Stead fighting the battle for Canterbury

"I go out there and try and do my job. And that for me is to try and score runs." Canterbury's captain Gary Stead has stood, almost alone between the traditional dominating province and defeat this season.

Canterbury have won seven out of nine Shell Cups in recent years, and won the Trophy in 1997/98. However, this year they have won just one game, which leaves them second bottom of the Cup table and bottom of the Trophy. They were also bottom in the previous two seasons, as the Black Caps were all too often unavailable.

Not that they are out of it. Wins in the forthcoming series of Cup games, with a full complement of Black Caps available (bar injured Chris Cairns and Geoff Allott) will see them through to the semi-finals. "Their experience will add some real steel to the team," Stead told CricInfo.

The right-handed batsman is positive when asked if they can still win the Cup.

"Yes, absolutely. Canterbury teams often play best with their backs to the wall. If we can liken it to what Australia had to do at the World Cup, when they had to win every game to win it, then that could give us some inspiration."

It has been the tradition for several years for youngsters to see Canterbury through to the latter stages of the competition, which they could have regarded as their's by right in the 90s.

The failure of the the younger batsmen to "kick on," to use departing coach Garry MacDonald's phrase has meant "we keep losing clumps of wickets."

On MacDonald's leaving, Stead said,"It was reported that Garry MacDonald may not be here next year. That's not going to affect our team at all."

"Garry plays each ball with us really. he's quite emotional about the Canterbury side and I feel a little for him at the moment because we maybe haven't been putting in the performances on the park that he'd like to see. It's obviously hurting him a lot."

"It's obviously been a disappointing start for us, we just have to continue with the steps that we're taking to improve in the four day game. Hopefully we'll stick around and get a couple of wins under our belt and learn to win again at this level."

Stead himself has a respectable Test average of 34.75, higher than Matt Horne, and comparable with Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle. He must have been disappointed Northern District's Hamish Marshall was chosen ahead of him as a replacement on last winter's South Africa tour.

He just keeps trying to embarrass the selectors in his modest way, aware that he needs to turn his scores into big centuries. He has five scores between 80 and 100 this season, but has not gone on to the impressive total that opens eyes. "I just go out there and try and score runs. If I keep scoring runs for Canterbury hopefully they'll keep my name near the top of the list."

Stead's father, David, made 3169 runs and took 167 wickets for Canterbury between 1969/70 and 1985/86. He was regarded as one of the best players never to play for New Zealand during his 77-game career. While son Gary, who also plays for the Riccarton club his father has only recently retired from, made the breakthrough (against South Africa in March 1999), he has never been given a long run in the test team.

The selectors asked Canterbury to play Stead as an opener in the early part of this season, a position he has batted as a stand-in for New Zealand. But it all came to nothing when Horne recovered from a broken finger to open with Mark Richardson against Zimbabwe in the Boxing Day Test. Stead had hit a century against the tourists the previous week. Horne made zero and one in the Test.

But to Stead statistics "really mean nothing. You're as good as your next bat, it doesn't drive me."

Meanwhile, middle-order batsmen Astle and McMillan had lost form, but Stead had been playing as opener, then the Canterbury strokemakers hit magnificent 140's in the Test match.

Stead is philosophical about his, and his province's bad luck saying, " I still have faith in our team here."