New Zealand Cricket In a Crisis (28 Apr 1996)

Kiwi cricket in a crisis

AUCKLAND, Friday New Zealand cricket`s woes took another twist Friday as management took its turn to slam the players who Thursday left the West Indies having suffered another embarrassing thrashing.

Star all rounder Chris Cairns has gone to England to play with Nottinghamshire county, citing lack of communication with coach Glen Turner, and wicketkeeper-turned-batsman Adam Parore is heading home talking civil war.

The row was sparked by yet another solid hiding on the pitch, this time in the first test with the West Indies.

The cricket crisis is the latest development in four miserable years for the players which have seen some of world cricket`s most dismal results yet.

Players have been suspended for smoking marijuana and the country is littered with bitter former coaches and captains, including Ken Rutherford, who wrote a bitter tell-all book about the team.

Speaking to the New Zealand Press Association in St. John`s, Antigua, Turner said Cairns told no one in management of his injury worries.

"Chris Cairns had for sometime stopped communicating with team management and others. He`d decided to isolate himself," Turner said.

They were disappointed with his decision to pull out of the tour.

Turner said he didn`t want the issue to become personalised.

"It bloody well isn`t. I wish things would work out with all of our players, but they will not create a disintegration of our whole group, which we`ve seen in the past."

Turner said it was the intention and the task of the current team management to put New Zealand cricket back on a sound footing.

"Destructive players want special treatment and concessions to accommodate their selfish demands, often at the expense of the team.

"They endeavour to hide behind cliched statements such as I know what`s best for me` and I`m not being managed properly` in an attempt to get their own way.

"We are making significant progress in cleaning up the debris of the past, and we will not allow the self interest of individuals to undermine that progress.

Source :: Daily News (http.//www.lanka.net)