average of just under 33 with a wicket tally that is nearing 200, including a 10-wicket haul in a match against Bangladesh in 2001.
At one-day level, the 32-year-old's statistics as an all-rounder are equally impressive - with an average of just under 30 and over 150 wickets in total.
The New Zealand selectors have taken a gamble on Cairns - he has only recently recovered from knee surgery - picking him for what might be his last World Cup.