January 14, 2026 • 50 mins
On the Front Foot salutes champion batsman Daryl Mitchell after his performance helped the Black Caps beat out India.
We also take a look at the Ashes post-mortem in England - and a leading curator joins us as we investigate what makes New Zealand pitches as good as they are for test cricket.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sat B.
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Speaker 2 (00:20):
Take another pat It's a trick, it is out, the
test is over. Shouldn't have smokes a beauty? It is
out and hearing guys, This delivery has in us of the.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Bold on the Front Foot with Brian Waddell and Jeremy Coney,
powered by News Talks head B at iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Should we be surprised that Darl Mitchell has led New
Zealand to an emphatic victory over India? Hi, thank you
for joining us on the front foot with razine premium
quality paints and stains. They're no surprise to me. He's
being the backbone of the black cat patting on many
occasions recently and in all the formats, along with the
(01:08):
eyes in India post mortem across England, the yess failure
continues under the microscope, seemingly unending. And what's the recipe
for a good testure.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
We'll also have the.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Highs and lows of twenty twenty five. One of the
highs of twenty twenty five is being able to do
on the front foot with Jeremy Coney every week. I
feel I'm on a high, JC, I'm on a high.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Well done. Will you stay there as long as you
can watch? You need a bit of height, So that's good,
that's absolutely fine. You'll be able to do those hedges
around your place, those trees.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yes, I can have a bod of your here as well.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Yeah now, and I need it all now, mate, I
tell you yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Mitchell's eighth od I hundred helped turn the game around
for the black Caps one all. I'll be heading into
the final match at Indoor, but I was a little
bit reluctant to see any value in this one day series,
and I still have my reservations about various aspects. But
when you see a partnership like that against India and
(02:16):
what they were able to do against the spinners Today's
dur and coldy, you know you've got to give a
lot of credit to young but even more credit, I
think to Daryl Mitchell. He's the powerhouse of our lineup
at the moment without some of the key players missing.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
It's a pretty good good effort. I mean he's playing
very confidently at the moment, aggressively, scoring quickly, wide range
of shots, hasn't he. He swept a lot last night.
He got those little sweeps, going over and taking advantage
almost behind the keeper a number of times on his back.
(02:51):
He finished, didn't he? In the innings he really? I
mean there was a little bit of luck here and there,
but he you know, there was a runout I think
to Judasia but maybe feeling it, and he had three
stunts to aim at that short third and he might
have been dropped once. But look, I just thought he'd
played so aggressively that the bowler is in the end.
You say that the spinners through the middle, which is
(03:14):
where New Zealand did so well with Lenox and Bracewell,
they couldn't replicate that at all, and so Mitchell just
dominated that part and it certainly helped Young. I thought
just the manner in which that he played aggressively took
some of the pressure from Young, who has obviously had
(03:37):
a you know, he hasn't really been overcome with runs
this season so far. So it was really good for
him to get an eighty odd, I thought in this
match as well, so he'll get a heck of a
lot of confidence from that. Philip flopped in decent form
as well, Conway's still basically playing through the offside nicely
(03:59):
but still with the one hand. Yeah, I just thought
New Zealand. I thought, actually they were going to struggle.
I've got to say, once the Indian closed down by
the New Zealand spinners through the middle of the innings,
I thought that could easily happen. So I headed to bed,
not bearing to take the disappointment so early in the morning,
(04:21):
delighted to see that seven wicket whin.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, indeed, Mitchell's eighth ady I one hundred and I
came together the pair here and Will Young at forty
six for two of the thirteenth over and bearing out
what you say. It wasn't looking promising at that stage,
but their match winning partnership for the third wicket was
the key.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
I love betting with Youngie. We've done it several times
now and we have some good fun when we're out there.
But we also we get in the contest and get
pretty competitive with the opposition. So I thought that the
way young he played today was brilliant. He soaked up
the new ball which looked challenging. I mean, India came
seriously hard up top and bowled some good areas and
got it moving and he negated that and then he
(05:03):
was able to find ways to keep rotating and getting
the odd boundary here and there. So it was seriously
good fun betting with them, and you're nice to get
the job done.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And Mitchell was proud of the way the per negated
the danger posed by Judasia and colding.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Look, it's constantly adapting to what the surface is dictating.
And I guess today the surface was a lot lower
and slower in that bounce, so it's probably easier to
go square than it was down the ground at times.
And I guess the new rule of one Day cricket
with the ball only becoming one ball after thirty five
overs means the ball's very soft and it is hard,
I guess, to force the ball. So it's trying to
(05:39):
be smart with your boundary options and trying to find
ways again to put pressure back on them. I thought,
you know, I'll say it again. I think called eep
in Judasia are world class bowlers. I think they find
ways to put pressure on us, and there's some of
the best spinners going around. So yeah, we were lucky
enough to build partnerships today and find ways to put
pressure on them, and I've also seen them tear through
(06:00):
teams in the past as well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
So it's so positives there from the batting of Mitchell
and also of Will Young, and there's been other minor
cameos from other players. Am I unfair though in saying
that this side should have had a number of particularly
the batting players who are going to be part of
(06:22):
the World Cup, using the conditions that they're going to face,
because that's way better than playing in New Zealand, or
way better than playing in Australia, or way better than
playing somewhere else. I know that they've got to look
after some of those who are wrapped up in cotton
will but I just think that those players should have
been there. It's nice to have Will Young there and
getting him back into form. His highest score in the
(06:44):
last two of od eyes has been twenty seven. But
you know, these guys using those conditions, to my mind,
is important for the upcoming World T twitty, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Or am I unfair?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
So are you saying you'd like some more of those
T twenty twenty twenty players who have been selected for
the World Cup into the SODII side. That's what you're saying,
that's what I think. Yeah, yeah, well and which ones
in particular would you have selected?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, for a start off, Fanellen is going across there
and he would have been there ahead of Nichols. Nichols
isn't in the T twenty squad. Yeah, you know, there's
Russian Ravender's got experience over there. But you know, rather
than playing at the base in reserve, I think, you know,
he would have been of some value. And there are
(07:33):
other players too who are part of the batting mix
that could be valuable just getting some time over there.
You know. I know it's a long time away. We
hear that over and over again, but you know, you're
pro cricketers and you're getting paid pretty bloody well.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
That's true, that's true. Yeah, they could have taken that view.
It looks to me the makeup of this one day
side wads. They've they've picked a few developmental little players,
haven't they really. Clark, for example, who was around in
the Test series, didn't play against the West Indies and
(08:14):
they're haven't given him a crack. And Young you've mentioned
and he's obviously benefited, but he's not there for the
twenty twenty World Cup. Look, I mean some of the
players to me look a little tired. In the ODI's folks,
for example, it hasn't been quite himself. The white ball
(08:37):
certainly doesn't swing quite as much for him, like I
mean about three balls and that's about it. And then
he ends up bowling a little bit wide and gets crunched,
and so he looks as if he could have done
with a bit of a break. Actually the bowling is
slightly suspect. I would have to say for that ODI side,
(09:00):
they've hung on as well as they can. Jamison did
a very good job in the first game. He struggled
a more on this latest match at Rajkot. But I look,
I I you look, you've got a point. It's it's
it'll be a balance between developmental stuff and immediate stuff,
(09:23):
won't it. And that's they've obviously gone the developmental way
to keep players going, to get players out of form
back into form, those kinds of things, and to introduce
new players. So that just seems the way they've chosen.
I can understand both points of view.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, it's fair enough. I mean, it's just something that
I think that you know, there's also a lot of
money being spent on getting these people development. But I
think it's worthwhile to have the likes of folks there Lenox,
the the left Armor and the Ashot, the League spinner.
You know, they're getting valuable experience out of it to
some extent. But there are a way off being frontline picks,
(10:07):
an't they for our white ball teams? But I suppose
they've got to take that opportunity and good on, that's
what they're doing. All we want now is to make
sure that they win an indoor and a win in
a series against India. We'll be following that very closely.
All right, Oh, Jerry, I'm going off a long run up.
(10:29):
I'm marking out a long runout.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
No, here we go right, come on, then on the
front foot and here he goes the bouncer right o.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
And the first bouncer goes, well, it's going to who
but Harry Brook. He doesn't handle bouncers very well.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Former ring does not.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Stuart Broad says the current team did not have a
drinking problem, despite a series of incidents involving alcohol this winter.
That's the English winter. Brook was fine following an altercation
with a bouncer in New Zealand, while players were pictured
drinking across multiple games during a mid ashes break in news.
And I'm sorry at the moment you start putting up
(11:11):
excuses about not having a drinking problem, You've got a problem.
And it's not the drinking. It's the problem. It's the
inability to show the discipline, the self control, things that
are needed off the field that are also needed on
the field, aren't they.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Yeah, it's it's also the night before a match. It's
when you drink too, isn't it, Brian?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
And where do you drink? I mean to me, I
mean it's a string of stories about the players, as
you say, about their habits and their culture off the field.
