New Zealand Captain Daniel Vettori appeals unsuccessfully. AAP Image/Andrew Cornaga, Photosport
A storm of driving wind and rain hit Wellington a couple days ago and fieldsmen at the Basin Reserve for the New Zealand-Australia Test can expect stinging hands if they are unfortunate enough to have to catch a hot chance.
I was chatting to an old cricket hand who said to me that both teams would need a couple of work-horse bowlers to battle away into the wind. I nominated Nathan Hauritz as one of the Australians. But we couldn’t think of anyone else, unless poor Dougie Bollinger was co-opted into this unforgiving role.
The New Zealand side, now that Shane Bond has given away Test cricket, is full of medium-pace bowlers, Chris Martin being the best of them, who can labour away into the wind.
But even if Daniel Vettori, another into the wind specialist, can pick up a bag of wickets, it’s hard to see this mediocre New Zealand bowling side picking up the 20 wickets needed to win the Test.
The fact is that, on and off the field, New Zealand cricket is in a mess.
The Test side has won only three of its last 20 Tests, and Australia hasn’t been defeated by them in a Test series since the golden days of the early 1990s.
The chairman of selectors, the rather testy Glenn Turner, has been told he can’t talk to the media. Apparently he has been too out-spoken about the failings of the administration and the players.
Mark Greatbach, the media voice of the team, has been promoted to the batting coach position and he has immediately co-opted Martin Crowe to help him turn a set of mediocre batsmen into quality Test players. This raises the question of why Greatbach has been appointed in the first place.
Crowe, who can be just as cranky as Turner when talking about cricket in New Zealand, was forced out of his television broadcasting role (a pity, I thought, because he has interesting things to say) by officials from New Zealand Cricket.
There is a very good young player, Kerin Williamson, who some think should be promoted right now into the Test side. He’s 19 and in his last first class match scored 190 or so and then took five wickets. Perhaps he might get a chance if New Zealand does poorly in the opening Test.
Right now, though, about the only thing New Zealand might have going for it was the Michael Clarke-Lara Bingle business.
There was potential here for the Australians to be disrupted. But Clarke gave a polished media statement, taking no questions, which seemed to appease the easily-pleased New Zealand media.
And then Chris Martin, speaking for the New Zealand cricketers, said that Clarke was such a good chap they’d be reluctant to sledge him over the messy brouhaha.
This seeming gentility (which is unlikely to be reciprocated by the spectators, who will need something to warm themselves up) gets to the heart of the New Zealand problem when it comes to playing and winning cricket matches.
As the ODI demonstrated, and is now confirmed by the approach being taken to Clarke, New Zealand cricketers lack the killer instinct.
Does anyone believe that if the boot were on the other foot and it was, say, Daniel Vettori who was being chased by the celebrity media over an alleged tempestuous private life, Ricky Ponting and co wouldn’t be sledging him mercilessly?
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Hammer said | March 18th 2010 @ 8:45am | Report comment
what a messy piece this is – thrown together at the last minute ? …
and why this … “But Clarke gave a polished media statement, taking no questions, which seemed to appease the easily-pleased New Zealand media” …
I doubt there’s more than 5% of the population who actually know who Bingle is (even less Fevola) and quite frankly why should they give a toss … and isn’t that the way it should be – this businness has been given far too much air by the Australian media – perhap the kiwis are actually showing you the way ..
.. and are you actually condoning sledging ? .. surely the true angle should have been the line of hypocrisy trundled out by Hussey
itsuckstobeyou said | March 19th 2010 @ 3:23am | Report comment
“what a messy piece this is – thrown together at the last minute ? …”
It’s one thing to disagree with Spiro, it’s a completely different thing to question his work ethic or his ability as a writer. I for one am grateful to The Roar, Zach and Spiro, for this wonderful opportunity to read a remarkably frequent column from one of the great sports columnists in Australasia.
To have his writing picked apart and taken out of context is an insult. It is testament to the man that he would take the time to try and appease a reader who has done exactly that, by replying to his post.
Regarding your complaints, Spiro never claimed that the NZ public cared about the Bingle-Fevola drama. In fact, he supported your view by suggesting they were “easily pleased”.
You inferred that the article was centred around Clarke and Bingle and that Spiro should take a leaf out of the Kiwi journos book and leave the subject alone. This article was centred around the Kiwi chances of victory, and as much as we are sick of hearing about it, the saga is one of the few glimmers of hope the Black Caps have. As a cricket fan, the only relevant question that the contraversy poses is the one Spiro asks: how will it effect his performance?
Finally, you crucify Spiro for endorsing sledging. Sir, the very first line of your comment was, in cricketing terms, a sledge. If we are to focus on hypocracy, as you have suggested, perhaps we should first focus on yours?
