Wisden EXTRA 6

The independent voice of cricket since 1864

WisdenExtra No. 6, March 2013

New Zealand v England

Complacency the enemy When John Wisden first published his Cricketer’s Almanack in 1864, the notion of the book notching up its 150th edition, as it does next month, would have seemed fanciful in the extreme. Likewise for New Zealand’s Test side, there have been times over the past few months when getting to 150 has seemed a distant prospect.

When they were bowled out for 45 by South Africa on the first morning of the first Test at Cape Town early in the new year it was the lowest total in all Test cricket since India folded for 42 at Lord’s in 1974.

It was also the embarrassing culmination of a bizarre period in the country’s cricket history. An attempt to split the captaincy across the different formats of the game was botched horribly and led to the complete withdrawal from the team of Ross Taylor, the deposed captain and best batsman. Accusations flew and New Zealand Cricket even apologised publicly to Taylor for their handling of the situation.

It seems we now live in the age of “reintegration”.

Having been the mot du jour when Kevin Pietersen returned to the England side for their tour of India, it is also the way Daniel Vettori, New Zealand’s former captain in our Big Hit interview, chooses to describe Taylor’s recent return to the fold. Vettori, who made his Test debut against England as a teenager 16 years ago, misses the forthcoming series through injury but has plenty of sage observations about England and advice for the current captain, Brendon McCullum.

Before an Achilles tendon injury took hold, Vettori was the latest in a distinguished line of leading New Zealand cricketers, stretching back to John Reid in the immediate post-war period, who effectively had to carry a moderate side on their own.

Jeremy Coney, another former captain, had the luxury of the great Richard Hadlee in his side but he did have the challenge of moulding a side of disparate talents and some not inconsiderable egos. Coney might have bowled gentle medium-pace but he is definitely off his long run (page 8) in a full-blooded examination of the latest bout of infighting.

One of Coney’s targets is New Zealand’s director of cricket John Buchanan, the former Australia coach whose recent assertion that the 2015 World Cup, of which New Zealand is a co-host, should be “a priority above the longer form of the game” did not suggest a brighter future for the struggling Test side.

The accepted narrative of the New Zealand–England rivalry, at Test level anyway, is that Kiwi victories, even in the Hadlee era, have been greeted with a mixture of wonderment and outrage in the northern hemisphere.

England’s magnificent series victory in India before Christmas, coinciding with New Zealand’s implosion, only cements the expectation of a comfortable away win, favouritism that bookmakers articulate with odds of 2/7 for an England series win. Yet, as Crispin Andrews discovers on page 24, complacency has often been an unwanted travelling companion for England on tours to New Zealand.

To celebrate the publication of the 2013 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, our 150th edition, there is a competition on page 21 to pick an all-time Wisden World XI with the chance to win £100 worth of Bloomsbury sports titles.

As ever, please do let us know what you think of Wisden EXTRA. Your comments really are appreciated.

John Stern, Guest Editor

Eagar’s Eye

p6

The peerless Patrick Eagar photographed his first Test match back in 1965 at Headingley. As it happens, New Zealand were the visitors.

On his three tours to New Zealand he has always been able to capture the off-field diversions that this stunning country offers.

© John Wisden & Company Limited 2012

Wisden is a trademark of John Wisden & Company Limited

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The Big Hit

The five-day test New Zealand have missed the soothing spin and sound judgement of the injured former captain, Daniel Vettori, during their recent crisis. The off-field problems can be solved, he tells Andrew Alderson, but the on-field challenge of the longer format remains substantial

Pic: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images 2

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

For the first time in 16 years, Daniel Luca Vettori will not don his black cap for what would have been a seventh straight Test series against England, a rivalry established in 1996-97 when the young spinner was picked just days after his 18th birthday.

The primary cause is his troublesome left Achilles tendon, a recurring injury compounded by a simultaneous hernia operation. In the midst of the recovery process, Vettori’s wife Mary gave birth to their third child in January. The nappies are back. At 34, the likelihood of Vettori becoming the second player after Kapil Dev to score 5,000 Test runs and take 400 wickets (he currently has 4,516 and 360 respectively) is fading.

He was still hoping to be back playing one-day matches for his province Northern Districts by the end of the New Zealand summer. So the prospect of a seventh Test series against England, when the sides reconvene in May, has not been ruled out.

The absence of Vettori’s measured countenance has been painfully apparent at a time when New Zealand hit one of their lowest ebbs, where poor performances have been compounded by infighting and accusations of treachery following Ross Taylor’s controversial demotion as captain. His last Test was against West Indies in July 2012 after which he hobbled through the World Twenty20 in September and October.

There were signs, though, that New Zealand had weathered the worst of the recent storm. Having been bowled out for 45 by South Africa, who won both January Tests by an innings, the Kiwis bounced back to win the one-dayers. Taylor’s return from selfimposed exile for the limited-overs leg of England’s visit was another reason to be cheerful.

Vettori, pictured far left with Taylor, acknowledges the problems but believes they can be solved. “It’s been a trying time,” he says with understatement. “Any time you change the captaincy you’ll get that but they have to continue making an effort to reintegrate Ross back into the side. Obviously it’s been a focal point, but the team has bounced back well in the one-day format. Hopefully that means they can get beyond the current situation because nobody has come out of it well.

“My advice to Brendon [McCullum] as the new captain – and I’m recalling this from my time in charge – is that you are judged on two things: winning games and your personal performance.

Those are the only things which stack up. People don’t see what you do in the background trying to galvanise the team. Brendon’s got to take what he can from how the best current captains in the world operate, like Graeme Smith and Mahela Jayawardene.”

Vettori believes New Zealand’s limited-overs ability needs to inspire them in the longer form. “How we perform in the shorter forms and Tests has been a dichotomy for quite a while. It was proven in South Africa. We’re still a good one-day side who can beat anyone on a given day and compete well above our ranking. However, in Tests we have struggled trying to

The Kiwi captaincy crisis May 2012

John Wright resigns as coach, citing differences with John Buchanan, the director of cricket.

July 2012

Mike Hesson is appointed coach.

Nov 2012

New Zealand secure their first victory in nine Tests and their first in Sri Lanka since 1998.

Dec 2012

Ross Taylor, who scored 142 and 75 in the Sri Lanka victory, is replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum in all formats of the game after refusing to give up the leadership of the limited-overs sides. Taylor makes himself unavailable for the forthcoming tour to South Africa.

