How New Zealand became the good guys of international cricket

Ajit Vijaykumar 19:25 31/03/2018
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • When Australia’s outgoing coach Darren Lehmann confronted the media for the first time since the ball-tampering scandal broke, he admitted it was probably time for Australian cricket and him to look at how a team like New Zealand conducts itself on the field while maintaining a high level of performance.

    “The thing for me would be if we take a leaf out of someone like, say, New Zealand’s book in the way they play and respect the opposition,” Lehmann said in Johannesburg. “We’ve got to make sure we’re respecting the game and its traditions.”

    Kane Williamson’s side is one of the best performing teams in the world at the moment. In the last two years, they have won nine out of 18 Tests with five defeats and have won 23 and lost 17 ODIs. Only in T20s is their record unflattering – eight defeats and nine wins.

    More importantly, their record against top teams has been commendable. They came within six runs of an ODI series win in India in October and were denied a golden opportunity to level the Test series at home to South Africa by rain in March last year.

    The driving force behind New Zealand’s run in international cricket is the world-class batting of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor supplemented by an incredible bowling attack led by Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner.

    And the best part of their cricket is they play fair and with generous respect for the opposition. At the highest level, athletes are not expected to play with a smile on their face but with this Kiwi team, you do get that.

    There has been a palpable cultural shift in New Zealand cricket. For years, they were viewed as a team that punched well above their weight. And during one particular stretch in the 1990s, sledging was a prominent part of their cricket.

    Wicket-keeper Adam Parore and fast bowler Dion Nash were, according to various accounts from New Zealand, the ‘sledging captains’ of the side led by Stephen Fleming. Parore, in fact, was singled out Shane Warne as the worst sledger in his autobiography.

    While it was a Kiwi wicket-keeper who led the verbal battle during the late 1990s, it was another gloveman who brought about a change in mindset. Brendon McCullum is credited with bringing about an overall improvement in the behaviour and outlook of the team, and not just for the sake of optics. It should not come as a surprise that support for a problem child like Jesse Ryder reduced with each passing day during McCullum’s time in charge. “We will not compromise the team dynamic. The environment is the most important thing,” McCullum had said in 2014 while rejecting an in-form Ryder’s return to the Kiwi side.

    Williamson has further strengthened that system. You will struggle to find a Kiwi player snarling at an opponent or being pulled away from an opposition player; the last such unruly instances being the 2011 World Cup quarter-final against South Africa – where Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori and Proteas batsman Faf du Plessis were involved in a heated exchange that resulted in physical contact  – and the 2008 ODI against England when the Englishmen ran Grant Elliot out despite a mid-pitch collision with seamer Ryan Sidebottom.

    The ICC has put a list of every single player who has been penalised for a breach of their code of conduct since September 2016, on its website. Every major team is represented in it, except New Zealand. Let’s end it at that.

    Recommended