NUSA bounces this case. This is of course the second
kind of group that McCullum and Stokes you know, took
on when they first came in with the with the
(11:58):
idea of playing aggressively. And it was against New Zealand
actually over in England. I happened to be there, and
it was players like Bearsto and Folks and Broad and
Anderson and Leech, you know, older, more experienced players that
they played against New Zealand. And it's rather different when
(12:20):
you're going a tor to Australia and the first Ashes
tour to Australia and there there were twelve of them,
Bashier Atkinson, Betel Potts, Brooks, Smith, Cass Jack's Fisher Tongue
and so on, you know, and even McCullum was his
first Ashes tour also, wasn't it. So you know, I
(12:43):
just wonder if the second group is a little bit
more inexperienced in terms of going going to Australia and
did they need a slightly different approach. I mean, it's
an intense tour, lot of scrutiny on and off the field,
and just players need to have that balance to survive.
(13:06):
It's not the same as playing at Mount and Nui.
I've got to tell you. It's you know, it's it's
indisputable sense when you need to ensure you know, you
represent yourself and the team in the best possible way
when you can on the field, and you know you
got the right to enjoy the two of course you have.
(13:29):
But Harry Brooke was the captain of that side in
New Zealand. He was the captain, not just a member
of the team. You know, he he almost has the
role to set the rules along with the coach and
the management. Stokes wasn't there if you remember, you know,
this was there probably near their last competitive match before
(13:52):
the build up for the Ashes, and he was there
representing the England team, the players and the team the ECB.
All the number fives or four's in England, he represents them.
And this was an early morning on the day a match.
I mean, for heaven's sake, he's twenty six and he's
(14:12):
played enough cricket to know that. You you know, if
you want a quiet drink, you do it in your
room or in a teammate's room and then you quietly
go off to bed. You know what you don't want
to do. I think sounds like me. I'm on my
bloody soapbox at the moment. But what you don't want
to do is create the impression to New Zealanders and
(14:36):
Australians people back home. This is all a bit of
a joke, you know, and it's a bit of an exercise.
You don't give much credence to the cricket results. But
some of it was there for a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Some of it was a bit of a joke, wasn't it.
Because they seemed more interested in playing golf when they
were here and concentrating on cricket. But they still should
have been concentrating on cricket.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
Yeah, well you got whether you like it or not.
Once you picked, you've got a responsibility to all those
interested parties I just mentioned, like the eacy being all
those things, and it fell well short of what was required. Really, Yes,
I mean as a player every tour I went on,
all I wanted to say at the end of it
was year I prepared as well as I could, gave
(15:20):
it my best. You might have been outplayed by a
bitter side, but really, as far as Harry was concerned,
untimely hour, wrong place and unbefitting a council encounter when
you get into a bit of a scrap with the bouncer,
so it doesn't look good. It was then covered up,
(15:43):
wasn't it. That's even worse. That's almost as bad.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And he's not the first player to have been in
that situation. Others have been that way and other tours
and they haven't come out of it very well, any
of those players. If i'd thirty thousand pounds, apparently that's
quite a hefty fine, but he's probably got enough in
the bank balance now and is that the real answers?
One writer fellow by the I think his name is
(16:09):
Cameron Ponsonby wrote in an article in a review. He said,
Harry Brook is drowning in the ego and arrogance. The
only way he will stop believing in his own invincibility
is by being dropped. And I think he's probably right.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Yeah. Well, it's certainly one of the options. And they
might cut him out of some of those positions of responsibility.
Who knows. Well, that's all part of the wash up,
isn't it. And we're about to I guess go through
some of that and let's wait and see what occurs there. Yeah,
(16:44):
those are options available to people who are in suits
above him.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Yes, indeed.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Oh, here we've got another chance. I'm going back from
the long run. Another bouncer.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Here it comes. That's two for the over.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yeah, yeah, well I'm going over the top of senior
broadcaster has delivered a fierce verdict on the decision to
stage well what is called the Centenary at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground as a day night match, calling it a
betrayal of the game's traditions. Jim Maxwell and our old
friend from the ABC didn't hold back while reacting to
(17:18):
the pink ball format being chosen for an event which
is going to be held in March twenty twenty seven.
So it's the one hundred and fiftieth actually of the
First Test, and it's the celebration of a centenary Test
staged at the mcg Maxwell said playing with a pink
ball is an insult to the game. It's so disrespectful
(17:40):
to a game that has been played with a red
ball for ninety nine point nine percent of its history.
And you know, I don't always agree with Jim, but
I agree on that occasion. We might have to get
him back and talk to him about it.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Just get him on, just asking one question. Let him go, yeah, yeah,
it's a Seskui centenary, isn't it. It's the Latin for
one and a half one and a half centuries.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Well that's too hard for cricketers to say, yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
Look it's it's a celebration though, isn't it. It's a
celebration of the durability of the Test format and the
past matches, the past players between the two nations, England
and Australia. It's to me, I don't know this match
(18:34):
parks back to the very first game, doesn't it eighteen
seventy seven I think of, which.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Was celebrated in nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Yeah, exactly so, so eighteen seventy seven at the MC,
I just missed that game was But I did, however,
watch the centenary match. I had a quick look at
the eighteen seventy seven match. Do you know who won it?
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Aen seventy seven? Yeah, it was the same result.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Good lad, well done. Yeah runs both games that game
is eighteen seventy seven and nineteen seventy seven, both winning
by the same side Australia, yep, and both by forty
five runs. But so you were at the first time, Yeah, yeah,
it's it's look, I don't know who suggested the pink ball.
(19:29):
I the test. I think if it alters the pink
ball alters the nature of the game, doesn't it. Not
just the hours, but the nature of the game, and
that the ball suddenly at certain times of the match
it becomes very much more difficult to bat. The only
(19:51):
other the other thing I would say, I wonder whether
money lies behind the decision. Of course, of course, at
will there's Moose says follow the money after the loss
of funds from a two day test. They are quite
recently at the MCG. I do know it's about match,
about lineage, and if you're going to retain the year,
(20:13):
which they are seventy seven and now the Sesqui centenary
fifty years after that, and then you know you're going
to retain the March date which is exactly the same
as the eighteen seventy seven match. Why change the time
that you play dramatically exactly doesn't make sense to me
(20:35):
at all. So stick with the game's laws. That's l
ories and cherish its soul. I mean you and I
tend to be of the ilk of Jim Maxwell, I
have to say. And that's what a lot of people
will lump us all together as oldies. We don't care.
Those guys who are thinking that will be old themselves
(20:55):
one day and maybe they'll feel similarly.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
So I AGA has survived.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
If it has, that's right. I'll tell you what what
do you remember about that seventy seven match? Can you
remember things?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I remember Dave Hooks getting five pours, boundaries, yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Off who off.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Tall? Yeah, spinball on it?
Speaker 5 (21:21):
Yeah, well he's spin and scene correct.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
But what was that? What was that? What was the
photo that's always seen?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Oh well, I've got so many photos of it.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
I don't know what.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
But this guy, it's a it's an photo. Well that's
Derrick Randalls certainly going He in the in the second innings,
he got one hundred and seventy odd, didn't he And
he got hit by Lily actually in the head and
just picked himself up and carried on. So I don't
know whether there's too much thought going on there or not,
(21:56):
but I mean there's certainly that was the way the
game was played. I'm thinking of Rick mcboska, the opener
for Australia. Yet the first morning when Australia batted, Bob
Willis came into Bold, Bold him a bouncer. He went
to hook, it was hitting the jaw. It rolled onto
(22:19):
his stumps after hitting him on the jaw, and he
was out Bold. He walked off, no stretcher, walked off,
spent one and a half days in hospital having his
jaw wired, and then came back to the ground and
Greg Chapel, the Australian captain, asked him if he could bat,
(22:39):
and he said he made the decision he would definitely bat.
He would definitely bat. And he batted number ten in
the second innings, first ball, and he went out with
bandages wrapped right around under his chin and over his
head at the top to hold it all together, right, yeah,
(23:00):
And he wore the baggy green on top. And the
first ball he got from John Lever was a bouncer
and he hooked it for four and the crowd saying
wal sing the cos woal sing the cost.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
That's a good idea. Now memory is coming back. So yeah,
So you did see both the Initial Test and the
Centenary Test, and I'm sure you'll be there in March
of next year to watch the pinkball Test.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
I won't be going to watch a pinkball test what's
over there? I can tell you.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
The poems won't.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But played that but an interesting situation that one, of course.
And uh you know I've just been yellow carded for
two bounces in the one over.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Ye long runner.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Brian Waddell, Jeremy Coney on the front foot.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
We're on the pitchures and I know you like talking
about pitchers and pitch preparation. Well, pitchers and their preparation
have been at the forefront of mine. Since that Boxing
Day test. The mc gee pits for that test entered
inside two days and earned an unsatisfactory rating from the
ICC match referee for the game, Jeff Crow. I'd love
(24:17):
to have a chat with Chopper about that as a result.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
How many What I would like to know is how
many demerit points would you have given it?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I'd have given it six bandit. I only got one
demerit point, hardly a severe punishment, but I'm sure it
will have entered the pride of the curator who got
more than a reasonable amount of flak. What makes a
good test trip? New Zealand Test grounds have a good
record in recent times and one man who knows more
(24:48):
than most what it takes to prepare a goods trip
as the basin reserve groundsman or curator or custodian and
whatever he is, Hagen faith W joins us on the
front foot and Hagen, what do we officially call you?