Dec 2012

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) apologises to Taylor for the “manner in which events have unfolded”.

Jan 2013

New Zealand are bowled out for 45 at Cape Town on the first morning of their two-Test series in South Africa. It was their third lowest total of all time and Test cricket’s lowest since 1974.

Jan 2013

A letter from bowling coach Shane Bond to NZC is made public. In it, Bond wrote: “I believe the coach has been dishonest in his assertion around the miscommunication of the captaincy split with Ross.” Bond later insists that he and Hesson have put any disagreements behind them.

Feb 2013

Taylor returns to the New Zealand squad for the Twenty20 and one-day series against England.

develop a decent side. There is a strong seam attack in the making with Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell while Mitchell McClenaghan came on strong in South Africa.”

Looking back at Vettori’s captaincy tenure, no one has perhaps faced more individual pressure in the history of New Zealand cricket to perform in a weakened team. There were even wisecracks that continued overleaf Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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England v New Zealand – the last five Test series 1999

England 1, New Zealand 2, drawn 1

2001-02

New Zealand 1, England 1, drawn 1

2004

England 3, New Zealand 0

2007-08

New Zealand 1, England 2

2008

England 2, New Zealand 0, drawn 1

Vettori drove the team bus, such was the responsibility heaped on him. Vettori seldom let his team down. After starting out as a Test No. 11, he added defiant batting to his proven abilities with the ball. His love of baseball seemed to inform his technique as he developed an unorthodox genre of stroke-making through swats, nurdles and slugs.

His Test batting average of 30.10 in his national record 112 Tests rose to 39.12 in 32 matches as captain while his bowling average also improved with the extra responsibility.

Vettori says better application from the batsmen is mandatory in the wake of the South Africa Test losses.

“Cementing the top six is the area needing the most work and that can only be strengthened by Ross’s return.

Kane Williamson is capable, Dean Brownlie scored a hundred in South Africa under pressure, Daniel Flynn was down on numbers but is recovering opening for Northern Districts, Brendon will push down to No 5.

That’s a good-looking team on paper, but it needs to look better on the field.” Martin Guptill’s thumb injury was a further blow to the hard-pressed batting order.

Vettori was man of the match in New Zealand’s most recent Test victory over England at Hamilton in 2007-08 and there is no doubt he will be missed.

Looking at New Zealand’s opponents, he struggles to find a weak link. “England have won plenty of series away from home the last few years and bouncing back from that first Test loss to India showed character.

They have seasoned veterans like Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook, and Ian Bell who make such occurrences no fluke. In fact, they’re incredibly balanced across all formats at present. I’ll also be keeping a close eye on how James Anderson performs.

“The attack as a whole, most likely with Steve Finn and Stuart Broad added, will be interesting to observe but Anderson’s performances swinging the ball in New Zealand conditions will be pivotal. He was a huge reason they won last time, in combination with Ryan Sidebottom.

“In the last series in New Zealand in 2007-08 we won the one-dayers and England won the Tests. They’ve grown as a side since then and deserve their rise up the rankings in all formats. They are incredibly balanced and any perceived weaknesses in their limited-overs game have diminished.”

Andrew Alderson writes on cricket for the New Zealand Herald on Sunday 4

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

For much of his career Martin Crowe wore a white helmet which didn’t really do much for him, or me. But this one, from 1990 at Arundel on a rare day when it wasn’t raining, is much more casual and all the better for it.You can see the face and expression. He is playing a very graceful glide down to long leg. Martin and his brother Jeff were both good guys. I also got on well with their late father Dave, who was often over in England and was keen on photography.

Eagar’s Eye

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Eagar’s Eye

2 It’s the last day of the 1986 home series against New Zealand, the Kiwis’ first series win in England, and Dickie Bird is in the visitors’ dressing room at The Oval, hence the choice of headgear.

These were freer and easier times when access to the dressing rooms, for those who were known, was more accepted than it is today. Dickie was playing up for the camera a bit but he did ask me not to publish this until after he had retired.

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This was a day or two before the second Test of the notorious tour in 1983-84. A few players decided to go white-water rafting in Queenstown, even then a tourists’ mecca for outdoor fun and extreme sports.

On the left side of the boat as you look at it, front to back, you have Allan Lamb, Chris Smith (obscured), David Gower and an unidentified member of the public.

On the right side, back to front, you have Graham Morris, the photographer with whom I concocted the plan to film this escapade, a professional rafting expert (obscured), Graeme Fowler and Ian Botham. Graham and I heard this was happening and he said he would go in the boat while I decided to photograph from the bank. But I had to run about a mile to reach the position where I could get them.

Eagar’s Eye

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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From the Archive

Wisden 1985

England had never lost a Test series to New Zealand but that all changed on a shambolic tour led by Bob Willis. John Thicknesse reports

Shamed in Christchurch England’s tour of 1983-84 has claims to rank among the unhappiest they have ever undertaken. Ineptly selected, burdened with a bad itinerary and losing three out of fifteen players through injury or illness (including the captain), they became the first English team to be beaten in a Test series by New Zealand and Pakistan – and to fill their cup to overflowing they were publicly accused of taking drugs. Following allegations in The Mail on Sunday, a London newspaper, that certain members of Bob Willis’s team had smoked “pot” in New Zealand, the Test and County Cricket Board held an inquiry, which resulted in the party being cleared of having done anything off the field which might have affected their playing performance.

The team’s record in their first-class matches was depressing. Out of six Tests and four three-days games, their only win was against Northern Districts in midJanuary. Coming immediately before the three-Test series in New Zealand, the victory sent the team into the first Test in Wellington in confident mood. But, inspired by maiden Test hundreds from Martin Crowe and Jeremy Coney, New Zealand escaped with a draw, after conceding a first-innings lead of 244, and went on to overwhelm England in the second Test at Christchurch.

The twelve hours New Zealand took to win that match represented England’s nadir: they put up an exhibition that would have shamed a side in the lower reaches of the County Championship.

Abysmal bowling, branded by Willis as among the worst he had seen in more than 80 Tests, enabled New Zealand to reach 307 in conditions in which 180 to 200 should have been the upper limit. Whereupon, in mute surrender, England were brushed aside for 82 and 93.

It was the first time this century that an England team had been bowled out in both innings for fewer than 100, and the first time they had lost to New Zealand by an innings. On his home ground Hadlee had a

brilliant match, smiting 99 off 81 balls and taking eight for 44; but it was a victory to which nearly every New Zealander contributed.

