SOWETO (South Africa), Feb 6: New Zealand’s Chris Cairns may yet bowl in the World Cup, despite an injury the all rounder said this week would prevent him turning his arm over.

“Chris is getting there,” New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming told reporters on Thursday. “He is bowling more in the nets ... It is a day by day process. The further we continue in this process, the greater the chance of him bowling.”

Fleming was talking after his side cruised to a 115-run victory over Gauteng in their final warm-up match, the captain smashing 122 from 128 balls, including 10 fours and three sixes, in his side’s total of 306 for five.

Cairns, who made a cautious comeback to cricket as a specialist batsman in December after two knee operations, struck a quickfire 70 from 59 balls.

“We have achieved pretty much everything we wanted to,” Fleming said. “The bowlers have bowled well, and it’s great that the top four got the majority of the runs,” Fleming told reporters.

The captain surprised a dwindling audience at the Soweto Cricket Oval when he took the ball to bowl the game’s penultimate over. His fieldsmen let him down, however, dropping catches off the first two deliveries before the hosts took 11 runs from the remaining four.—Reuters