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Chris Cairns knew it was a do-or-die situation as he walked onto The Oval with New Zealand's second innings sagging at 39 for six wickets, a lead of only 122 runs, and England poised to win a seesawing test series.

His plundered 80 runs from 94 deliveries. Coming after his five-wicket bag earlier in the day, Cairns tipped the balance back to the Black Caps.

Fittingly, Cairns yesterday took the final wicket to clinch an 83-run victory, a 2-1 series triumph, and for himself the Man of the Series award.

``I hadn't scored any runs the whole series and felt out of sorts. It was either do it or don't, simple as that,'' said Cairns from London last night.

``I knew it was in me, it was just a case of when it was going to come out. It was great to contribute to such a special occasion.''

The Cairns family, of course, is steeped in cricket folklore and he was aware that New Zealand had won only two previous tests on English soil. He was also still smarting that the tourists were written off by the British news media.

``They said we were a bunch of uncharismatic people who came from a small land, real patronising stuff,'' Cairns said. ``It was nice to put the record straight by proving we can play entertaining cricket.

``It's hard to be aggressive and consistent. There is a fine line, a risk involved. But I've always played that way. It's the way I like to see the game played,'' he said.

The 29-year-old Cairns, who made his test debut back in 1989, was philosophical about the public criticism heaped upon him during his career, the accusations of being an under-achiever and lacking discipline. ``That's the industry I'm in,'' he said. ``I'm doing what I do and people have an opinion. To take it to heart is the way you fail. Sure I get hurt by the things people say, not only me but my friends and family too. There is no point in crying about it. You just get on with it and live for days like this.''

He paid tribute to retiring coach Steve Rixon and manager John Graham.

``Steve has brought a winning attitude to the side,'' Cairns said. ``He's a pig-headed guy. He won't take no for an answer and pushes you to the limit.

``Sometimes you think, 'Jesus why's he doing this?' But when you look back you say, 'thanks for doing it'. You couple his attitude with John Graham's unbridled Kiwi passion and you get a great combination.''

Cairns credited former West Indian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall, now sadly suffering from cancer of the colon, with injecting more venom into his bowling.

``Malcolm came down to Southampton and we had a chat about the art of fast bowling. He gave me a couple of pointers about being aggressive and having more intent. Just getting feedback from a guy of his stature was quite inspirational,'' said Cairns.

So, too, was another fast bowler, team-mate Dion Nash. ``He was a stand-out performer - he gives me confidence,'' said Cairns.

The Marshall message came after the disappointment of losing a winnable first test.

Cairns immediately responded with a 10-wicket bag against Kent and went on to be a prominent figure as New Zealand dominated the remaining tests.

Cairns is confident of New Zealand's cricketing future, with Matthew Bell, Daniel Vettori, and Craig McMillan developing their talents at a young age, and ``two astute men'' (coach David Trist and manager Jeff Crowe) stepping into The Management positions.