New Zealand at home with the grandeur (24 July 1999)

24 July 1999

New Zealand at home with the grandeur

Martin Crowe

It is more than merely majestic. The name rolls grandly around the tongue, as though it inherited an aristocratic nature rather than being simply a surname. Ever since I began reading the Wisdens around my parents' house I dreamed of a century at Lord's, cricket's mecca and the hallmark of all that is great in the game.

If it was destiny that guided me through to a Lord's scholarship in my teens and a storybook debut match then so be it. I just felt possessed by the inspiration that Lord's was where I was meant to be. I am far from the only cricketer to have felt this way.

In fact most do. Ask Dilip Vengsarkar, who made centuries in each of his first three Test matches there. Check with Bob Massie, who took eight wickets in each innings on his debut at Lord's. He never needed to do anything more in Test cricket, although he has become an erudite commentator on the game in Australia.

This is why England, perhaps blase about Lord's, usually fare less well than the visitors. The famous exception was David Steele, who had never played there when he was required to pit England's lamb against the lionlike assault of Lillee and Thomson. That he did so courageously only after stumbling through the toilets before asking his way to the field of play is now part of cricket's folklore.

Our own Dion Nash is a fine cricketer who surpassed himself, and all the records, when he compiled a thorough half-century and then captured 11 wickets in the 1994 Test. He was not about to waste a chance of posterity, unlike another of our players then who defaced the honours board in the dressing room in a fit of cynicism. It is easy to understand why one is still eminent in the game and the other has disappeared from view.

For England's players it is deja vu, but for tourists it is like the Changing of the Guard. The difference is that the ceremonial performance is purely ritual. You need see that only once. The occasion at Lord's is always a challenge and it is there that the class of a cricketer ultimately emerges.

Thus did the class of Matt Horne dominate the second day's proceedings. A blow to the arm that reduced his flexibility and therefore his range of strokes incapacitated him. In some ways this seemed to tighten an already impressive defence and his century in 5.5 hours, his third in Tests, was well earned.

Horne was originally cast as the ideal successor to Andrew Jones at No 3. He had opened only sporadically in first-class cricket when he was tried in Hobart and responded with a magnificent hundred against a rampant Australian attack. He has mortgaged the position since with his intense concentration and ability to stroke away the loose ball in between periods of highly organised defence.

The first day was another example of England's problems with the Lord's hoodoo. Nasser Hussain won the toss and batted, as would Stephen Fleming, and the first session was profitable until Alec Stewart got himself out just before lunch after a welcome half-century. Then in the afternoon black clouds rolled in and provided all the environmental support necessary for Chris Cairns and Nash to wreak havoc.

Nash had started unpromisingly, with 25 from his first four overs, but his return for the remainder of the day was a remarkable three for 25 from 18 overs. It was Cairns who took the eye for at last he opened the bowling and his six for 77 was a proper reading of the quality of this all-rounder. The excuse had been given previously that he was better with an older ball because of his variation. He used the 'change-up' - that curious baseball term given to a deceptive, slower delivery - to great effect.

Despite the late afternoon departure of Horne and Roger Twose, New Zealand are strongly placed. England have the consolation that their last six Test victories have come after first-innings deficits but this one may be too much if the New Zealand batsmen play true to their calling. It is their Lord's examination and they will want the highest marks. Individual accomplishments must now be embellished with a first New Zealand victory at the home of the game.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)