Because of injuries to Neil Foster and Graham Dilley, England had taken the uncommon step of going outside the touring party to complete their team, calling up the 25-year-old Sussex opening bowler, Tony Pigott, who was playing for Wellington in New Zealand’s domestic first-class competition. It was a mixed experience for him, the satisfaction of becoming the first Harrovian to win a cap since M. C. Bird, in 1913, being outweighed, one would presume, by involvement in such a mortifying display. An ironic footnote was that to make himself available, Pigott postponed his wedding, little thinking that by the Monday of a match begun on Friday there would be time to have started a honeymoon in South America and got married as well.

On the run-in to this second Test, England came close to paying for the folly of an itinerary which consisted entirely of Tests and one-day internationals from the sixth week to the end. With that in mind, the selectors took a calculated risk on the legendary fitness of the 42-year-old Bob Taylor by naming him as the only wicket-keeper, though Paul Downton, of Middlesex, was paid to act as stand-by while on a coaching engagement in South Africa. Four days before the Christchurch Test, when Taylor was showing no improvement from a muscle injury sustained 48 hours earlier, Downton was alerted to prepare for a quick dash from Cape Town.

In the event, the senior ’keeper made a good enough recovery for Downton not to make the 24-hour journey.

But it was touch and go.

Following defeat to New Zealand, England moved on to Pakistan where they also lost the series, a first against Pakistan.

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New Zealand have a reputation for upsetting the odds – and each other.

Former captain Jeremy Coney makes the case for the prosecution

Punch above our weight? Sometimes we just punch Something is rotten in the state of New Zealand cricket.

Poor governance, poor results, dwindling media interest and indifferent, alienated fans now dominate our major summer sport.

Yet, a recent Test victory and drawn series in Sri Lanka presented a rare opportunity for positive coverage. Cricket dominated the news. Alas, for all the wrong reasons. The Ross Taylor captaincy debacle had once again added a page to a history of turmoil and infighting.

There you have a snapshot of New Zealand cricket: occasional bright days on the one hand; a bizarre tendency to self-destruct on the other. It is sad to witness New Zealand’s latest fortunes. New Zealand have been an asset to the Test world – a team that could arrive in any country with a respectable reputation and depart with it intact. Test cricket is not such a rich network that it can afford for previously competitive nations to be struggling like this.

The New Zealand team has a strong identity.

Rugged foot soldiers intermittently illuminated with superb cricketers that typified the nucleus of well-regarded sides. They had to play with a canny intelligence and fight like hell. Batsmen placed a high value on their wickets and chiselled out runs, while bowlers delivered a miserly length at moderate speeds. But recently the flagship side has looked like wounded prey for most opposition, meek and disheartened.

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

If the performance of the premier side is a gauge of an administration’s prosperity, by this yardstick, New Zealand cricket is in decline. Everyone knows about consistency on the pitch. What about off the pitch? New Zealand Cricket continually charts a different course.

And constant change means no plan is ever given the time to succeed.

A catalogue of management vandalism fashions the past. It has often been said that New Zealand punch above their weight. The trouble is, they also just punch.

There has been a revolving door of personnel over five years: two chief executives, three managers, five coaches – top guns hired from the west to clean up the mess who depart prematurely – and too many selectors or support staff to name.

The litany of errors is too lengthy to list in detail.

But an example of this chequered landscape is the self-inflicted loss of two of our better men. The exile of Shane Bond, the fast bowler, and John Wright, the coach, is hard to forgive.

After giving its word to Bond that his international career would not be imperilled if he played for the Indian Cricket League (which pre-dated the Indian Premier League but was soon excommunicated by the establishment), NZC caved into the Indian board who outlawed ICL players. It was a simple money equation: NZC could not afford to fall out with India. From that continued overleaf

Eagar’s Eye

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Headingley 1983: a huge moment for New Zealand cricket – their first Test victory in England. This was a general photocall with lots of photographers there. You can see their shadows in the front-left of the picture. The dressing rooms were upstairs but the players were more than happy to come down for a celebratory picture. I remember trying to arrange them in a more photogenic group but they were too euphoric to do as they were told! Jeremy Coney is spraying champagne and Bruce Edgar, the opening batsman to his left, has his own camera.

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This was a one-day match at Alexandra in Otago on the South Island during the early part of England’s 1983-84 tour. It was a lovely break between the slightly gruelling drawn first Test at Wellington and the disastrous second at Christchurch where England were dismissed for under a hundred in each innings. Alexandra was in the middle of the country’s main fruit-growing area and there were wonderful stalls dotted around the ground selling fruit dirt-cheap. Otago has since become a major centre of wine production but back then there were no vineyards. When I first went to New Zealand in 1977 wine was defined simply as a “liquor containing 70% grape juice”. The other 30% was apple juice I think.

They’ve come a long way since then.

Eagar’s Eye

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moment, players could no longer rely on the loyalty of their board.

New Zealand don’t usually attract top-quality coaches but Wright was proven at international level after his time with India. He was a Kiwi. And he was starting to get results; he oversaw a World Cup semi-final, a drawn series in Australia and a narrow 1-0 loss at home to South Africa. Meanwhile Justin Vaughan, the chief executive, appointed Buchanan as a director of cricket (and Wright’s boss) only months after Wright had accepted the SOS to help out. Oil and water have never mixed – neither did the ideologies of Wright and Buchanan. Buchanan is a theorist, Wright a pragmatist. One collected reams of detailed notes and coached from paper. The other relied on observation then headed for the nets. As Wright himself said: “We’re probably better coaching against each other.”

Wright walked away. But not before the board presented a departing gift – the denial of any pre-tour support for the trip to West Indies last July and August.

Against fellow strugglers, we were annihilated in all formats of the game.

The most recent captaincy convulsion has its genesis in Daniel Vettori’s resignation two years ago. NZC demanded that the two candidates, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, present their credentials. An unedifying pantomime ensued pitting the two marquee players in a public duel for the captaincy that split player and fan alike.

Buchanan, the latest director of cricket, recently intoned: “Unless we (NZC) address four things – integrity, trust, honesty and accountability – results like that (New Zealand dismissed for 45 in South Africa) will recur.”

What? Is this an environment where suspicion, lack of principle, lying and irresponsibility are the standards?

Of more surprise is that I have yet to see any rebuttal of such serious allegations from someone in such a prominent position.

