Paul Ford
A voice of dissent walks away
Tim May's resignation means parochialism and self-interest can now flourish in the ICC old boys' club without any impediment
Paul Ford
09-Jun-2013
"The game's in decay, and a large part of that has to be attributable to the top management, the governors of our sports, who seem to think they are above all rules that seem to apply to everyone else."
- Tim May, June 2013
- Tim May, June 2013
It was also sad to see him walk away not because his work was done but because he was tired of repeatedly ramming his dark curls against the brick wall of fish-head administrators' intransigence.
Full postCornflakes, whisky and our ectrodactyl
New Zealand fans aren't like others. They are grateful for every victory, though an ODI win over England is especially satisfying ever since Ryan Sidebottom became the human wall Grant Eillott banged his head against
Paul Ford
02-Jun-2013
Ahhhh that winning feeling. It was nice to have it back as Kiwi cricketing ectrodactyl Martin Guptill clobbered a pull shot off burly Tim Bresnan at Lord's to get the prize.
New Zealand fans appreciate a win more than many: our team is OK at winning sessions and harpoons heaps of moral victories, but for most long-time observers in the Land of the Long White Cloud, our expectations have been managed down to the extent that a win is always a surprise, and often joyous.
Prior to Friday's ODI, the New Zealand team had entered the international cricket colosseum 16 times this year for a quartet of wins, three draws and nine losses. We've not tasted the sweet nectar of winning since The Brendon McCullum Show back in February against England in Hamilton.
Full postCulture shock at 'eadingley
A strong sense of nostalgia, grimy Yorkshire skies, confetti showers, and dress-up day - a Kiwi misses his time in Leeds
Paul Ford
26-May-2013
"When I was a player I had no issue with Headingley, because back then I was a Leeds United fan and the local people seemed to like me because of it. But now, walking around the ground, I sense an atmosphere that is not very nice and I certainly wouldn't want to sit with my family in the Western Terrace." Nasser Hussain, 2009.
Headingley is a brilliant cricket ground, but provides a culture shock for Kiwi fans traipsing north after the extreme poshness of "the Lord's experience". The Western Terrace, in the student-flavoured suburb of Leeds, is only a few hours from the Edrich Stand as the crow flies, but it is a world away as a cricketing experience. No bacon-and-egg ties here, no bells, no Pimms. The green jacketed stewards are replaced by burly fluoro-vested security guards and policemen with video cameras and an eye for trouble.
There is no Nursery Ground either, there is a sports field out the back, but it's the home of the Leeds Rhinos and metamorphoses into a car park when the Test match comes to town.
Full postThe hollow feeling of a Monday morning
New Zealand offered a glimmer of hope to their fans at Lord's, only to snatch it back and smash it to pieces on day four
Paul Ford
21-May-2013
I was going to post about my literary weekend with Gideon Haigh and Shehan Karunatilaka at the Auckland Readers and Writers' Festival, but I was overtaken by the traumatic events of Sunday night and Monday morning. Those two masters of contemporary cricket lit can be popped back up on the shelf for now.
Monday mornings are bad enough with the spectre of the 40-hour working week looming large - a Kiwi cricket fan simply didn't need the additional pall of an overcast London and a singing, swinging Duke ball in the hand of a bowler who had previously looked out of sorts for the past few Anglo-Kiwi encounters. Stuart Broad made my Monday morning so much worse.
I slunk off to bed at 1am, accompanied on my pyjamified trudge by Brendon McCullum, an expired DRS review, and Nasser Hussain's voice reverberating in my ears: "Down the slope, up the slope, slope, slope, slope…" Twenty-nine for 6. At least the tail wagged, comprised as it was of invalids and sloggers.
Full postHello Lord's, I love you
A Kiwi cricket fan lists down the reasons he feels all warm and fuzzy when at the home of cricket
Paul Ford
11-May-2013
A Test at Lord's between the men with the three lions on their cream chests and the men with a single white fern on their heads is on the bucket list of every New Zealand cricket fan.
Lord's in St John's Wood NW8 is the citadel of cricket that lures lovers of leather on willow like dopey moths to a flickering flame. It feels like a religious spot, despite being named after a bloke called Thomas rather than the Almighty.
I've written before about Irish Adam who looked after us in the Edrich Stand back in May 2004, but there's plenty to more to love about the place than green-jacketed stewards.
Full postA brief history of Derbyshire v New Zealanders
In between plenty of rain delays, the two sides have put some up some exciting performances. And then there's always angling to take up
Paul Ford
05-May-2013
After a month-long international cricket hiatus punctuated by the Parker Posse fiasco, defamation threats, stern ultimatums and a torrent of lawyerly bills*, it is extremely exciting to see actual cricket breaking out in place of petulant cricket politicking.
