Commentary

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  Phil Gifford

  Amateur sport is battling – but it’s a struggle worth pursuing

  We are thrilled to have New Zealand’s leading sports journalist Phil Gifford as the writer of our lead article this season. In a stellar career Phil…
  30 Apr 2024
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  Carl Huyser

  Carl Huyser: a coach who has tasted success here and abroad

  Few among us can equal the feats of the BWUCC’s Carl Huyser. In as many years he has led the premier side, either as captain or coach, to five…
  30 Apr 2024
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  Tim Grocott

  Benefits of school sport for youth

  The Grocott name remains synonymous with the East Christchurch-Shirley CC for the last half century. In 2017 Tim Grocott became president of the club…
  30 Apr 2024
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  Steve Hinds

  Paying it forward

  Nicknamed ‘The Enforcer’, Steve Hinds has been the World Rugby Citing Commissioner Manager since 2017. This after a full-on career with the New…
  30 Apr 2023
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  Nick Gibb

  Keryn Ambler: a coach with character and integrity

  When the Christ’s College 1st XI won their first ever national Gillette Cup title in December 2022 they were superbly led by coaches Keryn Amber and…
  30 Apr 2023
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  John Mitchell

  Justin Boyle: facing baptisms of fire

  Justin Boyle has had a stellar career in education and he wasn’t half bad at cricket either. I want to share some thoughts on both.
  30 Apr 2023
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  Michael Heron QC and Charlotte Agnew-Harington

  Sport, women and integrity

  The increased focus on sporting integrity in recent years has coincided with an increasing emphasis on women’s sport. This has led to consideration of…
  4 Jun 2022
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  Richard Hall

  More than just an annual fixture

  ‘If you have a Heavy Transport licence; you will never be out of a job.’ – Winsome Dormer It is not only about the cricket, the beautiful surrounds…
  30 Apr 2022
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  Dan Vann

  Mind games – how to improve mindset and mental skills as a cricketer

  By way of something different this year we have asked Willower Dan Vann to focus on the mental side of cricket. His words are aimed at coaches /…
  30 Apr 2022
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  Rebecca Rolls

  Shifting the dial in sport

  Rebecca represented New Zealand in both cricket and football. In cricket, as a wicketkeeper batsman, she played 104 ODIs, two T20s and one Test match…
  30 Apr 2021
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  Denis Aberhart

  To succeed in cricket

  There would not be many more long-serving principals of a New Zealand school than Denis. He was first appointed as a principal in 1983 and has huge…
  30 Apr 2021
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  Robbie Frew

  Mike Johnston: coaching supremo

  Good cricket coaches are as scarce as hen’s teeth. Here’s one from the top drawer. The article is written by a man who should know — Robbie Frew, who…
  30 Apr 2021
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  Anastasia Boyle

  A lifetime of cricketing summers

  Anastasia Boyle is a French language teacher at Burnside High School and sister of former Canterbury cricketers, David and Justin Boyle
  30 Apr 2020
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  Phil Holstein

  Selfless acts and the virtue of unsung work in sport

  Sport develops the balance of body, mind, and character. It is an important part of New Zealand’s culture; and we expect to take on the world…
  30 Apr 2020
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  Liane Topham-Kindley

  Ken Rust: ‘Mr Cricket’ at Otago Boys’ High School

  This is the third in a series on our cricket coaches. The first was on Matt Parr (then Christchurch Boys’ High School) and last season on Garry…
  30 Apr 2020
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  Clare Commons

  Sporting life after school – a mother’s view

  This woman’s a bit crazy. I know this because I said yes when John Mitchell asked me to write Commentary Corner. Only a crazy woman would agree to…
  30 Apr 2019
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  Tony Zohrab

  Garry MacDonald: Nelson coach par excellence

  Top cricket coaches are a rare breed. We are grateful to Judge Tony Zohrab for writing this article on the outstanding Nelson cricket coach, Garry…
  30 Apr 2019
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  Evan Gray

