Once upon a time there was a little country that struggled for recognition. It had it's champion Rugby team for years, but all other sports struggled for that recognition. One of those sports however started to emerge as a prospect to at least emulate the All Blacks. That fairy godfather was New Zealand Cricket and in the 80's and 90's it punched above it's weight.
This small country of then 3 million people had suddenly folk heroes in whites and black clothing (sometimes beige) who could foot it with the powerhouses of world cricket. This from a country that played substandard first class cricket on substandard first class grounds and the only cricket played was 3 day cricket and a smattering of ODI's. Yet even with those poor resources the improvement was evident. Suddenly English cricket counties were "hiring" New Zealand players and this form of competition further enhanced the reputation of the players and as a consequence improvements in player ability in the senior team, and we remained competitive.
So with the glory days stretching into the 21st century what could possibly go wrong with New Zealand Cricket. Well maybe a number of things. The first was the sudden drop off of contracted players going to England, dwindling quite markedly. The next thing would have to be the installation of 4 day cricket at first class domestic level. Initially seen as a saviour of New Zealand cricket, it seems now that since that move, the ability of players to step up has diminished. And what about the coaching and selections? Well we have been less than fortunate in that coaches have come and gone and with each passing there seems to be a further dwindling of talented players and players with the mental ability to cope and adapt to senior cricket.
And losing doesn't help a team to focus and be positive about their role in the team. But back to another point regarding first class cricket. T20, ODI's and Plunket Shield. All of it fits into 5 month window, and that's also taking into considering two tests tours in the same period. I touched upon four day cricket, it should be providing the next tier of players, and it's not. Why? Well lets start with the obvious. Groundsmen around the country are struggling to get a good pitch set up for play to start in early November, mainly through spring weather conditions and that tends to favour the bowlers more than the batsman. Sure this years results to date suggest otherwise, but in reality it means substandard until the drying weather rolls around mid December. Double edged sword really but one that could improved by playing T20 in November only and make first class four day cricket played from December through January and into February in time for the important Feb/March test series. And here is where we need real change.
New Zealand Cricket needs to sweep with a new broom. In trying to find a solution to poor senior results all they seem to do is dig a deeper hole for the team and the fans. Losers breed losers is an old adage and it seems that this is indeed the case. Sure NZC are using domestic T20 as a revenue gathering tool, and hoping that the ODI competition also earns coin, but without the money to adequately push their product they are not only losing money but they are putting players in a position where they start to lose touch with first class cricket (domestic and international) and the lose lose rationale perpetuates. NZC need to prioritise. T20 is a dead duck in this country. Ditch it. Reinvest in ODI cricket (at least the players have to play cricket), and put all efforts in domestic first class. If we get back to the days where we were competitive in tests and won the odd one, then that flows on to ODI form and skills. We're too focused on getting our top players to earn coin instead of wins and glory. That also means scrap the current players contracts and restructure them so that they are based on tours only. This should make it easier to slide new players in where deadwood are polluting the atmosphere. And pay performance bonuses. That gives players on the lower Plunket Shield ladder a chance to get in and perform at senior level knowing they have to perform and it also means that incumbent players have to meet strict performance criteria or they are out. Accepting mediocrity will only lead to the situation the game is in now.
Proposal. We want more first class cricket right? And we want NZC to set in place a programme that delivers form players to the A Team. Currently it is fair to say NZC is not making money at the mo, and wasting what they do have on uniforms and T20. We want an investment so how about NZC scrap their funding of T20 and open it up to franchise based teams (private ownership) and spend the money instead on creating a four team round robin series to be played in Northern Territories of Australia over September/October. A Northern Zone Team (Aces/Knights), a Central Zone Team (Stags and Firebirds), Southern Zone Team (Wizards/Volts) and an emerging players team from Aussie. How much would it cost to run this? Heck, Aussie Cricket might even share the costs. But the bonus is that the top players (test players included) are given good cricketing conditions and a viable competition. Who is going to care about the winners, the real winner is our test players and higher level domestic players get to play that little bit extra cricket. Then November/December Plunket Shield starts in conjunction with a test tour, and then another test tour in February after Plunket Shield finishes and ODI's start( Domestic)
But the real crunch is the deadwood. The emphasis I have stated shifts to form players getting into the A Team. If a player is under performing at test level, he's gone (has to go back to Plunket Shield and produce results). If a Plunket Shield player is excelling, he's in. Sure I hear that old chestnut, Youth and Experience, the right mix. Well I don't accept that anymore. I'm totally pissed of with the past 5 years, only one test win of note and on foreign soil. Open the revolving door and get NZ cricket back on track.
Winners are grinners and my smile is well and truly upside down.
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