Hart back in the frame and delighted with his chance

Lynn McConnell

May 27, 2002

Northern Districts left-arm spinner Matthew Hart was one of the great "Whatever happened to" stories of New Zealand sport.

A player who still possesses the best figures by a New Zealand bowler in a One-Day International, with five for 22 against the West Indies at Goa in 1994/95, and who spun New Zealand to an outstanding first Test victory over South Africa at Johannesburg a few weeks later, he faded away after the 1999 World Cup in which his only innings saw him out for a duck and he wasn't called on to bowl.

Now he's been recalled to the New Zealand team for their tour of the West Indies and leaves tomorrow, looking to kick-start a career that given New Zealand's lack of resources, should never have been put on the backburner.

Hart turned 30 a fortnight ago and had never given up hope that one day the phone would ring again and usher him back into the international frame.

"I knew I was within cooee when I was one of the stand-by players for the Pakistan tour and I had a bit of an inkling last week, but it was a long week hoping that I might get a phone call from Sir Richard Hadlee," he told CricInfo today.

Hart, who was New Zealand's left-arm spinner of choice before Daniel Vettori emerged in 1997, has played 14 Tests and taken 29 wickets at 49.58 while he had scored 353 runs at 17.65.

In 12 ODIs he has 13 wickets at 26.69 with an economy rate of 3.79.

Part of the reason for his absence is down to some changes he attempted to make to his bowling technique. But the lesson of that has been that he was better off being what he was and not trying to be someone different.

"It's a long story, but I was trying to change things, more by trial and error than anything else because I wanted to be better than I was.

"I was impatient and it took trial and error and some knocks to make me realise it was wrong," he said.

Then after the World Cup in 1999 he was out of action for 12 months after having an operation for blood clots in his wrist, just what caused them is still not known.

However, that time out of the game allowed him to rest up a little after a constant diet of cricket in New Zealand and league cricket in England, and it was only then that he realised how tough the life he was leading had been.

It was almost a subconscious realisation that he needed to have a break.

"I feel like I've made some big steps last season [2000/01] as a batsman and this season as I have done some more bowling," he said.

Getting back into bowling earlier had not been possible with Grant Bradburn and Bruce Martin doing a good job in his absence.

"I just had to bide my time," he said.

That chance came during the State Shield one-day competition this year and while not used excessively his results were encouraging.

He bowled 50 overs and took 15 wickets at an economy rate of 3.26, the best of the ND attack in the Shield, and in the State Championship he bowled only 45.1 overs and took six wickets for 100 runs, again with the best ND average of 16.66.

Hart said ND coach Bruce Blair had been brilliant with him this year and he had been a very positive influence on him, and very pro-active in his approach.

It was a start, and one sufficiently good enough to capture the attention of the national selectors. At the moment he is in the ODI side only, and primarily as cover for Vettori who is to be used sparingly in the one-day games.

But with one space being left open while the selectors ponder the likely conditions for the Test matches, there has to be every chance that should they deem that spin is needed, then Hart is in the best place.

"I'm just looking to get stuck in. I'm as keen as mustard," he said.

As New Zealand looks to deepen its reserves of spin bowlers, Hart is in a fine position to pick up his career, and even if in the same category as Vettori, every bowler is different.

If he can regain some of his best touches during what has been something of a voyage of rediscovery, then New Zealand cricket overall will be better off.

© Cricinfo

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Players/Umpires

Matthew Hart

Series/Tournaments

New Zealand tour of West Indies

Teams

New Zealand

West Indies