Kiwis won't be written off (22 October 1998)
New Zealanders are no longer the world-beaters these days
22-Oct-1998
22 October 1998
Kiwis won't be written off
Al-Amin and Syed Ashfaqul Haque
New Zealanders are no longer the world-beaters these days. Yet the
team, ranked eighth by Wisden's Cricket Monthly, is a formidable force
in the abridged version of the game of glorious uncertainty.
It's true that Kiwi cricket is having to wait long, this far in vain,
for someone to come and fill the shoes of the great Richard Hadlee and
Martin Crowe. But the young and enthusiastic Kiwi cricketers, who
arrived in the capital Tuesday night, are least bothered about the
fact of not having a Brian Lara, a Sachin Tendulkar or a Wasim Akram
in their team. They are happy to be average without the sparkle of the
stars.
And in any one-day game no team can be simply written off. New Zealand
captain Stephen Fleming knows well of his team's chances of making
upsets. The Kiwi skipper promises to turn the Wills International Cup
into a fascinating one.
"The knock-out tournament will be anybody's game, and we are looking
forward to win the meet", said Fleming in a press briefing at the
Sonargaon Hotel yesterday.
The 'Black Caps' are to kick off the Wills International Cup when they
feature in the only pre-quarterfinal match against Test-babes Zimbabwe
at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on October 24.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) made rankings on account of
recent performances of all the nine Test-playing nations and decided
that New Zealand and Zimbabwe should fight it out for a place in the
quarterfinals. "We don't have any hard feelings for playing in the
lone pre-quarterfinal," the sporting New Zealand skipper remarked.
"We are playing good cricket for the last one year. We have won a
five-match one-day series (4-1) convincingly against Zimbabwe.
Besides, we had a very good time in Australia. So, the chances here
are open for everybody," said Fleming.
Although Fleming has his full confidence in his spirited side, the
elegant left-hander tipped his more colourful neighbours Australia as
hot favourites for the Cup ahead of world champions Sri Lanka.
The strength of the Kiwi side was however weakened by the absence of
all-rounder Chris Cairns, who has a very good track record in the
sub-continent. But Fleming feels his side is still very strong in the
presence of a number of all-rounders.
"We are a pretty balanced side. We have a world class bowler in Simon
Doull. Astle is a very good batsman and we also have a young talent in
Craig McMillan. Besides, a persevering Harris is always among the runs
and wickets," said the mild-mannered 24-year-old captain.
But Fleming considers that the main strength of his side lies in
excellent fielding.
There is also a different view though. Recently, former New Zealand
cricket coach Glenn Turner launched a blistering attack on the Kiwi
side, saying it was in 'shambles' and a 'lawless society.' He, in his
book, 'Lifting The Covers', termed the cricketers from down under as
'superstars.' Turner was equally harsh on the current coach, Steve
Rixon, saying "he (Rixon) didn't have the qualifications, never did."
But the Australian coach of New Zealand appeared to have enough
confidence in himself and in his side.
"Nathan Astle is a prolific opening bat when he is in job. In Craig
McMillan we have a 22-year-old batsman with a lot of abilities. Chris
Harris, who will bat down the order, is an outstanding one-day
batsman. I think these are the key people to do the job with the bat,"
said a jovial Rixon.
On the format of the knockout tournament, Rixon said: "Whatever the
rules are, the teams will have to accept them. Obviously, the
round-robin format is much easier. Specially, for a team like us,
which is not considered in the top ranks, this makes it harder".
"But it's a challenge for every team. We understand what our challenge
is. And as the skipper said it's our job to meet it," said Rixon
adding that this tournament will be a small part in their build-up for
the next World Cup.
When asked if his team would face any problem for lack of preparatory
match here. "I can't see it will be a problem. We're playing cricket
in Australia. We're used to travelling by now. The guys have accepted
the travelling challenges. Besides, we came here three days before the
tournament. So, that's no problem for us " said Rixon.
The New Zealand cricketers flew in Dhaka straight from Australia and
stayed back in the hotel to sleep through the hangover.
On Bangladesh cricket, he said, "We didn't see the Bangladesh team
when they visited New Zealand last year. Because, at that time we were
in Australia."
Source:: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)