  Moulding pride in our men

  Roger Moses, ONZM, enjoyed an illustrious career as Headmaster of Wellington College from 1995 to 2018. This article on the career of Roger is written…
  30 Apr 2019
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  Andrew Nuttall

  Cricket – the trip of a lifetime

  Thanks to the efforts of Stuart Spalding, Bob Masefield and fellow Willows Club members I had the opportunity to be involved with a month long tour of…
  30 Apr 2018
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  Ross Preece

  Reflections on rural cricket

  As a newcomer to the area I have been impressed with the enthusiasm and level of support our 1st XI cricket team enjoy. For them weekly travel is a…
  30 Apr 2018
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  Charles Lyttelton

  Lasting friendships across boundaries

  Lord Cobham, of Hagley Hall, Worcestershire, is an honorary member of The Willows.
  30 Apr 2017
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  Nick McIvor

  Cricket for character

  Cricket is a reflection of life and offers an education in life; an education that can be incredibly uplifting but also unforgiving. We encourage…
  30 Apr 2017
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  Rev Fr Brian Cummings, SM

  A matter of perspective

  The great thing about a sense of perspective is that there’s always more than one possibility.
  30 Apr 2017
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  Roger Knight

  Play within the spirit of the game

  The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is responsible for the Laws of Cricket and is currently revising these Laws in order to produce a new Code for…
  30 Apr 2016
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  Nic Hill

  In praise of today’s gallant youth

  As Headmaster of a large urban boys’ school I love the inter- actions I have with our young men and I am often left in awe of their abilities and…
  30 Apr 2016
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  Robert Donaldson

  Catch! ... some wisdom from McCullum

  The call of “Catch!” elicits immediate focus—a shot of adrenaline, the tensing of muscles, a sense of anticipation for fielders ... and fear in a…
  30 Apr 2015
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  Dan Reddiex

  Why intolerance is essential to real change

  I was privileged at the end of 2014 to join our 1st XI in their annual fixture at The Willows Cricket Club. It was my first visit to this special…
  30 Apr 2015
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  Chris Clarke

  Future makers – a generation of Kiwis with a world vision

  We’ve all tried and, if you are like me, probably failed at explaining the game of cricket to visitors from nations who don’t play the sport. Most…
  30 Apr 2014
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  Warwick Maguire

  Growing the game

  The suggestion by the big three in cricket, India, India and India (sorry I mean, India, Australia and England) that they should have more control of…
  30 Apr 2014
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  Spiros Zavos

  NZ cricket needs to be returned to the true believers

  I watched the enthralling cricket Test at Wellington between New Zealand and England from my home in Sydney. At one point in the play I called over to…
  30 Apr 2013
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  Christine Leighton

  Stepping stones to a better world

  I believe, young people today have a mission, indeed a responsibility, which is really no different from the generations before them – and that is to…
  30 Apr 2013
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  Sir Anand Satyanand

  Visit to Sri Lanka and Malaysia cricket

  Introduction - I was invited to join a team of 13 secondary schoolboys drawn from school teams from Wellington, Christchurch, Waimate, Dunedin and…
  30 Apr 2012
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  Grant McMillan

  Helping to grow fine young people

  The members of the older generations in every society appear to lament the circumstances and behaviour of the young people they observe around them…
  30 Apr 2012
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  Judge Andrew Becroft

  Sporting hero: Clive Currie

  Boys always want heroes. When I entered the third form at Rongotai College, Wellington in 1971, I was no different. The sixth and seventh formers…
  30 Apr 2011
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  Clive Rennie

  Just let the kids play

  Aside from his role at OBHS, Clive is also Chairman NZ Secondary Schools’ Sports Council and was an All White in 1967.
  30 Apr 2011
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  Sir John Key

  Opportunities for youth who are prepared to do the hard yards

  Judging by most of the young people I meet, New Zealand’s future looks bright. As I travel around the country I’m constantly impressed by the…
  30 Apr 2010
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  Robin Butler