Speaker 7 (25:02):
I'm just a local grass grub who loves what I
do and yeah, it's exciting to be able to prepare what.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
That's here at the basin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Well, I mean I think we've got to be proud
of our ground staff right up around the country that
do the test match strips and I think generally we
prepare quality pictures. You might have the odd one that
doesn't fit the norm, but generally when you look at
around the country, the pictures that we prepare are of
the highest quality.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
We've got a group of guys across the country that
are world class and credit to them, they work long hours,
they're very committed and it's all it's all for the
how they see their love of their game. It's not
(25:54):
just cricket as well, it's across all turf related activities
as well. We've got a great group of people across
the country that really are committed to what well committed
to their crafts.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
So do you have to reach a New Zealand cret
standard or do you shut your own standard in terms
of your own pride and what you turn out here.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
I look, there are some KPIs that we need to follow.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
Look, as long as we're making sure we're hitting those
basic KPIs, then we're pretty close to where we need
to be. I guess one thing that we've learned across
our own venues across country is the different characteristics that
idiot secrecy is that you'll find that each venue has
(26:39):
So what's happening at the bat the.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Mount Munganui is very different to what's happening here at
the Basement and.
Speaker 7 (26:47):
Wellington, and to be fair that that changes our recipe
to what we're doing here as to what others will
be doing everywhere else.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So that's whether ground components, soil, grass, the whole work correct.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Absolutely, absolutely, so you might find different grass types here
in Wellington, different grasses will appreciate our climate better compared
to somewhere up north or somewhere down south where it
might be hotter or colder.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Absolutely, you feel a bit shorry for the guy at
the MGG because the players tended to blame the pitch
more so it might well have been assistance for the
bowler is more than should have been the cage. But yeah,
players are going to take responsibility for how they play too,
don't they.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
The picture is the first thing everybody sees, and it's
taken me a long time myself to work out that
a lot of the comments and that it's just fish
and chip paper at the end of the day. A
lot of people have told me that and it's starting
to sink in. It's taken a few years, but starting
to sing I believe it or not, guys, but it's
(27:51):
a tough one when you're in the moment there.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
What I've.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
What I've done is I've spoken to a few people
just for tips and for myself. Stay away from reading media,
stay away from reading social media. There are more turf
curators in the world. Half an hour before a cricket match,
that ye fair play. It's part of the theatrix of
(28:18):
the game and how everybody's excited for the match and
all the speculations. So we as curators know what we've done,
We know what we're doing, what we're trying to achieve.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
We might not get it right here and there. You've
got to ride those waves.
Speaker 7 (28:34):
Everyone has a bad day, but it's a support that's
around as well.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
What's the key ingredient to a good Test pitch? For you?
Speaker 7 (28:42):
A good Test wicket A good very good curator in
the past once said to me, preparing a wicket is
like making a cake. There's free key ingredients. One is
your grass cover, one as your compaction, and the other
is the moisture content that you have to depth in
(29:06):
your profile as well. So if I can get those things,
those three things right, then I'm in the ballpark and
pretty much where i need to be.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
One of the issues that was raised in the MCG
issue that the test lasted two days was grasscover. Grass
growth a feature of pictures at the basin. There's generally
good grass cover ten millimeters was what they were talking
about in terms of grass cup. What do you cut
your pictures to.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Look.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
I've been here a little while now and my former.
Speaker 7 (29:43):
Turf manager here that I was under, he was preparing
wickets with thirty meal grass cover, and we've prepared wickets
out here that are six to eight mile grass cover.
So as long as we're getting the density of that
sword right, not having too much grass as far as
ftchiness I'm having like a cardboard layer there, we're managing that,
(30:07):
then there's no reason.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Well for us, there's.
Speaker 7 (30:12):
No limit to what we're managing here. It just comes
down to how we're conditioning that grass.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Why do we put so.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Much grass on For us here at the basin, It's
simply to make sure that we're locking in that moisture
into that surface so that we will get what I
want is for great days of good pace and balance,
which will provide a good competition between bat and ball teams.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Come here and look at the ground and say, chee
the grass cover. Oh it's green out there. Do you
think they get seduced a little bit by the color
of it and the fact that there's a lot of
grass and don't really understand what is going on underneath.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Yes, it's interesting.
Speaker 7 (30:53):
It's great to see some of the facial reactions and
that come through. So I had a great one with
Mono Morcle and the South African team that turned up
and where the wick had been under color for a
couple of days, we pulled the covers back there standing
there watching us do it, and they just started laughing
and thinking, oh geez, what what are we up for here?
(31:17):
And as we were rolling in that like the wicket
was changing as as the roller was on it and
the sun was making the wicket I think morning at
the time. He was having a good conversation with me
while I was on the roller and he said, look,
if this was in Cape down the I know that
we're probably here for a day, but looking at what
I can see what you're doing here, now, I've got
(31:39):
that confidence that we're going to have a great match
here for us. So there is a lot of theatrics
going with that that that green tinge. I've sort of
held the view for a few years now that green
is the new brown. What we what I'm trying to
achieve with having that color in there is having that
(31:59):
grass desiccating at that point where we want the pitch
to be at its peak performance. When I'm saying desicating,
that's when the live is going, when the juices are
leaving the plant. That's when the ball was actually hitting
that grass color on a hard surface. But it's also
at the point where the surface is at its slickest
(32:19):
and the ball is kissing through really nicely and coming
onto the back.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I can mention the messis with because I probably see
it more than any other pitch in New Zealand, and
you will probably have research and status that either prove
what I say or disagree with it. But I sense
in the last three or four years there's been more
bounce in the patient reserve than previously.
Speaker 7 (32:45):
Absolutely we've been we have been increasing and it's pretty
encouraging that we are able to achieve that we haven't
really changed things up too much to what we have
been doing over the last ten years. It's really just
making sure we get that water that moistured down to
(33:06):
depth and we're getting and we're rolling at the.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Right times as well.
Speaker 7 (33:10):
We fell into a trap, I feel like a few
years ago where we were rolling at the wrong time,
where it was too where it was too dry. It's
trying to find those those right times and.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
It's all about timing for us.
Speaker 7 (33:24):
Is that a gut feel. There's a lot of gut feel.
It's feel as well, we we do believe it or not.
We we cook soil samples to see how much moisture
is in the in a little sample, which gives us
a guide. It's only for one specific spot in the wicket,
but we and that's in our core test. We measure
how how the bulk density, which is how hard the
(33:45):
wicket is, and poor saturations as well. So the poor
saturations will tell us where, yeah, how wet or how
much moisture is within those those those cracks, those berievable
areas which hold nutrient lines of oxygen and areas for
(34:06):
plant growth to go into.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
So that that gives us.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
An indication to what we should be doing and what
we shouldn't be doing. For the timing of our key
pieces are rolling.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
It's a bit of sillance, but it's not an Execcellan No,
I wouldn't say it's like a high profile science, but.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Look, it's it's a guide for what we what we're
trying to achieve.
Speaker 7 (34:28):
Look, preparing a wicket when we when the media turn
up to a Test manage menu two days out, a
lot of our wickets are bright green and that, and
Iran's going, oh my god, what's going on here? And
then they get to the game day and it's it's
a lot browner than they were anticipating.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
In that.
Speaker 7 (34:47):
What we're trying to do is we're trying to prepare
our wickets a little bit like the start of an
America's Cup race. We got the boats out there in
the box and they've got two minutes before they before
they've got the start, and they can't cross the line
until till that that time's up. We're trying to time
the preparation of our wicket up to that first ball.
(35:07):
There are probably two times in I guess my preparation
where I'll get really nervous or I'll be really relying
on gut feel.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I'll be talking to everybody trying to.
Speaker 7 (35:17):
Just calm nerves where Well, the first one is when
I stop watering the wicket, I'll be looking at forecasts.
I'll be effectively trying to play God a little bit
as far as, okay, where do I want this pitch
to be. That's a very big one. If I get
that wrong. If I go too much, the wicket could
be soft and we could have problems. If I stop
(35:39):
watering too soon, then it turns into probably a docil
that wicket that we're trying to avoid. And then the
second time is when I hand the wicket over to
the umpires, so I can do whatever I want to
this wicket up until half an hour prior to the
game when they do the toss.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
At that point there.
Speaker 7 (35:57):
I, me and my team we've fallen under the rule
of the umpires match officials and we're directed as to
what they want and what the teams request as far
as role and that during the game. So it's that
half an hour prior and that point where I'm deciding
when I need to stop wading. There are the times
(36:20):
there where I am sort of either questioning myself a lot,
should have done this, shouldn't have done that? Am I
really happy? Am I not happy? And you sort of
you're riding the Yeah, you're riding the wave a little bit.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Yeah, I suppose now and again some might not come
up the way you want them to come up. But
I just I think back to the England Test a
couple of years ago. You had to be proud of
that deck in that Test. I mean, went to the
last ball the last day and produce one of the
most exciting Test matches. You got to You've got to
take some pride in that.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
I imagine.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
Absolutely, we've had some cracking games here at the base
and where games have gone down for the last day
as far as a four day game or a five
day game. If we're able to get a game into
that last session on the final day of a first
class match, then I feel like we've done pretty well.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
And there's been a good contest between Bat and Bob.