New Zealand has limited resources and when these resources are directed at sorting out the latest administrative mess instead of where the opening batsman’s off-stump is, the team is only going in one direction. Every administration has to deal with difficult characters – but it seems as though NZC is a difficult character in its own right. Without an overall purpose that scorns small-minded pettiness, the system is left stumbling along from ego to ego.

New Zealand needs to locate a cohesive strength of mind, a powerful realistic plan and some intelligent leadership who care about restoring fortunes. It will take time, money and determination.

There is a rich history of cricket in New Zealand – no other side can match our six World Cup semi-final appearances – and a lot has been achieved in spite of the arguments that break out at will and the back-biting that attends them. Imagine what we could achieve if we actually worked together?

An all-rounder, Jeremy Coney, 60, played 52 Tests and 88 one-day internationals for New Zealand between 1974 and 1987. In 1986 he captained them to their first Test series victory in England and was awarded an MBE in the same year. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1984. This is an extract from the accompanying profile: New Zealand’s balloon floats only when the gases are mixed just right and everyone is fresh, willing and ambitious. They are a team fashioned out of a positive attitude to contest every run, whether batting or bowling. To perform well, every man must do the basic things better than their opponents.

In this way they work as a unit.

JEREMY VERNON CONEY, born in Wellington on June 21, 1952, epitomises this attitude. As a child of the 1960s he still grants majesty to athletes and innocence to games. Sports are fun. For him, playing for New Zealand matters most. So long as the majority of the New Zealand team feel this way they are aware that miracles may occur.

In many ways Coney represents all that is best in New Zealand cricket. He becomes more determined and motivated when playing for his country. The excitement of Test cricket bring a new dimension to his game. He is able to concentrate on concentrating, as national pride lifts his performance.When questioned at the end of an innings that has helped his side to victory, the word pride usually figures in his phrases.

Coney made his first-class début – for a New Zealand Under-23 XI against Auckland – when he was eighteen, a tall, gangling, youth who dressed as the “flower-power children” did at that time.

His shoulder-length hair prevented him from being selected for Wellington in one age-group team.

When he arrived in Australia as a replacement for an injured Glenn Turner in December 1973, his cricket gear consisted of a yellowing and heavily plastered bat, which bore the name of his club, “Onslow”, in large letters on the back. The team manager, R. A.Vance, now Chairman of the New Zealand Cricket Council, gave Coney some money and told him to go and buy a new bat. Some hours later Coney returned with a guitar and made do with other players’ cast-offs. His love of music is still with him and he frequently enlivens bus tours by playing his guitar. Today his hair style has changed markedly and his only problem with cricket clothing is that the trousers are not always long enough.

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From the Archive

Wisden 2003

In 2001-02 Nathan Astle smashed England’s attack and a Test record that had stood for only three weeks. Lawrence Booth was there

Double-quick time Scorecard: click here

New Zealand v England, First Test, at Christchurch, March 13, 14, 15, 16, 2002.

England won by 98 runs. Toss: New Zealand. Test debut: I. G. Butler.

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Pic: Stu Forster/Getty Images Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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This game will be remembered for perhaps the most glorious failure in the history of Test cricket. When an injured Cairns walked out to join Astle late on the fourth afternoon, New Zealand were 333 for nine, still 217 short of a wildly improbable victory. What happened next had to be seen to be believed. Astle, 134 at the fall of the ninth wicket, proceeded to treat England’s attack as if they had been drafted in from the local kindergarten. He smashed his way to by far the fastest double-century in Tests and briefly raised hopes of a jaw-dropping, eye-popping win. In the end, England, thanks to their earlier all-round efforts, prevailed. But this was, and will always be, Astle’s match.

A cricket ball had perhaps never been hit so cleanly, so often. Astle’s first hundred had come from a brisk 114 deliveries, but he was merely playing himself in.

The carnage began in earnest when Hussain took the second new ball: the next four overs, even though they included a wicket maiden from Caddick, yielded 61 runs. Hoggard, unplayable on the second day, was smashed for 41 in two overs – and out of the attack.

So Astle turned his attention to Caddick, steaming in with the confidence of a man who had already grabbed six wickets in the innings. But in seven balls spread across two overs, Astle sprayed graffiti all over Caddick’s figures by smacking him for 38.

One six flew over third man, another landed on the roof of the stand at extra cover, and three more – over cover, mid-wicket, and straight down the ground – came in successive deliveries as the home sections of the crowd began to sing and dance in disbelief.

England’s supporters, so raucous moments before, were stunned into silence.

Another six off Flintoff, a gentle sweep for a single off Giles, and Astle had raced from 101 to 200 in a scarcely believable 39 balls. He reached his maiden Test double-century in 153, smashing the record – set

by Adam Gilchrist at Johannesburg just three weeks earlier – by 59 deliveries. He had taken 217 minutes, three more than Bradman at Leeds in 1930, when the balls were not totted up (but over-rates were generally higher). It was as though Astle had taken two seconds off the 100 metres record.

Two more sixes off Hoggard followed, bringing the deficit down to double figures. England were seriously worried, and Astle later admitted he would have started to look for ones and twos had New Zealand come within 70 runs of victory. So the relief England felt when Astle drove at Hoggard and was caught behind for 222 was palpable. In all, he faced 168 balls in 231 minutes, hitting 28 fours and 11 sixes. He put on 118 with Cairns (in 69 balls), beating his own lastwicket record against England, an unbroken 106 with Danny Morrison at Auckland in 1996-97, and helped

New Zealand to the second-highest total in the fourth innings of a Test, bettered only by England’s 654 for five against South Africa at Durban in 1938-39. And he had done it all in the twinkling of an eye.

Amid the fireworks, it was easy to forget the mistake Astle made at a critical moment in England’s second innings. With wickets falling regularly, Thorpe, on four, edged Drum to second slip, but Astle was unable to cling on. Soon after, England had lurched to 106 for five, leading by a precarious 187. But Thorpe survived, and he and Flintoff embarked on a stand that changed the course of the match.