  Commentary Corner

  Lord Butler is a former president of Oxford University Rugby Football Club.
  30 Apr 2009
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  The Venerable Canon Craufurd Murray

  A loud appeal

  I can still remember my first cricket bat. In a rush of enthusiasm my father bought it long before I even had the strength to lift it! Cricket was a…
  30 Apr 2009
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  Gary Baxter

  Availability of umpires should not be taken for granted

  The pressures of modern life are such that people are becoming busier and having less time for leisure (with demands of work, trading hours and…
  30 Apr 2008
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  The Very Rev Mike Hawke

  “More yap, boys, more yap”

  My brother-in-law insists I only work one day a week and another mate reckons that I am invisible during the week and incomprehensible on Sundays…
  30 Apr 2008
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  Inspector John Price

  Young people need a coach

  It is a great honour to be asked to write an article for this year’s Annual Report. I am not an accomplished cricketer, but what I know is that The…
  30 Apr 2008
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  Mike Coward

  The Spirit of Cricket

  In quieter and gentler times there was no need for the game’s governors to prescribe what is meant by the “spirit of cricket”. If you were breastfed…
  30 Apr 2007
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  Roger Moses

  School sport is a powerful teacher

  Notwithstanding the gloomy weather and even more desultory performance by the Black Caps, the second test match against the Australians at the Basin…
  30 Apr 2005
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  Brian Aldridge

  How umpires move through the ranks

  New Zealand has had a national body, the New Zealand Cricket Umpires Association (NZCUA) , in existence since April 1957. The NZCUA co­ ordinates…
  30 Apr 2005
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  Dr Graham Stoop

  Commentary Corner

  Last year’s ‘Commentary Corner’ was written by Jonathan Hensman then of Wanganui Collegiate School. He wrote of the need for schools to be…
  30 Apr 2004
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  Lindsay Kerr

  Umpire retention is a top priority

  Umpire retention and recruitment have often been the focus of many associations’ annual general meetings. This year will be no different, especially…
  30 Apr 2004
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  Jonathan Hensman

  The role of Wanganui Collegiate as a lighthouse in our society

  Life as an adolescent is an extended period of vulnerability and is somewhat different from even twenty years ago. Back then, respect for adults was…
  30 Apr 2003
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  Lindsay Kerr

  Keeping the spirit alive

  A cricket umpire is an odd sort of person, standing out in the middle of a park counting six balls at the bowler’s end then wandering off to square…
  30 Apr 2003
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  Chris Ineson

  Peak Performing Organisations

  “It’s a mental thing.” “It’s 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.” “It’s all about goal-setting.” We all discuss it from time to time... what enables…
  30 Apr 2002
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  Joseph Romanos

  Commentary Corner

  I’ve been fortunate to be involved in the writing of books on Waiter Hadlee, Merv Wallace and John Reid over the past few years. While all have been…
  30 Apr 2001
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  Don Cameron

  Commentary Corner

  Cricket has charted a fascinating, if idiosyncratic course, over its first 250 years, and so we might have expected that in this highly organised…
  30 Apr 2000
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  Peter Roebuck

  WG 150

  W. G. Grace was a cricketing colossus who bestrode the sporting world. In his pomp he was the most famous and recognisable man in Victorian society…
  30 Apr 1999
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  Don Neely

  Commentary Corner

  In his poem “The Waste Land", T.S.EIIiot wrote “..... April is the cruelest month”. That may be so in the Northern Hemisphere, but during this April I…
  30 Apr 1998
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  Sprio Zavos

  1946ers reunite

  While the furore over some New Zealand players staying out late during the second test against England at Wellington was erupting, officials were busy…
  30 Apr 1997
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  Dayle Hadlee

  Some philosophical thoughts

  • Through sport you can learn about life. • Life is about riding highs and lows, taking the positives out of disappointments, remaining optimistic and…
  30 Apr 1997
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  lain Gallaway

  Commentary Corner

  In recent months followers of sport have watched in ama:tement as Rugby League set out on a precipitous path to self destruction. It reached the cliff…
  30 Apr 1996