Speaker 7 (37:20):
I can't play the game, so it comes down to
how the players approach the game and how they want
to I want to take the game, the direction that
they want to take the game, or what's what's on
the line. So all I can do is just make
sure that I've provided a surface that is going to
be a good contest, and then we follow the ebbs
(37:40):
and flows of the game and hopefully enjoy a great
contest at the end of the day. And one thing
I do want to stress is, and this is to
the turf community. It's not just cricket guys, as everybody
from croquet, freda, horse racing everywhere, Like, if anyone is struggling,
please reach out. Yeah, talk to your local get in
(38:05):
touch with myself, talk talk to your local the guy
that local golf course and whatever. Like, we're all fighting
the same battles here. I think what Matt Page has
done was very, very commendable. Being able to stand up
there in front of everyone like you did. It was
(38:26):
pleasing to see his management behind him as well. So
I just hope that everybody else.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Is getting that support around the place where things aren't
going wrong.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
One final question, have you ever ever been asked or
told to prepare U shit in the type of pitch?
Speaker 3 (38:41):
No?
Speaker 7 (38:42):
I haven't been told to repairson type of pitch. There's
always questions from domestic sides and from I guess from
the international teams as to what we're doing where we're at.
I think what Gary Stead has done he's left a
little bit of a legacy here. It's a little bit
of an unknown legacy and where he just wanted us
(39:06):
curators to produce the best we possibly could.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
And what we've actually.
Speaker 7 (39:12):
Done is we've created our we'll re establish our venues
around the country. As to having our specific characteristics that
we can now go right, well, we could take this
game to the base and we could take this game
to Christs.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
We've got options to take.
Speaker 7 (39:29):
Our games to certain places in a style of and
play a style of cricket that we want to play.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I think that's a good arsenal to have for the
future of our game.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Can't argue without Hagen and that's right across the country. Hagley,
bay Oval, certain park et cetera. Men with passion who
are happy to share their knowledge about the preparation of
their strips. And I know it's a topic that you
spend a lot of time thinking about, Jerry. You do
match reports from the pitch and to try and assess it.
(40:03):
You're one of those curators at sixty minutes before the
game starts, no exis what's going to happen?
Speaker 5 (40:09):
Aren't you?
Speaker 3 (40:10):
Ah?
Speaker 5 (40:10):
Yes, yes, I always look over at Hagen, and he's
looking very curiously at me and say, what the hell
are you doing? And it is It is that quizzical
kind of, you know, disbelief that I could actually be
talking about his pitch that he's prepared for so long.
(40:32):
But I will say I really enjoyed listening to Hagen there.
It's not an exact science, but we've been very well
served in New Zealand by curators or grass grubs, as
he calls himself. I've always thought that the conditions, and
I've said it to you many times, are the games
presiding geniuses. And it's the heat, yes, and it's the
(40:56):
wind and how much of each and gray murky days.
But at the very center of the conditions is this
thing called the pitch, and it determines who's in the
ten sometimes, whether it's one spinner or two or none.
How many batsmen should we have today? Should the keeper
(41:18):
be number six? And try and get more bowlers in?
Who's going to do the bowling? Is it going to
be a quicks pitch? You know, there's sort of a
slow seeming kind of pitch. Is it one that's going
to turn later? Is it going to dry out? Which
end should they bowl from? What lengths are they going
to bowl? You know it's while that it's you know,
(41:41):
there are margins for those, But those questions are often
determined by what's in front of you and the sorts
of fields as you walk in to watch the game.
Are there lots of slips? You know? Is there a
batpad because it's bouncing and seeming just a little bit.
What sort of shots can be played with safety? Are
(42:02):
they hooks and cuts or is it a straight batpitch?
What's the decent total on the surface, you know, those
kinds of things. And is it a declaration game? I mean,
how quickly do we have to score in order to
leave a target? All those questions are determined by what
Hagen faith does, and as I said, I think we've
(42:26):
generally been well served. I love the way that he
talked about the grass cover and that gives a course
a nice even pace. So you haven't got you know, dirt,
patches of dirt, no grass and then grass somewhere else.
So did you get nice even paste carrying on or not?
How old are those plants? What's the compaction does that
(42:48):
give us bounce? What's the moisture? Is it a pudding.
Does it kiss the surface? And he does what do
he do? Does he cook the core sample? Did I
hear him say cooking?
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Ith?
Speaker 5 (43:01):
What is that? On a Thursday? Should we go Should
we go round to the sort of the groundsman shed?
What with some chips? We'll have? Will have po poor
sample and chips?
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Well, it is something they do for lunch because they've
got to spend night out time in the middle. But
in the weather conditions existing in the southern half of
the North Island at the moment, I don't know that
they'll be wanting to do too much work. The covers
will be on, so yeah, you're right, we might be
able to do that. One of these days. We might
be able to talk about some of the other groundsmen.
(43:32):
I mean, where's Armstrong. He would never have been told
to prepare any kind of pitch. As Hagen said, he
does the best that he possibly can and acknowledge that,
you know, sometimes you make a mistake, but generally our
ground staff to an outstanding job. Coming to the end
of proceedings, JC and we just want to quick look
(43:53):
at the highs and lows of the last year twenty
twenty five. I don't know there's quite a few. But
to me, from a playing point of view, the emergence
of Jacob Duffy in all formats has been.
Speaker 4 (44:07):
A high of the year.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
And the performance we mentioned earlier of Darryl Mitchell. What
have you seen as a high in your twelve month period.
Speaker 5 (44:18):
Well, we didn't blame any tests, did we five Yeah,
so that might be a that might be a low,
but but yeah, I think I would agree with certainly
with Duffy. I think most people would say that. And
you might say for the rest of the bowlers, it
(44:41):
was a bit of a low, wasn't it. What we
what's happening to our fast bowlers? You know, why are
we losing so many to injuries? And we need to
be looking at those kinds of things. I think there's
there's the often perennial one that I can kind it
comes to mind was overrates. We're now down into the
(45:01):
seventies for over rates, aren't we? Yeah, and we either
it seems to me if it's going to be okay,
then change the rule. Change the rule seventy five overs
a day now. Whether people would be happy with that
or not, I don't know. Or the other option, enforce
(45:22):
the rule enforce the rule the World Test Championship says
you should lose points from the table. We'll do it,
do it, enforce them and the ICC need to do that.
You know. We often see on the board, don't we,
(45:44):
or on the telly that three overs behind, and so
you know, let us all know and let the teams
know you're going to lose points. They are playing conditions,
aren't they.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Yes, And that's what Australia and the first World Test Championship.
Speaker 5 (46:03):
Right, And as it has in the past. What you've
just said that chances are that this this World Championship,
it will determine the two finalists in the by the
end of the cycle, the amount of points teams lose.
It's not a level playing field at the moment. Some
(46:23):
sides are meeting the requirements, others aren't. So at the
moment you're penalizing the wrong sides.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
Of them.
Speaker 5 (46:33):
Are You're penalizing the sides at the moment who were
keeping up with there playing conditions. And it will affect
the integrity of the competition, you know. So that's to
me quite a big one. But once again, of course
we don't we don't do those things, do we. No, No, no,
that'll hurt people's feelings the international. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Yeah, winning the World Test Championship against the US totally.
I admired Van Muller getting three sixty seven and not
out they declared, and he was only three short of
Brian Lara's world record. It was against Zimbabwe, but it
had cleared to respect Lara's record, and that was proved
by a lot of people praising his sportsmanship. An unusual
(47:19):
thing to do, but it's something worthy of recognition.
Speaker 5 (47:24):
Yeah. Well they won by about an innings in four
thousand anyway, didn't they against Zilla's So it was yeah,
it wasn't going to afit the match.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
They're not playing any more home Test matches until later
this year something correct, twenty months between a home Test
match and that's ridiculous. Yeah, that's a low in terms
of the fact, you know, the fact that we only
played five Test matches.
Speaker 4 (47:50):
What have we got this year?
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Three in England, We've got three in Australia and I
think there's some.
Speaker 5 (47:57):
There's one in Ireland, isn't there.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
Yeah, and we've got India coming here.
Speaker 5 (48:01):
That's correct, I think end of the year.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
Yeah, so we might we might get seven.
Speaker 5 (48:06):
Or eight, but better, a bit better. Yeah, I know, ye, yeah, Look,
I think I agree with you. In South Africa, they
then went to India and beat beat them in two tests,
didn't they? Yes, after that and now it's it's there's
a feeling for me the Big three is now becoming
(48:27):
the Big four back again, and South Africa have found
something and they've gone quite nicely. I think we've mentioned Zimbabwe.
I have a feeling that they played a lot of
tests this year. Yes, I don't know exactly the number,
but that's good that we have got them back into
(48:48):
a family. It's not a big family anyway, so that's
that's I think a bonus. We played them a couple
of times, didn't we two tests?
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Was it one?
Speaker 5 (48:59):
I think the Women's World Cup that that that it's
changed from Australia to India. There's going to be a
huge developed I think because of that. In India in particular,
it's kind of counterbalance that won by the our performance.
But I think a worst comes with that for me
(49:20):
as well. And that was the way that Pakistan and
other sides were reduced by playing games scheduled in Sri
Lanka in that Women's World Cup while it was Actually
I think it was a monsoon in Sri Lanka, wasn't it.
So all those games held there were just ruled out
(49:42):
completely and compromised, you know, the whole tournament really in
a way, and brought about by the conflict between India
and Pakistan.
Speaker 2 (49:53):
Yes, and that conflict is going to continue for some time.
Just a few of the highs and the low So
that's a lot for them. Us on the front foot
to JC go and put your feet up and enjoy
some wow. I'll teach twity cricket and some one day
cricket as well.