Flintoff had managed just eight runs in his previous five Test innings, but within 13 deliveries a burst of searing cuts and drives had taken him to 26. The fifty partnership came in 39 balls, and New Zealand, deprived of Cairns, who had injured his right knee while bowling on the first day, began to wilt. England’s lead was a seemingly impregnable 370 by the time Thorpe reached his third century in four Tests in New Zealand, from 121 balls. Flintoff, whose previous Testbest was 42, was even quicker, moving to his hundred from 114 balls with a top-edged hook over the keeper’s head. The stand had reached 281, a sixth-wicket record for England, overtaking Peter Parfitt and Barry Knight’s 240, also against New Zealand, at Auckland in 1962-63, when Flintoff picked out deep mid-wicket and departed for 137. Thorpe rattled on to a 231-ball double-hundred, his first in Tests and briefly the thirdfastest in Test history, and finished with 28 fours and four sixes in five and a half hours. The ink had barely dried when Astle forced a rewrite.

The final two days, in which 856 runs were scored at almost five an over, provided a violent counterpoint to the first two, when 438 came at under three. On Lancaster Park’s drop-in pitch, England lost two wickets in Cairns’s first over. They were rescued by an innings of technical brilliance and masterful driving from Hussain, whose tenth Test hundred was flawed only by a straightforward chance to Fleming at first slip on 52.

Hussain’s batting was matched by Hoggard’s bowling. Swinging the ball as though playing on the green, green grass of Headingley, Hoggard bewitched New Zealand to claim a career-best seven for 63.

Any chance of taking all ten was denied him by a characteristically late flash of inspiration by Caddick, who snapped up three wickets in one rampant over.

When England lost five cheap wickets in their second innings, a close finish seemed inevitable – but the game was only just warming up.

Man of the Match: G. P. Thorpe. Attendance: 15,864.

The three-Test series was drawn 1-1.

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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EXTRA FROM WISDEN n a m h c t a w Night

THE

RT ER LY CR IC KE T Q UA TH E W IS DE N

THE NIGHTWATCHMAN

VERITY’S WAR James Holland sets off for Sicily, where he pieces together the last days of one of Yorkshire and England’s greatest spin bowlers The Plain of Catania in Sicily, and a pilgrimage of sorts. It is one of the most fertile parts of the island, largely flat and low-lying, bisected by rivers and dominated by the towering presence of Mount Etna.

Hedley Verity would have seen Etna from the moment he landed at first light on Saturday, 10 July 1943, as part of the biggest seaborne invasion the world has ever known. There’s always a halo of cloud surrounding the summit; there would have been when Verity was here and there is when I visit the place nearly 70 years on.

Cloud, or is it smoke? I am not sure but it hangs there, a contrast to the deep and cloudless blue of the sky.

Working out precisely where the 1st Battalion, the Green Howards made their attack on the night of 21 July, 11 days after landing, takes a while. I am armed with a copy of an original hand-drawn map, found in the battalion war diary, but one that is remarkably accurate. At any rate, I have managed to marry it up easily enough with an image from Google

Maps: the tracks running down from the railway line, the curving dykes that were such a feature of this part of the plain, and even the buildings that had once been battalion headquarters.

Getting there, however, is another matter.

New roads run to the south and north of the site, there is now a large factory to the east of the map, roughly where D Company began their attack. It is difficult getting off the main road and down to the rough lane that leads under the railway embankment, but eventually we manage it, and suddenly we are driving down the very same track marked on the hand-drawn map back in July 1943.

And there are the remains of an old barn or farmhouse, also shown on the map. The roof has gone and inside it is wild and overgrown, but we are now at the point where Captain Verity led his B Company into battle. The start line, to use the parlance of the day.

We park up and walk along another rough track, also marked on the map, climb a dyke

Cricket’s past is enriched by great writing, and Wisden is making sure its future is too.

The Nightwatchman is a quarterly collection of essays and long-form articles launching in March 2013 and available in print and e-book formats.

Established to mark the 150th edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the Wisden 150 Club is a focal point to celebrate cricket’s rich history and debate current issues affecting the game as it is played today.

For more information please visit www.wisden150club.com

WISDEN 150 CLUB LUNCHES

Co-edited by Osman Samiuddin and Tanya Aldred, The Nightwatchman features an array of authors from around the world, writing beautifully and at length about the game and its myriad offshoots.

There are a few different ways to get hold of The Nightwatchman. You can subscribe to the print version and get a free digital copy or you can take out a digital-only subscription.

But if you’d just like to buy a single issue – in print, digital or both – you can do that too.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NIGHTWATCHMAN PLEASE VISIT www.thenightwatchman.net

WISDEN 150 LTD EDITION BAT

Benedict Bermange inspects England’s Test rivalry with New Zealand for some illuminating numerics

An expanded and regularly updated online version of Wisden’s Records section can be found at www.wisdenrecords.com

Hammond, Hadlee and father figures England have faced New Zealand in 94 Tests since they first met back in January 1930. On the whole, it has been one-way traffic since then, with England boasting 45 victories to the Kiwis’ eight and 41 draws.

Six bowlers have taken four wickets in a Test over and two of them were Englishmen against New Zealand. The first was Maurice Allom on Test debut at Christchurch in the first meeting between the sides. His over went 0,W,0,W,W,W, dismissing Stewie Dempster, Tom Lowry, Ken James and Ted Badcock. Fred Titmus repeated the feat at Headingley in 1965. His over went W,0,W,W,0,W, with his victims being Bryan Yuile, Bruce Taylor, Dick Motz and Richard Collinge.

Tim Southee made his Test debut at Napier in March 2008 and started by taking 5-55 in England’s first innings. He enhanced that achievement with some impressive late-order batting. He brought up his fifty with his seventh six to go with his two fours – the only Test fifty reached with 50 runs in boundaries.

Wally Hammond dominated the 1932-33 Auckland Test. Starting day two on 41 not out, he scored 111 runs before lunch and followed up with a further 150 between lunch and tea, the second-most runs by any batsman in a Test session. He finished 336 not out and averaged 563 in the series – still a record.

in 114 deliveries, he took only 39 more to reach his double. In all, he scored 139 runs between tea on day four and the end of the match, only 21.3 overs later. His tenth-wicket partnership of 118 with Chris Cairns came at 10.89 runs per over, the fastest hundred partnership in Test history.

At the other end of the spectrum, New Zealand managed to face 81 deliveries without scoring a run off the bat in their second innings at Headingley in 1958.

The balls were mainly bowled by Jim Laker and Tony Lock to John Reid and Bert Sutcliffe.

There have been 49 father-and-son combinations (of whom nine are from New Zealand) to play Test cricket.

But the record for the shortest interval between the two of them taking the field is held by Lance and Chris Cairns – only three years, 359 days from Lance’s final match in 1985-86 to Chris’s debut in 1989-90.

