Q1. Most memorable game?
I was fortunate to have played in an era when NZ cricket came of age and we had earned great respect as an international team. In the 1970’s we won seven tests in teams that I played in. In the 1980’s we won a further 15. By world standards that may not appear to be many but by NZ standards this was significant.
To have played in tests where we had beaten teams for the first time in our history was very special – we beat Australia at Lancaster Park, Christchurch in 1974 and England at Basin Reserve, Wellington in 1978. It was even more special to beat England in England at Leeds in 1983 followed by beating Australia at ‘The Gabba’ in Brisbane in 1985. In 1986 we had our first ever series win over England in England. There were wins in Sri Lanka and India. During the 1980’s we never lost a test series at home during that period and we had beaten everyone who visited our shores.
However the most memorable match was at the Gabba. We won the toss and bowled Australia out for 179 on a sporting pitch. The ball swung around in the air and seamed off the pitch in the humid conditions. Our slips men held on to some excellent catches. When we batted the pitch had flattened out and the sun was out. Martin Crowe scored a career best 188 in a masterful batting display. John F Reid scored a valuable 108 and we reached 553 giving ourselves an impressive lead of 374. The game had been set up for an historical test win in Australia but Australia’s captain, Allan Border played a defiant and patient innings of 152* and he was well supported by Greg Matthews who scored 115 that delayed our victory – we went on to win by an innings and 41 runs. We then lost at Sydney but won at Perth to take the series for the first time in Australia, 2-1 – truly a remarkable performance.
Q2. Most memorable performance?
All cricketers should strive for perfection – it is unlikely to happen because we will always want to do better than we do. The closest I could get to that was taking 9 wickets in an innings and catching the other batsman out to be on the score sheet 10 times. This happened at the Gabba test. I then scored 54 with the bat and proceeded to capture another 6 wickets in the second innings to have 15 wickets in the match. This was my best all-round performance in a test match.
Of all the statistics and records I had during my career the one that I am most proud of is taking 5 or more wickets in a first class innings on 102 occasions. For me that meant I was doing my job – getting batsmen out.
Q3. Major influence in shaping you as a player?
Having played international cricket for 18 years and first-class cricket for nearly 20 years, playing county cricket in England was the greatest opportunity and experience I had in the game. I spent 10 years playing for Nottinghamshire. We played virtually 5/6 days a week in four different competitions – sixteen 40 over Sunday League games, a 55 and 60 over knockout competition and 24 three-day first-class games. By adapting to those different formats I got into good habits. I learned about what my body could or couldn’t do and how I needed to prepare physically, mentally, technically and be efficient in delivering my skills. That experience fine-tuned me as a player that benefitted Notts, Canterbury and NZ cricket. The hallmark of my success during the middle and latter part of my career was consistency – that is what professionalism is all about – performing day in and day out.
Whilst my family background was instrumental in preparing me to play and enjoy the game from an early age, the greatest influence in making me a successful international bowler was the great Australian fast bowler, Dennis Lillee. I watched him prepare and play and I asked him many questions about preparation and fast bowling – he was only too willing to share his wisdom with me. He ran in fast and straight towards the batsman – he was bearded and mean looking bowling the ball at 90 mph that gave the batsman 0.4 of a second to react. He had a classical side on bowling action with wonderful skills of pace, swing and seam – he intimidated the batsman with the bouncer and he got batsmen out – 355 test wickets and an average of 21 is extraordinary. He had earned respect and he had a presence on the field. He was that 100% trier that every team would love to have.
Q4. Advice for secondary school cricketers who have a vision to play first-class cricket?
There are several basic fundamentals a cricketer should have. Depending on your role within the team you will require a very good fitness level, an efficient batting or bowling technique, batting or bowling skills and a good head on your shoulders. For me the head is the most important part of the body if you want to learn and get better – the ears are there to listen to advice, the mouth is to ask questions, the eyes are to see with and to react to certain situations. The head position is crucial to give you greater body balance – whether you are a batsman or a bowler the eyes need to be level or squared off. If the body is not balanced it is easy to fall away and lose control of bowling a delivery or playing a shot. Loss of body balance will result in poor execution of skills.
Setting personal and team goals is important. As a team whether it is winning a set number of games for the season or winning a grand final or as a batsman scoring a set number of runs or as a bowler capturing a set number of wickets or having a career best performance. Whatever motivates you to succeed there needs to be a plan – these things do not just happen.
Concentrate on each and every performance. The focus is on the now and not the future. If a player is consistently performing well the future and the rewards will take care themselves when it comes to selection and progressing through the grades until reaching the highest level. Remember, “a quitter never wins and a winner never quits”.
I have always remembered what my father Walter said, “Whatever happens take pride in your performance. Do it to the best of your ability and be happy with your performance even if someone does it better.”
Q5. A vital aspect of the ethos of the game which must be strengthened?
The international game is currently going through its greatest crisis – match fixing and corruption. I find it difficult to understand and accept why any cricketer would accept money to underperform, or influence other players to get involved and change the course of the match all for greed. It is an insult to all those players and team mates who are giving 100% to try and win games and get that perfect performance only to find out that a team mate is not trying and being rewarded for it. Severe penalties need to be imposed on those who indulge in such unsavoury conduct which is currently a blight within the game.
The Spirit of Cricket is fundamental to the game’s success and credibility – play hard, play to win but above all play fair. Respect the game that can bring great success along with a fair share of disappointments – that’s cricket. Respect fellow players, umpires, coaches and administrators – everyone has a part to play – we all need each other to ensure the game is richer for our involvement and cricket becomes the winner.