Speaker 5 (50:11):
Right, I'll switch you to the to the down end,
so that you you know, down behind the wind, you
know behind you, you'll be able to buy three bar
bounces the next overboard. You'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
All the wages of summarting. Do for more from News
Talks B listen live on air or online, and keep
our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sat B.
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Speaker 2 (00:20):
Take another pat It's a trick, it is out, the
test is over. Shouldn't have smokes a beauty? It is
out and hearing guys, This delivery has in us of the.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Bold on the Front Foot with Brian Waddell and Jeremy Coney,
powered by News Talks head B at iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Should we be surprised that Darl Mitchell has led New
Zealand to an emphatic victory over India? Hi, thank you
for joining us on the front foot with razine premium
quality paints and stains. They're no surprise to me. He's
being the backbone of the black cat patting on many
occasions recently and in all the formats, along with the
(01:08):
eyes in India post mortem across England, the yess failure
continues under the microscope, seemingly unending. And what's the recipe
for a good testure.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
We'll also have the.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Highs and lows of twenty twenty five. One of the
highs of twenty twenty five is being able to do
on the front foot with Jeremy Coney every week. I
feel I'm on a high, JC, I'm on a high.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Well done. Will you stay there as long as you
can watch? You need a bit of height, So that's good,
that's absolutely fine. You'll be able to do those hedges
around your place, those trees.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yes, I can have a bod of your here as well.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Yeah now, and I need it all now, mate, I
tell you yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Mitchell's eighth od I hundred helped turn the game around
for the black Caps one all. I'll be heading into
the final match at Indoor, but I was a little
bit reluctant to see any value in this one day series,
and I still have my reservations about various aspects. But
when you see a partnership like that against India and
(02:16):
what they were able to do against the spinners Today's
dur and coldy, you know you've got to give a
lot of credit to young but even more credit, I
think to Daryl Mitchell. He's the powerhouse of our lineup
at the moment without some of the key players missing.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
It's a pretty good good effort. I mean he's playing
very confidently at the moment, aggressively, scoring quickly, wide range
of shots, hasn't he. He swept a lot last night.
He got those little sweeps, going over and taking advantage
almost behind the keeper a number of times on his back.
(02:51):
He finished, didn't he? In the innings he really? I
mean there was a little bit of luck here and there,
but he you know, there was a runout I think
to Judasia but maybe feeling it, and he had three
stunts to aim at that short third and he might
have been dropped once. But look, I just thought he'd
played so aggressively that the bowler is in the end.
You say that the spinners through the middle, which is
(03:14):
where New Zealand did so well with Lenox and Bracewell,
they couldn't replicate that at all, and so Mitchell just
dominated that part and it certainly helped Young. I thought
just the manner in which that he played aggressively took
some of the pressure from Young, who has obviously had
(03:37):
a you know, he hasn't really been overcome with runs
this season so far. So it was really good for
him to get an eighty odd, I thought in this
match as well, so he'll get a heck of a
lot of confidence from that. Philip flopped in decent form
as well, Conway's still basically playing through the offside nicely
(03:59):
but still with the one hand. Yeah, I just thought
New Zealand. I thought, actually they were going to struggle.
I've got to say, once the Indian closed down by
the New Zealand spinners through the middle of the innings,
I thought that could easily happen. So I headed to bed,
not bearing to take the disappointment so early in the morning,
(04:21):
delighted to see that seven wicket whin.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, indeed, Mitchell's eighth ady I one hundred and I
came together the pair here and Will Young at forty
six for two of the thirteenth over and bearing out
what you say. It wasn't looking promising at that stage,
but their match winning partnership for the third wicket was
the key.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
I love betting with Youngie. We've done it several times
now and we have some good fun when we're out there.
But we also we get in the contest and get
pretty competitive with the opposition. So I thought that the
way young he played today was brilliant. He soaked up
the new ball which looked challenging. I mean, India came
seriously hard up top and bowled some good areas and
got it moving and he negated that and then he
(05:03):
was able to find ways to keep rotating and getting
the odd boundary here and there. So it was seriously
good fun betting with them, and you're nice to get
the job done.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And Mitchell was proud of the way the per negated
the danger posed by Judasia and colding.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Look, it's constantly adapting to what the surface is dictating.
And I guess today the surface was a lot lower
and slower in that bounce, so it's probably easier to
go square than it was down the ground at times.
And I guess the new rule of one Day cricket
with the ball only becoming one ball after thirty five
overs means the ball's very soft and it is hard,
I guess, to force the ball. So it's trying to
(05:39):
be smart with your boundary options and trying to find
ways again to put pressure back on them. I thought,
you know, I'll say it again. I think called eep
in Judasia are world class bowlers. I think they find
ways to put pressure on us, and there's some of
the best spinners going around. So yeah, we were lucky
enough to build partnerships today and find ways to put
pressure on them, and I've also seen them tear through
(06:00):
teams in the past as well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
So it's so positives there from the batting of Mitchell
and also of Will Young, and there's been other minor
cameos from other players. Am I unfair though in saying
that this side should have had a number of particularly
the batting players who are going to be part of
(06:22):
the World Cup, using the conditions that they're going to face,
because that's way better than playing in New Zealand, or
way better than playing in Australia, or way better than
playing somewhere else. I know that they've got to look
after some of those who are wrapped up in cotton
will but I just think that those players should have
been there. It's nice to have Will Young there and
getting him back into form. His highest score in the
(06:44):
last two of od eyes has been twenty seven. But
you know, these guys using those conditions, to my mind,
is important for the upcoming World T twitty, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Or am I unfair?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
So are you saying you'd like some more of those
T twenty twenty twenty players who have been selected for
the World Cup into the SODII side. That's what you're saying,
that's what I think. Yeah, yeah, well and which ones
in particular would you have selected?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, for a start off, Fanellen is going across there
and he would have been there ahead of Nichols. Nichols
isn't in the T twenty squad. Yeah, you know, there's
Russian Ravender's got experience over there. But you know, rather
than playing at the base in reserve, I think, you know,
he would have been of some value. And there are
(07:33):
other players too who are part of the batting mix
that could be valuable just getting some time over there.
You know. I know it's a long time away. We
hear that over and over again, but you know, you're
pro cricketers and you're getting paid pretty bloody well.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
That's true, that's true. Yeah, they could have taken that view.
It looks to me the makeup of this one day
side wads. They've they've picked a few developmental little players,
haven't they really. Clark, for example, who was around in
the Test series, didn't play against the West Indies and
(08:14):
they're haven't given him a crack. And Young you've mentioned
and he's obviously benefited, but he's not there for the
twenty twenty World Cup. Look, I mean some of the
players to me look a little tired. In the ODI's folks,
for example, it hasn't been quite himself. The white ball
(08:37):
certainly doesn't swing quite as much for him, like I
mean about three balls and that's about it. And then
he ends up bowling a little bit wide and gets crunched,
and so he looks as if he could have done
with a bit of a break. Actually the bowling is
slightly suspect. I would have to say for that ODI side,
(09:00):
they've hung on as well as they can. Jamison did
a very good job in the first game. He struggled
a more on this latest match at Rajkot. But I look,
I I you look, you've got a point. It's it's
it'll be a balance between developmental stuff and immediate stuff,
(09:23):
won't it. And that's they've obviously gone the developmental way
to keep players going, to get players out of form
back into form, those kinds of things, and to introduce
new players. So that just seems the way they've chosen.
I can understand both points of view.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, it's fair enough. I mean, it's just something that
I think that you know, there's also a lot of
money being spent on getting these people development. But I
think it's worthwhile to have the likes of folks there Lenox,
the the left Armor and the Ashot, the League spinner.
You know, they're getting valuable experience out of it to
some extent. But there are a way off being frontline picks,
(10:07):
an't they for our white ball teams? But I suppose
they've got to take that opportunity and good on, that's
what they're doing. All we want now is to make
sure that they win an indoor and a win in
a series against India. We'll be following that very closely.
All right, Oh, Jerry, I'm going off a long run up.
(10:29):
I'm marking out a long runout.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
No, here we go right, come on, then on the
front foot and here he goes the bouncer right o.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
And the first bouncer goes, well, it's going to who
but Harry Brook. He doesn't handle bouncers very well.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Former ring does not.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Stuart Broad says the current team did not have a
drinking problem, despite a series of incidents involving alcohol this winter.
That's the English winter. Brook was fine following an altercation
with a bouncer in New Zealand, while players were pictured
drinking across multiple games during a mid ashes break in news.
And I'm sorry at the moment you start putting up
(11:11):
excuses about not having a drinking problem, You've got a problem.
And it's not the drinking. It's the problem. It's the
inability to show the discipline, the self control, things that
are needed off the field that are also needed on
the field, aren't they.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Yeah, it's it's also the night before a match. It's
when you drink too, isn't it, Brian?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
And where do you drink? I mean to me, I
mean it's a string of stories about the players, as
you say, about their habits and their culture off the field.
NUSA bounces this case. This is of course the second
kind of group that McCullum and Stokes you know, took
on when they first came in with the with the
(11:58):
idea of playing aggressively. And it was against New Zealand
actually over in England. I happened to be there, and
it was players like Bearsto and Folks and Broad and
Anderson and Leech, you know, older, more experienced players that
they played against New Zealand. And it's rather different when
(12:20):
you're going a tor to Australia and the first Ashes
tour to Australia and there there were twelve of them,
Bashier Atkinson, Betel Potts, Brooks, Smith, Cass Jack's Fisher Tongue
and so on, you know, and even McCullum was his
first Ashes tour also, wasn't it. So you know, I
(12:43):
just wonder if the second group is a little bit
more inexperienced in terms of going going to Australia and
did they need a slightly different approach. I mean, it's
an intense tour, lot of scrutiny on and off the field,
and just players need to have that balance to survive.
