Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from US Talks B Test.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Cricket is on the way back. Yes, and the time
is brilliant for those of you have nothing to do
at night except sit in front of the TV. Welcome
to my world. The black Caps are back. It's in
the subcontinent. There's a whole lot of Test cricket going on.
Ajz Ptel spinner obviously very fond memories of playing over
(00:33):
in India.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
That it's got very high.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
That you's been outstanding.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Fantastic, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
What a pleasure, what.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
A privilege to be here to see this very very rare.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Achievement, very rare. Only three players have achieved ten wickets
and he did it in his home. It's in Mumbai,
that's where he was born. How good and what was
his reward? Drops didn't play for quite some time ore
the nature of being a spinner in New Zealand. Then
we've got them on the blow and Ahzy, you must
(01:18):
be pretty stoke pre you've written to be back in
white again. What an exciting time.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Great, Darcy, Yeah, it's very exciting. It's always a privilege
to play for the black Caps. And obviously coming into
these conditions, you know there's a big role to play,
so it's it's quite exciting as a spinner, I guess,
you know, going away from home, but also in conditions
where you know hopefully things will be favorable for you.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
How much of this do you carry on your shoulders?
But there's a few spinners out there. You've got a pilot,
a couple of part timers, a couple of all rounders,
a couple of you know, fully spin mean, it's quite
a phalanx of you blokes, isn't there. How do you
fit into this? Do you like the senior dude?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
No, No, I don't. I don't really look at it
that way.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
I think obviously we've got a big group of spinners,
and our spinners developing quite well at the moment.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So we're all I guess working together towards.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
A common goal and you know, and I guess in
common New Zealand fashion, I guess it's all about the
collective and working together and so yeah, whatever we can
do to kind of I guess influence a result in
our favor where we're going to go out there and
give it our all. But I think we all back
each other to do our roles.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I'm presuming that it's going to be a bit of
this and a bit of that. As far as who's playing,
I mean, you're hardly going to roll in with the
complete deck of spinners, are you. So how is that
going to work? Have you spoken with the coaching staff
about who plays when and where? Is it a match
by match basis? How does that actually operate? Do you think? Ajsu?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
In all honesty, I think it's beyond my paycheck.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You must have talked to them, surely he said something,
Come on, mate, No, I.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Mean I guess.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
I guess it's really up to the coaches in terms
of figuring out what the right balances for us going
into these games and what they're really looking for.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
And I think some of it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Comes down to the conditions, but also I guess the opposition,
and you know, sometimes it might be the amount of
left handers versus right handers, or if the pict if
the wicket we believe is going to break up quite
a lot or not, And I guess that really plays
a big part in these conditions. And I guess you
tailor your team based on the conditions and the team
(03:28):
in front of you. Especially in the subcontinent, because we
know how big a role spin can play here. So
I guess it really comes down to them and their
gut feel on you know, what's the best way for
us to kind of I guess break it down against
a certain opposition. So it'll be interesting but quite an
exciting time for all us spinners because we all know
(03:48):
that we're all in the mix to play a fair
but a test.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
How do you count to the weather. That's got to
be the toughest one. Surely I'm not about the food.
I know, shame Warren took a palette Lader baked beans.
But food's one thing where there's another thing. Is there
any way to actually acclimatize to that in a hurry
or not?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Ages I guess it just comes down to fitness.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
You know, our trainer works us pretty hard to make
sure that we're fit enough to deal with these conditions,
and Chris is fantastic and the boys are quite fit
and ready to go.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
I guess when it comes to heat, you can't really
do much.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
It's just, you know, I guess accepting the fact that
it's going to be hot, it's going to be sticky,
and getting on with the job. And I mean, you know,
we're all professionals at the end of the day and
we're expected to I guess, you know, go out there
and be ready to go.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And yeah, we've had.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Maybe a slightly shorter time this time in terms of
getting here and in those in these conditions. But at
the same time, it hasn't been too hot at the moment.