England won the 1962-63 Christchurch Test relatively easily by seven wickets, but it was the home captain John Reid who made the headlines. In New Zealand’s second innings he scored exactly 100, but the team made only 159 all out, the lowest all-out Test total to include a century.

John Edrich’s unbeaten 310 at Headingley in 1965 contained 52 fours, still the Test record. Taking into The fast scoring continued when the two sides next met. account his five sixes, 238 of Edrich’s runs came in At Lord’s in 1937, 239 runs were scored before lunch on boundaries, another record that still stands. day three in 45 overs (140 minutes) the most runs ever In the same series at Edgbaston the temperature in a pre-lunch session in England. on the second day was only 8°C and twice play was interrupted while hot coffee was served to the Nathan Astle’s innings at Christchurch in 2001-02 fielders. set a number of records. Having reached his century 16

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

So many of the photos I took of Richard Hadlee were front-on which was the normal way of doing it. But funnily enough his action didn’t completely work front-on, at least for me as the photographer. It worked pretty well if you were the batsman. But from the side he looks quite graceful which makes this one of the more satisfying pictures of Hadlee. This was from the first Test of England’s 1983-84 series at Wellington. Note the lovely white picket fencing at the Basin Reserve, rather than the awful advertising boards that most grounds around the world had by that point.

Eagar’s Eye

Spare a thought for Bert Sutcliffe. He played 16 Tests against England averaging 40.34. He also averaged more than 40 in his entire Test career but was not on the winning side in any of his 42 matches. No one else has played more than 30 Tests without ever experiencing a victory.

On their last tour in 2007-08 England played a Test at McLean Park in Napier, the world’s easternmost Test ground, located at 176°54’46E.

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Alex Tudor had his moment in the sun at Edgbaston in 1999. In only his third Test, the nightwatchman saw England to their victory target of 208, finishing 99 not out. He failed to pass 32 in any of his 15 other Test innings, and so that score remained a career-best.

Eight other Test batsmen have ended their careers with a highest score of 99 but Tudor is unique in that his innings was unbeaten.

Benedict Bermange is the cricket statistician for Sky Sports Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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Eagar’s Eye

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John Reid was one of the great men of New Zealand cricket, an all-rounder and captain who held them together almost single-handedly through the early postwar years as they strived for their first Test victory. This was at Headingley in 1965, late in his career but early in mine. Indeed this is the first Test I ever photographed, which is the primary reason for its inclusion. I was caught unawares a bit by the size of the ground because I had done most of my previous work at out-grounds in Surrey, Kent and Hampshire. On my way to the ground on the second day, I rushed out to buy a converter which doubled the length of the lens but didn’t do much for the optical quality. It was pretty low-tech and this picture isn’t particularly sharp but it’s about as sharp as it gets for the equipment I had.

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

England v New Zealand QUIZ

1

New Zealand played their first official Test matches against England early in 1930 – at the same time as another England team was also engaged in a Test series against which country?

2 3

Which father of a famous player captained the strong New Zealand side which drew all four Tests in England in 1949?

4

Against New Zealand at Headingley in 1958, England’s batting was opened by a man who had played football for England and a rugby union international. Who were they?

5

Who scored a Test triple-century for England against New Zealand during the 1960s?

What score – a record low for Test cricket – did England bowl New Zealand out for at Auckland in 1954-55?

By Steven Lynch Answers on page 27

6 7

Who was New Zealand’s captain when they finally beat England, after 47 matches and 48 years, at Wellington in 1977-78?

8

Who took his 97th wicket in England-New Zealand Tests (no one else has more than 64) with his last delivery in international cricket, inflicting a pair on Devon Malcolm at Edgbaston in 1990?

9

Who reached a double-century from only 153 balls – the fastest-known in Tests – against England at Christchurch in 2001-02?

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Who was out for 99 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1987-88, having had a legglanced boundary incorrectly signalled as legbyes… and never did score a Test century?

Which current New Zealand player scored 96 in the 2004 Lord’s Test, and 97 there in 2008?

The story of Wisden often coincides with the story of cricket, both in England and further afield. In The Little Wonder, Robert Winder places the Almanack – and the equipment company that gave it life – in the context of the worldwide game. He looks at some of the game's liveliest characters, eavesdrops on the odd political storm and sees how cricket, so long riven with class division, struggled to adapt to huge changes in society.

The Little Wonder is a sweeping story that will fascinate anyone with an affection for Wisden and an interest in cricket history.

To order copies at discount visit www.wisden.com

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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Every lover of the game has a view of Lord’s, literal or figurative, but few have as intimate a relationship with the home of cricket as the Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie in this extract from the inaugural edition of the Wisden India Almanack

The backside of Lord’s It’s unseasonably cold in London today, but I have to keep the window open as I write. Ears primed to pick up any sound beyond traffic and passers-by and my fingers on the computer keys, I’m aware that this article is losing credibility the longer I sit here and write it. It’s the first day of the International Summer of Cricket in England – the Lord’s Test between England and the West Indies is under way. And here I am, internet disabled, television and radio off, in order that I might write about what it is to live “at the backside of Lord’s”.

I lie when I say the television is off. It’s on, but muted, and my back is turned towards it. This is where the open window becomes necessary. If the wind direction is right and the Lord’s crowd near capacity, their cheers come through the open window – the sound somewhere between the roar of a wave and the whoosh of car-tyres speeding along a road – and I can swivel around and, thanks to that slight lag between event and transmission, actually catch the bails flying or the ball leaving the face of the bat to bring up that century. At least, in my memory that’s how it works – but I can’t actually recall the last time it happened because, as now, there is simply no way I’m going to sit with my back towards the screen for any length of time without...

Credibility slightly restored, I hope. It’s now Day 5 of the Lord’s Test. Ten minutes ago Ian Bell hit the winning run; I rose to my feet in the Upper Compton Stands to applaud, and already I’m back at my desk. Thank God for the fifth day of the Test which has released me from the accumulation of bitterness, the sense of waste, which otherwise accompanies any Lord’s Test for which I haven’t bought tickets.

This is how it usually works: before the start of the season some kindly MCC member whom I’ve been wise enough to befriend offers me a choice of tickets – they’re pricey, appallingly so, and therefore restraint is necessary. This year I chose to buy tickets for the South 20

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

Africa Test, and not the West Indies one; it’s a gloomy thing for someone who fell in love with cricket during the Windies tour of Pakistan in 1986 to watch the game played by foreshortened shadows of yesterday’s giants, and gloomier still to look around the Lord’s ground and see the merest handful of West Indies supporters (the ones of a certain age, who saw Calypso Cricket in all its glory and now find it painful to watch but can’t bring themselves to look away, strike me as being figures out of Greek tragedy).

