Cricket, cricket, cricket!
I must confess I love my cricket.
I was a very average player who realised early I would not play at the top level.
I played at social level until I was 45 and loved it. Today my involvement is on the administration side. I was on the Board of Auckland Cricket for approximately10 years and finished as Chairman. I was elected to the Board of New Zealand Cricket in 2007. During this time we have seen the massive changes in world cricket and huge commercial opportunities on offer.
NZC has gone from strength to strength in growing revenue, developing relationships, developing systems and players. There is no question that we are not achieving as we wish at the top level, but we are certainly “punching above our weight“. India, on the other hand, has so much talent, so many brilliant players so much depth that we need to be very smart, very strategic and have a bit of luck to beat them.
India’s long term strategy of bringing coaches in from overseas has been very productive. The influence of Dennis Lillee, John Wright and Gary Kirstin etc; has been significant. People should not underestimate the input of David Trist in Pune, Stephen Fleeming in Chennai, Sir Richard Hadlee, Steve Rixon etc.
The approach seems very strategic.
Although some coaches won’t work out (eg: Greg Chappell) on average the input from these coaches will create better outcomes. However, who becomes the superstar is more than just down to one coach.
I have visited India on a number of occasions and watched quite a bit of cricket there. I love the country, the environment, the people and the food. The contrast to New Zealand makes it all so exciting for a middle class white boy from Christchurch (now Auckland).
Indian Professional league ( IPL )
On my last visit I had the pleasure of attending the 2 Semi Finals and the Final of IPL 2010. Wow, what an experience!
The magic, the showbiz, the excitement, I loved it.
It was stage managed. It did have the drama of Lalit Modi, it did have the problems of bombs in Bangalore and the fear of terrorism.
Strangely that seemed all normal and acceptable. It seemed almost part of life.
The authorities where aware of it and they dealt with it and Life goes on.
I am left with some brilliant memories:
• The time it takes to get from my hotel to the Ground
• The traffic
• The support for Mumbai Indians
• The hotel staff asking for Mumbai Indian Flags
• Sitting behind Sachin Tendulkar’s son while his dad was batting
• Being hit by a flag as Sachin’s son celebrated his dad hitting a boundary
• The spider camera racing above the field on wires to get a close up
• The excitement of the crowd
• The fireworks for every boundary
• The dancing girls winding up the crowd
• The hospitality of everything you want food, beer, wine
• The happiness of the crowd. Cheering and screaming for 3 hours
• The wealth of the team owners, helicopters, boats, etc
• The security, no matter what you did there were people watching
• The uniformed guards with guns
• Most of all, the love for Sachin
Overall it was a carnival of cricket. People loved it. It was happy, it was a celebration. It was a very special event.
I didn’t want it to end.
I can’t wait for next year.
In the next few weeks we will deal with some more cricket stories.
I must confess I love my cricket.
I was a very average player who realised early I would not play at the top level.
I played at social level until I was 45 and loved it. Today my involvement is on the administration side. I was on the Board of Auckland Cricket for approximately10 years and...
I must confess I love my cricket.
I was a very average player who realised early I would not play at the top level.
I played at social level until I was 45 and loved it. Today my involvement is on the administration side. I was on the Board of Auckland Cricket for approximately10 years and finished as Chairman. I was elected to the Board of New Zealand Cricket in 2007. During this time we have seen the massive changes in world cricket and huge commercial opportunities on offer.
NZC has gone from strength to strength in growing revenue, developing relationships, developing systems and players. There is no question that we are not achieving as we wish at the top level, but we are certainly “punching above our weight“. India, on the other hand, has so much talent, so many brilliant players so much depth that we need to be very smart, very strategic and have a bit of luck to beat them.
India’s long term strategy of bringing coaches in from overseas has been very productive. The influence of Dennis Lillee, John Wright and Gary Kirstin etc; has been significant. People should not underestimate the input of David Trist in Pune, Stephen Fleeming in Chennai, Sir Richard Hadlee, Steve Rixon etc.
The approach seems very strategic.
Although some coaches won’t work out (eg: Greg Chappell) on average the input from these coaches will create better outcomes. However, who becomes the superstar is more than just down to one coach.
I have visited India on a number of occasions and watched quite a bit of cricket there. I love the country, the environment, the people and the food. The contrast to New Zealand makes it all so exciting for a middle class white boy from Christchurch (now Auckland).
Indian Professional league ( IPL )
On my last visit I had the pleasure of attending the 2 Semi Finals and the Final of IPL 2010. Wow, what an experience!
The magic, the showbiz, the excitement, I loved it.
It was stage managed. It did have the drama of Lalit Modi, it did have the problems of bombs in Bangalore and the fear of terrorism.
Strangely that seemed all normal and acceptable. It seemed almost part of life.
The authorities where aware of it and they dealt with it and Life goes on.
I am left with some brilliant memories:
• The time it takes to get from my hotel to the Ground
• The traffic
• The support for Mumbai Indians
• The hotel staff asking for Mumbai Indian Flags
• Sitting behind Sachin Tendulkar’s son while his dad was batting
• Being hit by a flag as Sachin’s son celebrated his dad hitting a boundary
• The spider camera racing above the field on wires to get a close up
• The excitement of the crowd
• The fireworks for every boundary
• The dancing girls winding up the crowd
• The hospitality of everything you want food, beer, wine
• The happiness of the crowd. Cheering and screaming for 3 hours
• The wealth of the team owners, helicopters, boats, etc
• The security, no matter what you did there were people watching
• The uniformed guards with guns
• Most of all, the love for Sachin
Overall it was a carnival of cricket. People loved it. It was happy, it was a celebration. It was a very special event.
I didn’t want it to end.
I can’t wait for next year.
In the next few weeks we will deal with some more cricket stories.
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