(13:06):
It's not the same as playing at Mount and Nui.
I've got to tell you. It's you know, it's it's
indisputable sense when you need to ensure you know, you
represent yourself and the team in the best possible way
when you can on the field, and you know you
got the right to enjoy the two of course you have.
(13:29):
But Harry Brooke was the captain of that side in
New Zealand. He was the captain, not just a member
of the team. You know, he he almost has the
role to set the rules along with the coach and
the management. Stokes wasn't there if you remember, you know,
this was there probably near their last competitive match before
(13:52):
the build up for the Ashes, and he was there
representing the England team, the players and the team the ECB.
All the number fives or four's in England, he represents them.
And this was an early morning on the day a match.
I mean, for heaven's sake, he's twenty six and he's
(14:12):
played enough cricket to know that. You you know, if
you want a quiet drink, you do it in your
room or in a teammate's room and then you quietly
go off to bed. You know what you don't want
to do. I think sounds like me. I'm on my
bloody soapbox at the moment. But what you don't want
to do is create the impression to New Zealanders and
(14:36):
Australians people back home. This is all a bit of
a joke, you know, and it's a bit of an exercise.
You don't give much credence to the cricket results. But
some of it was there for a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Some of it was a bit of a joke, wasn't it.
Because they seemed more interested in playing golf when they
were here and concentrating on cricket. But they still should
have been concentrating on cricket.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
Yeah, well you got whether you like it or not.
Once you picked, you've got a responsibility to all those
interested parties I just mentioned, like the eacy being all
those things, and it fell well short of what was required. Really, Yes,
I mean as a player every tour I went on,
all I wanted to say at the end of it
was year I prepared as well as I could, gave
(15:20):
it my best. You might have been outplayed by a
bitter side, but really, as far as Harry was concerned,
untimely hour, wrong place and unbefitting a council encounter when
you get into a bit of a scrap with the bouncer,
so it doesn't look good. It was then covered up,
(15:43):
wasn't it. That's even worse. That's almost as bad.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And he's not the first player to have been in
that situation. Others have been that way and other tours
and they haven't come out of it very well, any
of those players. If i'd thirty thousand pounds, apparently that's
quite a hefty fine, but he's probably got enough in
the bank balance now and is that the real answers?
One writer fellow by the I think his name is
(16:09):
Cameron Ponsonby wrote in an article in a review. He said,
Harry Brook is drowning in the ego and arrogance. The
only way he will stop believing in his own invincibility
is by being dropped. And I think he's probably right.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Yeah. Well, it's certainly one of the options. And they
might cut him out of some of those positions of responsibility.
Who knows. Well, that's all part of the wash up,
isn't it. And we're about to I guess go through
some of that and let's wait and see what occurs there. Yeah,
(16:44):
those are options available to people who are in suits
above him.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Yes, indeed.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Oh, here we've got another chance. I'm going back from
the long run. Another bouncer.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Here it comes. That's two for the over.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yeah, yeah, well I'm going over the top of senior
broadcaster has delivered a fierce verdict on the decision to
stage well what is called the Centenary at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground as a day night match, calling it a
betrayal of the game's traditions. Jim Maxwell and our old
friend from the ABC didn't hold back while reacting to
(17:18):
the pink ball format being chosen for an event which
is going to be held in March twenty twenty seven.
So it's the one hundred and fiftieth actually of the
First Test, and it's the celebration of a centenary Test
staged at the mcg Maxwell said playing with a pink
ball is an insult to the game. It's so disrespectful
(17:40):
to a game that has been played with a red
ball for ninety nine point nine percent of its history.
And you know, I don't always agree with Jim, but
I agree on that occasion. We might have to get
him back and talk to him about it.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Just get him on, just asking one question. Let him go, yeah, yeah,
it's a Seskui centenary, isn't it. It's the Latin for
one and a half one and a half centuries.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Well that's too hard for cricketers to say, yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
Look it's it's a celebration though, isn't it. It's a
celebration of the durability of the Test format and the
past matches, the past players between the two nations, England
and Australia. It's to me, I don't know this match
(18:34):
parks back to the very first game, doesn't it eighteen
seventy seven I think of, which.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Was celebrated in nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Yeah, exactly so, so eighteen seventy seven at the MC,
I just missed that game was But I did, however,
watch the centenary match. I had a quick look at
the eighteen seventy seven match. Do you know who won it?
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Aen seventy seven? Yeah, it was the same result.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Good lad, well done. Yeah runs both games that game
is eighteen seventy seven and nineteen seventy seven, both winning
by the same side Australia, yep, and both by forty
five runs. But so you were at the first time, Yeah, yeah,
it's it's look, I don't know who suggested the pink ball.
(19:29):
I the test. I think if it alters the pink
ball alters the nature of the game, doesn't it. Not
just the hours, but the nature of the game, and
that the ball suddenly at certain times of the match
it becomes very much more difficult to bat. The only
(19:51):
other the other thing I would say, I wonder whether
money lies behind the decision. Of course, of course, at
will there's Moose says follow the money after the loss
of funds from a two day test. They are quite
recently at the MCG. I do know it's about match,
about lineage, and if you're going to retain the year,
(20:13):
which they are seventy seven and now the Sesqui centenary
fifty years after that, and then you know you're going
to retain the March date which is exactly the same
as the eighteen seventy seven match. Why change the time
that you play dramatically exactly doesn't make sense to me
(20:35):
at all. So stick with the game's laws. That's l
ories and cherish its soul. I mean you and I
tend to be of the ilk of Jim Maxwell, I
have to say. And that's what a lot of people
will lump us all together as oldies. We don't care.
Those guys who are thinking that will be old themselves
(20:55):
one day and maybe they'll feel similarly.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
So I AGA has survived.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
If it has, that's right. I'll tell you what what
do you remember about that seventy seven match? Can you
remember things?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I remember Dave Hooks getting five pours, boundaries, yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Off who off.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Tall? Yeah, spinball on it?
Speaker 5 (21:21):
Yeah, well he's spin and scene correct.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
But what was that? What was that? What was the
photo that's always seen?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Oh well, I've got so many photos of it.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
I don't know what.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
But this guy, it's a it's an photo. Well that's
Derrick Randalls certainly going He in the in the second innings,
he got one hundred and seventy odd, didn't he And
he got hit by Lily actually in the head and
just picked himself up and carried on. So I don't
know whether there's too much thought going on there or not,
(21:56):
but I mean there's certainly that was the way the
game was played. I'm thinking of Rick mcboska, the opener
for Australia. Yet the first morning when Australia batted, Bob
Willis came into Bold, Bold him a bouncer. He went
to hook, it was hitting the jaw. It rolled onto
(22:19):
his stumps after hitting him on the jaw, and he
was out Bold. He walked off, no stretcher, walked off,
spent one and a half days in hospital having his
jaw wired, and then came back to the ground and
Greg Chapel, the Australian captain, asked him if he could bat,
(22:39):
and he said he made the decision he would definitely bat.
He would definitely bat. And he batted number ten in
the second innings, first ball, and he went out with
bandages wrapped right around under his chin and over his
head at the top to hold it all together, right, yeah,
(23:00):
And he wore the baggy green on top. And the
first ball he got from John Lever was a bouncer
and he hooked it for four and the crowd saying
wal sing the cos woal sing the cost.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
That's a good idea. Now memory is coming back. So yeah,
So you did see both the Initial Test and the
Centenary Test, and I'm sure you'll be there in March
of next year to watch the pinkball Test.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
I won't be going to watch a pinkball test what's
over there? I can tell you.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
The poems won't.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But played that but an interesting situation that one, of course.
And uh you know I've just been yellow carded for
two bounces in the one over.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Ye long runner.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Brian Waddell, Jeremy Coney on the front foot.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
We're on the pitchures and I know you like talking
about pitchers and pitch preparation. Well, pitchers and their preparation
have been at the forefront of mine. Since that Boxing
Day test. The mc gee pits for that test entered
inside two days and earned an unsatisfactory rating from the
ICC match referee for the game, Jeff Crow. I'd love
(24:17):
to have a chat with Chopper about that as a result.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
How many What I would like to know is how
many demerit points would you have given it?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I'd have given it six bandit. I only got one
demerit point, hardly a severe punishment, but I'm sure it
will have entered the pride of the curator who got
more than a reasonable amount of flak. What makes a
good test trip? New Zealand Test grounds have a good
record in recent times and one man who knows more
(24:48):
than most what it takes to prepare a goods trip
as the basin reserve groundsman or curator or custodian and
whatever he is, Hagen faith W joins us on the
front foot and Hagen, what do we officially call you?