That said, Michael Mason's sensational IPL selection following a post-rum drinking session with the human moustache, Peter Ingram, did threaten to deflect attention from the opening of New Zealand's tour. Unfortunately it was all just one big typo and Pahiatua's finest was never actually heading to Punjab.
For me, an England Test series in the green and pleasant land is the ultimate, but first we have the warm-up fixtures, albeit two less than the lead-in to the 2008 tour. Although knee-capped by the absence of the KFC Kid, Baz McCullum and the not-quite-fixed all-round skills of Dan Vettori, NZ's opening fixture against Derbyshire is a gentle opening.
Full postSound FX, please
If broadcasters give more commentary options, then it's less likely viewers will be forced to watch matches on mute while browsing for audio or text alternatives online
Paul Ford
27-Apr-2013
As Joe Root seared his double entendre-laden name on the collective conscious of the New Zealand cricket fan back in February with a delightfully annoying 79 from 56 balls in the Napier one-dayer, we pondered the idea of being able to watch the cricket with a selection of aural delights on the menu:
@mbirdnz @rowansimpson sky should have multiple audio options: e.g. Wells, just sound FX, TMS, Radio Sport, random people,etc
— Beige Brigade (@BeigeBrigade) February 20, 2013
For once this suggestion was not inspired by the commentary being especially appalling or mind-numbingly repetitive at the time, but was part of a discussion about how Kiwi cult cricket lover and raconteur Jeremy Wells could be woven into our lounge-room viewing given he was behind the boundary rope but not part of the official TV coverage.
Full postMcCullum v Parker
It's a sad indictment on the factionalised state of the game in New Zealand, but it may also become the event that demarcates between healthy debate and a hellish descent into unsubstantiated allegations and reputation-sullying
Paul Ford
21-Apr-2013
The backroom politics of New Zealand cricket have noisily burst into the front room over recent weeks, as La Cosa Nostra of eighties cricketers and their simpaticos have managed to let their cricketing governance opinions get sidetracked by an ill-founded obsession with Ross Taylor's sacking as captain.
Public empathy has been waning ever since John Parker decided to be the frontman for the posse's cause, claiming to represent more than 40 anonymous people. Damningly, the New Zealand Herald reports that dozens of people potentially in the loop with Parker's plans have been contacted and "… almost to a person they either did not return calls, did not want to be named, claimed to be part of the email chain but didn't have input into the report, or had unsuccessfully requested to be removed from future correspondence".
It sounds like there could be some rats deserting this sinking ship.
Full postReturn of the prodigal
Luke Ronchi is a fine attacking batsman and possibly the best wicketkeeper in New Zealand at the moment. He deserves to be in the national side
Paul Ford
16-Apr-2013
Though Ronchi was born in New Zealand there is no question to where his loyalties lie. The full-time professional cricketer is adamant that his only intention is to play for Australia, "definitely not" New Zealand. - ESPNcricinfo 2002
Back in March last year, I walked 200 metres around the corner to Karori Park, a busy little sports ground in the western highveldt of Wellington making its debut as a first-class venue. Grant Elliott's Wellington team was taking on Jamie How's Central Districts XI in a four-day Plunket Shield match.
Karori Park's christening came as the city's cricketing jewel, the Basin Reserve (this week named one of the world's greatest roundabouts by the UK's Roundabout Appreciation Society), was being monstered for new drainage at the time.
Full postThe Parker Posse poser
The dossier compiled by John Parker and his largely unnamed associates has reopened the New Zealand captaincy debate - but the manner in which it was released has only served to deepen the rancour and distrust
Paul Ford
07-Apr-2013
I've always liked John Parker - that magnificent shock of albino white hair, his penchant for baggy caps, occasionally hilarious cricket commentary efforts, close proximity to the iconic Michael Holding stump-kicking moment, and recent efforts to get a cricket ground built in rural Kaipaki (population: 909).
He was also one of the few cricket aficionados who wasn't too cool to ignore me when I contacted a smorgasbord of people for my fifth-form project entitled Can the Young Guns Win the Cricket World Cup?
But this week I really wondered what the hell JP was up to, when he delivered the contents of a dossier accumulated from "The Parker Posse", a 40-strong group comprising Ian Smith, Mark Greatbatch and an amorphous and anonymous collection of "former Test captains, coaches, players, cricketing governance people and others who have been part of or close to the inner operations of the New Zealand Black Caps over the recent past".
Full post