Cairns will cut a dash at Trent Bridge

The international star will take charge on the field in place of Jason Gallian who remains club captain and continues as captain during first class matches.

The county's director of cricket Mick Newell said: "We did not play well in one-day competitions last season and I felt there was a case for changing the leadership of that team.

"In Chris we have one of the best limited-overs players in the world. He has nearly 200 one-day internationals under his belt and I think he will lead the team by setting an excellent example with his batting, bowling and fielding.

"I've discussed it with Jason who has accepted the decision and he remains involved in selecting the one-day team."

Honour

Cairns said: "It's a real honour for me to take on this role and it's great that Mick has the faith to ask me to do it."

"While I don't have a great deal of experience as a captain, I have skippered New Zealand on a couple of occasions and I can bring the experience from being around in international cricket for 14 years to the job.