Speaker 7 (25:02):
I'm just a local grass grub who loves what I
do and yeah, it's exciting to be able to prepare what.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
That's here at the basin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Well, I mean I think we've got to be proud
of our ground staff right up around the country that
do the test match strips and I think generally we
prepare quality pictures. You might have the odd one that
doesn't fit the norm, but generally when you look at
around the country, the pictures that we prepare are of
the highest quality.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
We've got a group of guys across the country that
are world class and credit to them, they work long hours,
they're very committed and it's all it's all for the
how they see their love of their game. It's not
(25:54):
just cricket as well, it's across all turf related activities
as well. We've got a great group of people across
the country that really are committed to what well committed
to their crafts.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
So do you have to reach a New Zealand cret
standard or do you shut your own standard in terms
of your own pride and what you turn out here.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
I look, there are some KPIs that we need to follow.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
Look, as long as we're making sure we're hitting those
basic KPIs, then we're pretty close to where we need
to be. I guess one thing that we've learned across
our own venues across country is the different characteristics that
idiot secrecy is that you'll find that each venue has
(26:39):
So what's happening at the bat the.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Mount Munganui is very different to what's happening here at
the Basement and.
Speaker 7 (26:47):
Wellington, and to be fair that that changes our recipe
to what we're doing here as to what others will
be doing everywhere else.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So that's whether ground components, soil, grass, the whole work correct.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Absolutely, absolutely, so you might find different grass types here
in Wellington, different grasses will appreciate our climate better compared
to somewhere up north or somewhere down south where it
might be hotter or colder.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Absolutely, you feel a bit shorry for the guy at
the MGG because the players tended to blame the pitch
more so it might well have been assistance for the
bowler is more than should have been the cage. But yeah,
players are going to take responsibility for how they play too,
don't they.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
The picture is the first thing everybody sees, and it's
taken me a long time myself to work out that
a lot of the comments and that it's just fish
and chip paper at the end of the day. A
lot of people have told me that and it's starting
to sink in. It's taken a few years, but starting
to sing I believe it or not, guys, but it's
(27:51):
a tough one when you're in the moment there.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
What I've.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
What I've done is I've spoken to a few people
just for tips and for myself. Stay away from reading media,
stay away from reading social media. There are more turf
curators in the world. Half an hour before a cricket match,
that ye fair play. It's part of the theatrix of
(28:18):
the game and how everybody's excited for the match and
all the speculations. So we as curators know what we've done,
We know what we're doing, what we're trying to achieve.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
We might not get it right here and there. You've
got to ride those waves.
Speaker 7 (28:34):
Everyone has a bad day, but it's a support that's
around as well.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
What's the key ingredient to a good Test pitch? For you?
Speaker 7 (28:42):
A good Test wicket A good very good curator in
the past once said to me, preparing a wicket is
like making a cake. There's free key ingredients. One is
your grass cover, one as your compaction, and the other
is the moisture content that you have to depth in
(29:06):
your profile as well. So if I can get those things,
those three things right, then I'm in the ballpark and
pretty much where i need to be.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
One of the issues that was raised in the MCG
issue that the test lasted two days was grasscover. Grass
growth a feature of pictures at the basin. There's generally
good grass cover ten millimeters was what they were talking
about in terms of grass cup. What do you cut
your pictures to.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Look.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
I've been here a little while now and my former.
Speaker 7 (29:43):
Turf manager here that I was under, he was preparing
wickets with thirty meal grass cover, and we've prepared wickets
out here that are six to eight mile grass cover.
So as long as we're getting the density of that
sword right, not having too much grass as far as
ftchiness I'm having like a cardboard layer there, we're managing that,
(30:07):
then there's no reason.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Well for us, there's.
Speaker 7 (30:12):
No limit to what we're managing here. It just comes
down to how we're conditioning that grass.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Why do we put so.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Much grass on For us here at the basin, It's
simply to make sure that we're locking in that moisture
into that surface so that we will get what I
want is for great days of good pace and balance,
which will provide a good competition between bat and ball teams.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Come here and look at the ground and say, chee
the grass cover. Oh it's green out there. Do you
think they get seduced a little bit by the color
of it and the fact that there's a lot of
grass and don't really understand what is going on underneath.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Yes, it's interesting.
Speaker 7 (30:53):
It's great to see some of the facial reactions and
that come through. So I had a great one with
Mono Morcle and the South African team that turned up
and where the wick had been under color for a
couple of days, we pulled the covers back there standing
there watching us do it, and they just started laughing
and thinking, oh geez, what what are we up for here?
(31:17):
And as we were rolling in that like the wicket
was changing as as the roller was on it and
the sun was making the wicket I think morning at
the time. He was having a good conversation with me
while I was on the roller and he said, look,
if this was in Cape down the I know that
we're probably here for a day, but looking at what
I can see what you're doing here, now, I've got
(31:39):
that confidence that we're going to have a great match
here for us. So there is a lot of theatrics
going with that that that green tinge. I've sort of
held the view for a few years now that green
is the new brown. What we what I'm trying to
achieve with having that color in there is having that
(31:59):
grass desiccating at that point where we want the pitch
to be at its peak performance. When I'm saying desicating,
that's when the live is going, when the juices are
leaving the plant. That's when the ball was actually hitting
that grass color on a hard surface. But it's also
at the point where the surface is at its slickest
(32:19):
and the ball is kissing through really nicely and coming
onto the back.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I can mention the messis with because I probably see
it more than any other pitch in New Zealand, and
you will probably have research and status that either prove
what I say or disagree with it. But I sense
in the last three or four years there's been more
bounce in the patient reserve than previously.
Speaker 7 (32:45):
Absolutely we've been we have been increasing and it's pretty
encouraging that we are able to achieve that we haven't
really changed things up too much to what we have
been doing over the last ten years. It's really just
making sure we get that water that moistured down to
(33:06):
depth and we're getting and we're rolling at the.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Right times as well.
Speaker 7 (33:10):
We fell into a trap, I feel like a few
years ago where we were rolling at the wrong time,
where it was too where it was too dry. It's
trying to find those those right times and.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
It's all about timing for us.
Speaker 7 (33:24):
Is that a gut feel. There's a lot of gut feel.
It's feel as well, we we do believe it or not.
We we cook soil samples to see how much moisture
is in the in a little sample, which gives us
a guide. It's only for one specific spot in the wicket,
but we and that's in our core test. We measure
how how the bulk density, which is how hard the
(33:45):
wicket is, and poor saturations as well. So the poor
saturations will tell us where, yeah, how wet or how
much moisture is within those those those cracks, those berievable
areas which hold nutrient lines of oxygen and areas for
(34:06):
plant growth to go into.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
So that that gives us.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
An indication to what we should be doing and what
we shouldn't be doing. For the timing of our key
pieces are rolling.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
It's a bit of sillance, but it's not an Execcellan No,
I wouldn't say it's like a high profile science, but.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Look, it's it's a guide for what we what we're
trying to achieve.
Speaker 7 (34:28):
Look, preparing a wicket when we when the media turn
up to a Test manage menu two days out, a
lot of our wickets are bright green and that, and
Iran's going, oh my god, what's going on here? And
then they get to the game day and it's it's
a lot browner than they were anticipating.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
In that.
Speaker 7 (34:47):
What we're trying to do is we're trying to prepare
our wickets a little bit like the start of an
America's Cup race. We got the boats out there in
the box and they've got two minutes before they before
they've got the start, and they can't cross the line
until till that that time's up. We're trying to time
the preparation of our wicket up to that first ball.
(35:07):
There are probably two times in I guess my preparation
where I'll get really nervous or I'll be really relying
on gut feel.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I'll be talking to everybody trying to.
Speaker 7 (35:17):
Just calm nerves where Well, the first one is when
I stop watering the wicket, I'll be looking at forecasts.
I'll be effectively trying to play God a little bit
as far as, okay, where do I want this pitch
to be. That's a very big one. If I get
that wrong. If I go too much, the wicket could
be soft and we could have problems. If I stop
(35:39):
watering too soon, then it turns into probably a docil
that wicket that we're trying to avoid. And then the
second time is when I hand the wicket over to
the umpires, so I can do whatever I want to
this wicket up until half an hour prior to the
game when they do the toss.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
At that point there.
Speaker 7 (35:57):
I, me and my team we've fallen under the rule
of the umpires match officials and we're directed as to
what they want and what the teams request as far
as role and that during the game. So it's that
half an hour prior and that point where I'm deciding
when I need to stop wading. There are the times
(36:20):
there where I am sort of either questioning myself a lot,
should have done this, shouldn't have done that? Am I
really happy? Am I not happy? And you sort of
you're riding the Yeah, you're riding the wave a little bit.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Yeah, I suppose now and again some might not come
up the way you want them to come up. But
I just I think back to the England Test a
couple of years ago. You had to be proud of
that deck in that Test. I mean, went to the
last ball the last day and produce one of the
most exciting Test matches. You got to You've got to
take some pride in that.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
I imagine.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
Absolutely, we've had some cracking games here at the base
and where games have gone down for the last day
as far as a four day game or a five
day game. If we're able to get a game into
that last session on the final day of a first
class match, then I feel like we've done pretty well.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
And there's been a good contest between Bat and Bob.
Speaker 7 (37:20):
I can't play the game, so it comes down to
how the players approach the game and how they want
to I want to take the game, the direction that
they want to take the game, or what's what's on
the line. So all I can do is just make
sure that I've provided a surface that is going to
be a good contest, and then we follow the ebbs
(37:40):
and flows of the game and hopefully enjoy a great
contest at the end of the day. And one thing
I do want to stress is, and this is to
the turf community. It's not just cricket guys, as everybody
from croquet, freda, horse racing everywhere, Like, if anyone is struggling,
please reach out. Yeah, talk to your local get in
(38:05):
touch with myself, talk talk to your local the guy
that local golf course and whatever. Like, we're all fighting
the same battles here. I think what Matt Page has
done was very, very commendable. Being able to stand up
there in front of everyone like you did. It was
(38:26):
pleasing to see his management behind him as well. So
I just hope that everybody else.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Is getting that support around the place where things aren't
going wrong.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
One final question, have you ever ever been asked or
told to prepare U shit in the type of pitch?