Hammer said | March 19th 2010 @ 8:43am | Report comment
Ha ha – if you think that’s a sledge – you’ve obviously not played too much sport
Spiro Zavos said | March 18th 2010 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Actually Michael Clarke took some questions but they were non-questions with nothing about matters the celebrity journalists actually wanted him to talk about, and this is what I meant to convey when I said he didn’t take questions.
If you read the transcript of the short media conference, he took a few non-questions, mainly from a Channel 9 reporter.
As for sledging, I am not condoning it. But I was making the simple point that this is a tactic used in big sport, especially cricket and that if Australia were in a similar position they would not give up the tactic the way the New Zealanders have apparently decided to do.
Hammer said | March 18th 2010 @ 11:02am | Report comment
One NZer – Martin .. and his personality suggests he hardly gets involved in that stuff anyway …. but the likes of McCullum, Southee etc seems pretty happy to dish it out .. if and when required / provoked …
“If you read the transcript of the short media conference, he took a few non-questions, mainly from a Channel 9 reporter” … don’t really need to read the transcript … C9 and C7 are the ones with the tabloid current affairs programmes that have blown this up into the sh1t storm it is now …. 7 actually booked a film crew into business class so they could hassle him on the flight over …. somehow i think he maybe reasonably thankful that the NZ press have let him have some space and might have actually quizzed on theforthcoming test … after all shouldn’t that be the focus
RickG said | March 18th 2010 @ 9:10am | Report comment
I don’t for a moment think the Kiwis will refrain from having a dig. The Australians keep getting bagged as the premier sledgers but I remember years ago Warnie saying NZ were much better than them, and SA and India are probably right up there now too.
I get the feeling a huge weight has been lifted off Clarke’s shoulders and he’ll take whatever comes his way in good humour. He doesn’t field on the fence so he’ll be protected somewhat from the crowd.
katzilla said | March 18th 2010 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Warnie reckons the Kiwis are bigger Sledgers? Is he avin a laff?
All that treatment on his head is giving him hallucinations.
The Kiwis have always been a reactionary team. Not the type of guys to be pr!cks and go out and intimidate people but once you have a go at them they up the ante and get very defensive. Its part of NZs all round small country complex I guess.
We’re happy if your happy but don’t give us Sh!t or else. You can find that attitude if you talk to Kiwis about almost anything.
We’re happy if your happy but don’t get silly.
Mike said | March 18th 2010 @ 10:36am | Report comment
Completely agree…my experience with Kiwis is if you don’t make waves then they are fine but if they perceive that you have wronged them then the knives are out.
Rickety Knees said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
Australian Cricket needs to come to rescue of NZ Cricket by including a north island and south island team in the Sheffield Shield. This will raise the standard of cricket in NZ while exposing Australian batsmen to NZ conditions. Australian Rugby has benefited greatly since the introduction of the S14 though playing strong NZ provinces, Australian Cricket could provide the same.
Altona Rebel said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:59pm | Report comment
RK your right about Australian Cricket helping us kiwis out. We have been doing it for years with rugby. But not the Sheffield Shield we just don’t like Test matches that much. If you ask most kiwis we only care because we playing Australia. Maybe in the new twenty20 comp would be better
Rickety Knees said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:08pm | Report comment
AR – perhaps in the Sheffield Shield, one dayers and 20/20.
Tighthead said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
Excellent idea RK
Peter West said | March 18th 2010 @ 8:45pm | Report comment
Great idea RK – Spiro should take this up!
Republican said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
I reckon if the Kiwis manage to win this series, the NZ collective may well experience a change of heart re Test Cricket.
Enthusiasm for Test Cricket in this case, is proportional to any national spoils gleaned and yes, Kiwis are absolutely obsessed when it comes to pitting themselves V Oz, which is why they will soon, cross the cultural line in taking up the best game on the planet Aust Footy, not for the love of our game, but in satisfying their jingoistic fervour at beating Australia at all and sundry.
That said, I reckon the Kiwis will give a very good account of themselves in this series, they really do have some very handy cricketers at their disposal and I would not be surprised to see them take the spoils this time round.
Oo roo.
Hammer said | March 18th 2010 @ 4:49pm | Report comment
For them to get under with a bang they’ll need to win the toss tomorrow and bung the aussies in …
Whiteline said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
Knees,
Great call. NZ used to be part of the under 19 championships in the early 80s. I think it would be great for the cricket world and something we should have done years ago.
Hansie said | March 18th 2010 @ 4:59pm | Report comment
I didn’t notice too much gentility from the likes of Styris and McCullum during the limited overs matches. While neither stepped over the line, they certainly weren’t diffident towards the Australians.