I felt entirely justified in my decision to follow the West Indies game on television rather than at the ground; right until the first morning when the view from my desk showed men (it’s almost always men) walking down my street dressed for a day at the Test, and touts standing on street corners held up tickets for sale, and the local sandwich shop put out a sign announcing its Test Day Specials – which are in no way different to the sandwiches sold every other day, but are clearly made Special by the fact of being consumed on the day of the Test. This is not false advertising – it’s an understanding of how a day’s cricket can alter everything, even tuna on white bread.

And then the bitterness started, and grew – who are these people sauntering out of the Tube station towards the Test ground after lunch? What could possibly have been so important as to keep them away for the first half of the day? And why are those other people leaving, hours before the end, avoiding my hopeful glance, my outstretched hand into which they could so easily place the tickets they’re no longer going to use. Worse – far worse – who are these total morons who have left the ground for lunch and are still at a pub two hours later, tickets edging out of their pockets – a provocation, a taunt, a boast. Why doesn’t Lord’s allow local residents to serve as “seat warmers”, allowing the right to any seats that have been sold but remain unoccupied for

part or all of the day – surely this should be taken up as a serious idea on purely compassionate grounds for the cricket-loving denizens of St John’s Wood?

But of course in cricket wonderful things happen when you least expect them (though you can’t ever stop yourself hoping for them). The West Indies took the match to the fifth day – not in a dragging-out-theinevitable sort of way but a poised-for-a-thrilling-finish way. Since the MCC never sells fifth-day tickets in advance, that meant 25,000 cheap tickets were released on Day 5. I woke up that morning with the expectation that I would see the neighbourhood transformed. But at 9.30a.m. (15 minutes after waking up) when I walked over to the North Gate and was able to stride right up to the ticket window without encountering even a single person ahead of me in the queue I felt almost bereaved. Not even £10 tickets, a sunny weather forecast and the possibility of an entirely unexpected fierce fifth day of competition could bring out the crowds for this competition.

It was an entirely different matter last year on the fifth day of the India v England Test. I wasn’t, for reasons I’ve now chosen to forget, at the ground that day, though I had been there for Day 4 after an unexpected encounter with an old friend and MCC member at the baggage claim hall at Heathrow Airport the preceding evening (I saw him walk past, called out his name, he swivelled on his heels and said “Lord’s tomorrow?” – and in the excitement that came with anticipating the next day’s game he walked out without his luggage). But though I don’t remember why I wasn’t at the ground, or in the queue which started at 3a.m., I remember with perfect clarity the giddiness in the neighbourhood near the start of play – all the Indian and English supporters heading towards the ground, dreaming of a whitewash, a Tendulkar century, a middle stump uprooted before their eyes, a boundary hit into their hands. You never know what a day at Lord’s might bring, except this: whatever the result, the mood won’t turn ugly.

Living near Lord’s never means staying at home when the game ends to avoid angry fans; on the contrary it means walking out and joining the crowds, enjoying the celebrations, the good-natured banter, the congratulations and commiserations exchanged by supporters of opposing teams. “That’s not cricket” is a term which usually carries little meaning in a world of spot-fixing, player tantrums, and the lure of IPL millions, but at Lord’s when everyone in the stands, regardless of team affiliations, rises to his feet not only for the centurions and the wicket-takers but also the ones who showed guts or grit or beauty and fell only a little short the phrase is restored to itself. I hear it through my open windows, halfway between a roar and a whoosh, and the day turns beneficent.

Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She is a member of the Authors Cricket Club

Pick the all-time Wisden World XI and win £100 worth of sports books To celebrate the publication of the 150th edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, on April 11, you are invited to select the Wisden World XI – the greatest cricketers to have played Test cricket in the lifetime of the famous yellow book.

You can pick players from any country and any era as long as they have played Test cricket.You should also select a captain and wicket-keeper and make those choices known on your entry.

The winner will be the entry that comes closest to matching the selection of our expert Wisden judging panel. The closing date of the competition is October 1, 2013 and the winners will be announced in a subsequent edition of Wisden EXTRA. The prizes are as follows: 1st prize:

£100 worth of Bloomsbury sports books PLUS a year’s subscription to All Out Cricket magazine and Wisden’s new quarterly collection of essays and long-form writing, The Nightwatchman

2nd prize:

£75 worth of Bloomsbury sports books; a year’s subscription to All Out Cricket and The Nightwatchman

3rd prize:

There are also TEN third-place prizes of a year’s subscription to All Out Cricket and The Nightwatchman.

Email your entry to wisden11@wisden.com

by October 1, 2013.

For full terms and conditions of the competition visit www.bloomsbury.com/wisdenworldxi

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

Eagar’s Eye

Both these pictures were taken at The Oval but 16 years apart. New Zealand all-rounder Lance Cairns, in 1983, is hitting one of England’s spinners – Vic Marks or Phil Edmonds – for one of fours sixes in a 32-run cameo from No.10 with his modish shoulderless Excalibur bat.

His son Chris is doing something similar – Phil Tufnell the unfortunate victim this time – during a man-of-the-match performance in the final Test of 1999 that secured a series victory for New Zealand and pushed England to rock bottom. Contrast the empty seats at the 1983 Test with what appears to be a full house in 1999.

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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Traditionally England have travelled to New Zealand more in expectation than in hope yet series have not always gone to plan, as Crispin Andrews hears from some experienced tourists

“Why don’t people like me?” extra five weeks away. It was a proper tour in 197778. New Zealand had improved by then. Richard Hadlee had come on to the radar as something a bit better than they’d had for a while and we knew We had just been bombarded by Lillee and Thomson Geoff Howarth from Surrey. They also had a few on lively Australian wickets, so it was a relief to bat on placid English-style pitches. Once you got in, you could new younger players. Conditions suited my bowling, occupy the crease, score runs, play normal cricket again. similar to England, swung around a lot, apart from New Zealand didn’t have the same type of bowlers. You in Auckland where it was hotter and more like an Australian wicket. had to get yourself out.