Speaker 3 (38:41):
No?
Speaker 7 (38:42):
I haven't been told to repairson type of pitch. There's
always questions from domestic sides and from I guess from
the international teams as to what we're doing where we're at.
I think what Gary Stead has done he's left a
little bit of a legacy here. It's a little bit
of an unknown legacy and where he just wanted us
(39:06):
curators to produce the best we possibly could.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
And what we've actually.
Speaker 7 (39:12):
Done is we've created our we'll re establish our venues
around the country. As to having our specific characteristics that
we can now go right, well, we could take this
game to the base and we could take this game
to Christs.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
We've got options to take.
Speaker 7 (39:29):
Our games to certain places in a style of and
play a style of cricket that we want to play.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I think that's a good arsenal to have for the
future of our game.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Can't argue without Hagen and that's right across the country. Hagley,
bay Oval, certain park et cetera. Men with passion who
are happy to share their knowledge about the preparation of
their strips. And I know it's a topic that you
spend a lot of time thinking about, Jerry. You do
match reports from the pitch and to try and assess it.
(40:03):
You're one of those curators at sixty minutes before the
game starts, no exis what's going to happen?
Speaker 5 (40:09):
Aren't you?
Speaker 3 (40:10):
Ah?
Speaker 5 (40:10):
Yes, yes, I always look over at Hagen, and he's
looking very curiously at me and say, what the hell
are you doing? And it is It is that quizzical
kind of, you know, disbelief that I could actually be
talking about his pitch that he's prepared for so long.
(40:32):
But I will say I really enjoyed listening to Hagen there.
It's not an exact science, but we've been very well
served in New Zealand by curators or grass grubs, as
he calls himself. I've always thought that the conditions, and
I've said it to you many times, are the games
presiding geniuses. And it's the heat, yes, and it's the
(40:56):
wind and how much of each and gray murky days.
But at the very center of the conditions is this
thing called the pitch, and it determines who's in the
ten sometimes, whether it's one spinner or two or none.
How many batsmen should we have today? Should the keeper
(41:18):
be number six? And try and get more bowlers in?
Who's going to do the bowling? Is it going to
be a quicks pitch? You know, there's sort of a
slow seeming kind of pitch. Is it one that's going
to turn later? Is it going to dry out? Which
end should they bowl from? What lengths are they going
to bowl? You know it's while that it's you know,
(41:41):
there are margins for those, But those questions are often
determined by what's in front of you and the sorts
of fields as you walk in to watch the game.
Are there lots of slips? You know? Is there a
batpad because it's bouncing and seeming just a little bit.
What sort of shots can be played with safety? Are
(42:02):
they hooks and cuts or is it a straight batpitch?
What's the decent total on the surface, you know, those
kinds of things. And is it a declaration game? I mean,
how quickly do we have to score in order to
leave a target? All those questions are determined by what
Hagen faith does, and as I said, I think we've
(42:26):
generally been well served. I love the way that he
talked about the grass cover and that gives a course
a nice even pace. So you haven't got you know, dirt,
patches of dirt, no grass and then grass somewhere else.
So did you get nice even paste carrying on or not?
How old are those plants? What's the compaction does that
(42:48):
give us bounce? What's the moisture? Is it a pudding.
Does it kiss the surface? And he does what do
he do? Does he cook the core sample? Did I
hear him say cooking?
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Ith?
Speaker 5 (43:01):
What is that? On a Thursday? Should we go Should
we go round to the sort of the groundsman shed?
What with some chips? We'll have? Will have po poor
sample and chips?
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Well, it is something they do for lunch because they've
got to spend night out time in the middle. But
in the weather conditions existing in the southern half of
the North Island at the moment, I don't know that
they'll be wanting to do too much work. The covers
will be on, so yeah, you're right, we might be
able to do that. One of these days. We might
be able to talk about some of the other groundsmen.
(43:32):
I mean, where's Armstrong. He would never have been told
to prepare any kind of pitch. As Hagen said, he
does the best that he possibly can and acknowledge that,
you know, sometimes you make a mistake, but generally our
ground staff to an outstanding job. Coming to the end
of proceedings, JC and we just want to quick look
(43:53):
at the highs and lows of the last year twenty
twenty five. I don't know there's quite a few. But
to me, from a playing point of view, the emergence
of Jacob Duffy in all formats has been.
Speaker 4 (44:07):
A high of the year.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
And the performance we mentioned earlier of Darryl Mitchell. What
have you seen as a high in your twelve month period.
Speaker 5 (44:18):
Well, we didn't blame any tests, did we five Yeah,
so that might be a that might be a low,
but but yeah, I think I would agree with certainly
with Duffy. I think most people would say that. And
you might say for the rest of the bowlers, it
(44:41):
was a bit of a low, wasn't it. What we
what's happening to our fast bowlers? You know, why are
we losing so many to injuries? And we need to
be looking at those kinds of things. I think there's
there's the often perennial one that I can kind it
comes to mind was overrates. We're now down into the
(45:01):
seventies for over rates, aren't we? Yeah, and we either
it seems to me if it's going to be okay,
then change the rule. Change the rule seventy five overs
a day now. Whether people would be happy with that
or not, I don't know. Or the other option, enforce
(45:22):
the rule enforce the rule the World Test Championship says
you should lose points from the table. We'll do it,
do it, enforce them and the ICC need to do that.
You know. We often see on the board, don't we,
(45:44):
or on the telly that three overs behind, and so
you know, let us all know and let the teams
know you're going to lose points. They are playing conditions,
aren't they.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Yes, And that's what Australia and the first World Test Championship.
Speaker 5 (46:03):
Right, And as it has in the past. What you've
just said that chances are that this this World Championship,
it will determine the two finalists in the by the
end of the cycle, the amount of points teams lose.
It's not a level playing field at the moment. Some
(46:23):
sides are meeting the requirements, others aren't. So at the
moment you're penalizing the wrong sides.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
Of them.
Speaker 5 (46:33):
Are You're penalizing the sides at the moment who were
keeping up with there playing conditions. And it will affect
the integrity of the competition, you know. So that's to
me quite a big one. But once again, of course
we don't we don't do those things, do we. No, No, no,
that'll hurt people's feelings the international. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Yeah, winning the World Test Championship against the US totally.
I admired Van Muller getting three sixty seven and not
out they declared, and he was only three short of
Brian Lara's world record. It was against Zimbabwe, but it
had cleared to respect Lara's record, and that was proved
by a lot of people praising his sportsmanship. An unusual
(47:19):
thing to do, but it's something worthy of recognition.
Speaker 5 (47:24):
Yeah. Well they won by about an innings in four
thousand anyway, didn't they against Zilla's So it was yeah,
it wasn't going to afit the match.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
They're not playing any more home Test matches until later
this year something correct, twenty months between a home Test
match and that's ridiculous. Yeah, that's a low in terms
of the fact, you know, the fact that we only
played five Test matches.
Speaker 4 (47:50):
What have we got this year?
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Three in England, We've got three in Australia and I
think there's some.
Speaker 5 (47:57):
There's one in Ireland, isn't there.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
Yeah, and we've got India coming here.
Speaker 5 (48:01):
That's correct, I think end of the year.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
Yeah, so we might we might get seven.
Speaker 5 (48:06):
Or eight, but better, a bit better. Yeah, I know, ye, yeah, Look,
I think I agree with you. In South Africa, they
then went to India and beat beat them in two tests,
didn't they? Yes, after that and now it's it's there's
a feeling for me the Big three is now becoming
(48:27):
the Big four back again, and South Africa have found
something and they've gone quite nicely. I think we've mentioned Zimbabwe.
I have a feeling that they played a lot of
tests this year. Yes, I don't know exactly the number,
but that's good that we have got them back into
(48:48):
a family. It's not a big family anyway, so that's
that's I think a bonus. We played them a couple
of times, didn't we two tests?
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Was it one?
Speaker 5 (48:59):
I think the Women's World Cup that that that it's
changed from Australia to India. There's going to be a
huge developed I think because of that. In India in particular,
it's kind of counterbalance that won by the our performance.
But I think a worst comes with that for me
(49:20):
as well. And that was the way that Pakistan and
other sides were reduced by playing games scheduled in Sri
Lanka in that Women's World Cup while it was Actually
I think it was a monsoon in Sri Lanka, wasn't it.
So all those games held there were just ruled out
(49:42):
completely and compromised, you know, the whole tournament really in
a way, and brought about by the conflict between India
and Pakistan.
Speaker 2 (49:53):
Yes, and that conflict is going to continue for some time.
Just a few of the highs and the low So
that's a lot for them. Us on the front foot
to JC go and put your feet up and enjoy
some wow. I'll teach twity cricket and some one day
cricket as well.
Speaker 5 (50:11):
Right, I'll switch you to the to the down end,
so that you you know, down behind the wind, you
know behind you, you'll be able to buy three bar
bounces the next overboard. You'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
All the wages of summarting. Do for more from News
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