And yes, at Christchurch, we really did decide to We won by an innings at Auckland on a really flat pitch. Ewen Chatfield, the New Zealand No. 11, was hit run Geoffrey Boycott out. Mike Brearley was injured so Boycott was captain. At tea on the fourth day, we on the head by Peter Lever. He fell to the ground, and talked about quick second-innings runs so that we had swallowed his tongue and for a few seconds his heart time to bowl New Zealand out but Geoffrey and Brian stopped beating. Luckily, the England physio, Bernard Rose struggled to get it away. At drinks, Bob Willis, the Thomas, was at hand. We had all those bouncers in vice-captain, went out and told them to get on with it.

Australia, from express-speed bowlers on such lively wickets, and no one was seriously injured. Then on a flat Brian tried and got out, Geoffrey carried on as before.

Bob sent Ian Botham to hit out and run out the captain. wicket, with a fast-medium bowler on, this happens.

At Christchurch, after the first two days were rained I’d been moved up the order so passed Boycott as he left the field. He gave me a wide berth. He was still in off, New Zealand wanted to play on the rest day.

Typically, the TCCB gave in. Alec Bedser phoned me to the corner with his pads on when I got out, 20 minutes later. “Why don’t people like me?” he was saying. It tell me, from England, first thing in the morning. They wasn’t that. We just wanted to win. also arranged a sixth day, but that was rained off, too.

We were a long time away from home and the players Allan Lamb (was part of England’s first series defeat worked hard to keep their performances up. There to New Zealand in 1983-84 and also played in the was a feeling that we were expected to win after what 1991-92 series that England won 2-0) happened in Australia.

Mike Denness (captained the 1974-75 tour when England won a two-Test series 1-0)

Chris Old (toured with Denness in 1974-75 and again, under Geoff Boycott, in 1977-78, when the three-Test series was drawn 1-1) In ’74-75, everyone wanted to go home after the mauling we got in Australia. No one wanted an 24

Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

The Mail on Sunday launched their paper on the back of the 1983-84 tour. They were more interested in their sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll story than they were in the cricket. We didn’t play very well at Christchurch.

Should have bowled them out for 70 on that pitch, but Hadlee came in and slogged 90 and they got 307. Then

Hadlee, Lance Cairns and Chatfield bowled us out for 82 and 93.

It wasn’t like playing the West Indies with all their pace bowlers. Hadlee was a good bowler but we didn’t think that they had anyone we should be really worried about. We were probably a bit over-confident and underestimated them. It was better under Gooch in 1992, a totally different attitude. We had a more professional approach. More money, sponsorship around by then.

The game had changed.

Mark Butcher (played in 2001-02 when the three-Test series was drawn 1-1) We played on rugby grounds with weird dimensions and those drop-in pitches could be a bit fruity to say

the least. They ambushed us on one in the first Test at Christchurch and bowled us out for 228. Nasser got 106 of those. The pitch settled down enough for Thorpe to score 200 and Flintoff 137 in the second innings, and we set them 550. I was off the pitch when Nathan Astle played that amazing innings of his because. I’d bruised my thumb taking a catch. Even when Astle was smashing it everywhere, though, I never thought they’d win. It was a lot of runs and I was sure he’d hit one in the air and get caught, sooner or later. New Zealand were a better side back then than they are now – a lot of tough, experienced cricketers. You knew they’d always play better than people expected.

Crispin Andrews is a freelance writer

This was the moment that Glenn Turner, the great New Zealand opener, reached 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May in 1973. He was the first batsman to do it since 1938 so this was a hugely significant moment, achieved on the last day of May at Northampton. The momentous stroke was a four off Bishan Bedi and Turner’s hand is being shaken by the unmistakeable figure of Colin Milburn. I saw quite a lot of the M1 that week. I had been at the last day of New Zealand’s previous tour match at Leicester as he neared the milestone and this was the second day of the Northamptonshire match. He had been 70 not out overnight.

Eagar’s Eye

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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On loan from the National Cricketing Archives, Kilburn, this original page from the diary of the great seafarer Captain Cook sheds some light on his historic 1773 voyage to New Zealand. It was recovered from Captain Cook’s ship, The Incredible Powers Of Endurance, by able seamen Tyers and Beach

Day 1. It seems only a few days ago that we were in India, but our journey around this planet never ceases: fatigue and cabin fever are a part of life, and even Admiral Gooch has pleaded for some more time at home.

One of our hired South African hands became truculent around the Cape of Good Areas and I was forced to act quickly to quell the sort of mutinous calumny that saw the noble Commander Strauss consigned to Davy Jones’s Locker. That notwithstanding, we have today come ashore in a marvellous country that I shall call New Zealand. There are a great many sheep, which gives me deliciously comforting thoughts of my own farm back in fair England.

Day 2. A most unpleasant spectacle. We saw some of the natives involved in a vicious dispute. It ended with the sacrifice of a tribal big man named Ross. Apparently he was the leader of his people until a challenge from a brute of a fellow called McCullum, who assailed him, swinging a jawbone wildly. The tribal elders tutted from the side-lines but could do nothing to prevent the coup.

Day 3. New Zealand is a country of wonderful flora and fauna. Among the most common indigenous species are the Kiwi, the spotted black grouper and the medium pacer who can bat a bit.

Day 4 (afternoon session). We have been attempting to teach the New Zealanders how to play at cricket but I am sorry to say that most of them have little aptitude for the sport. One big boned fellow called Ryder can give the ball a fearful clout, but he prefers to spend his time drinking in the sun and getting into fisticuffs at the local watering hole. We shall spend another few months here, and then travel back to Albion with a few of the native players. We shall offer them a chance to play at cricket in polite English society, or at least those of them who have not journeyed to India to seek their fortunes.

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

QUIZ Answers See page 19 1 West Indies 2 Walter Hadlee 3 26 4 Arthur Milton and MJK Smith 5 John Edrich (Headingley, 1965)

6 Mark Burgess 7 Martyn Moxon 8 Sir Richard Hadlee 9 Nathan Astle 10 Brendon McCullum

I was chewing the fat, just wandering around the Basin Reserve during England’s 1997 Test at Wellington when I came across these chaps sitting on a sofa. So I asked the daft question: “Where did that come from?” “We just brought it in,” they replied. They had queued up at the turnstiles with their sofa and in it came. It shows the Kiwi attitude to re-using things. When I first went to New Zealand every second car was a Morris Minor and by that stage it was at least 15 years old.

Eagar’s Eye

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Wisden EXTRA • New Zealand v England

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