I think it was sitting at early to mid dirties
and it's kind of close to the end of the
monsoon season, I believe, so it's not it's not crazy hot,
but yeah, certainly warm.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
With in New Zealand. I actually enjoy this, whether believe
it or not. It's actually nice for the body.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
You feel a bit freer and you move a bit better,
so it's actually quite quite nice.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I think i'd probably pass out and I wouldn't move
at all. That's journey. Ajes Patel joins us here on
news Talk z B. I suppose you can keep in
the selector's minds if you just tear up a storm,
if you're taking a pile of wickets, they're hardly going
to say sit down.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah, I guess you know that comes with the territory.
I guess when you're taking wickets, you're bowling lots of
overs and you've got to be prepared for that, especially
in these conditions. Sometimes things happen quickly, but sometimes you know,
you just got to keep working a.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Way and it may take a little while. So it's
just a matter of.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I guess, continuing to make sure you're putting your best
foot forward and delivering your best deliveries regardless of what's
happening at the other end. And you know, Testkreger, it's
a different challenge and it certainly challenges you both mentally
and physically, and so it's you know, that's partly why
we enjoy it, is kind of pushing yourself, I guess,
beyond limits that you sometimes expect yourself to go to.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
It's been a few years since you tore up the world.
You're going to go back to my kiddie, back to
Mumbai roughly the same time of year. If they don't
pick you for that game, how dirty will you be?
A jaz Because you know, teen records doesn't come along
every day, does it. That was just an exceptional time
for New Zealand cricket. So you're dribbling over that one
are you.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, it was a special occasion obviously.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
I think the biggest thing for me was playing I
guess at my hometown.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I'm playing in Mumbai where I was born brought up.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
To a certain degree and then obviously before I shifted
to New Zealand, so.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
I guess that was really special for me.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
And returning back there, I think it's once again that
that thing that kind of really draws me in is
kind of being at home and playing in front of
friends and family and.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You know, being on the other side of the world.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
But it's also certainly a part of who I am
and I guess the fabric of me, you know, being
Indian born and from Mumbai, so.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
It's always going to be a special place.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
I guess it's going to be more special after what
has happened there certainly, But yeah, I guess it's just
be pretty cool to play them on buy and I
believe they have this it's going to be a special
game because I believe it's something like their one hundred
and fiftieth test at the One Kiddy, So yeah, it's
a special milestone and an occasion for them as well.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
How do you think you're going to be accepted there.
Are you going to be like just a tiny rock
star when you get over there, because as you said,
you're a hometown boy. You did something quite extraordinarily. Three players,
including yourself, have done it in test history. Do you
think they'll be fated by the masses over there even
though you're playing for the wrong team age As.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
To be fair, last time I was there, I guess
when I was on the boundary, I was copping a
bit to begin with, But then as I started getting
closer and closer, they were almost egging me on to
do it, So I guess that the crowd had turned
in my favor.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
It'll be interesting to see how it kind of begins
in the next one.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
We know that the crowd in India are very passionate
about cricket, but also very passionate about Indian cricket.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So I don't think that's going to change, but I
think I might.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
Get a little bit more lea way, seeing is you know,
I'm kind of a hometown boy.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
What about the bats? He even worried about that at all.
Have been swinging the widow around a wee bit, and
it's just all about not all about tweaking. Surely, you've
got a job at the other end, right.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Right, Yeah, one hundred percent. I guess, like I say,
in these conditions, every run is valuable. And I've been
putting a lot of work in over the winter, especially.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Around the batting side of things, and I've been fortunate
to work with a few coaches back home, and yeah,
it's certainly been a continued work.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
On and it's it's certainly.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Something that I want to continue to grow in my
game because I know how big a contribution you can make,
especially in test cricket, if you can you know, get
those extra runs at the lower, lower end of the order,
it can certainly, you know, impact a game massively. So
it is definitely an important part of the game. I
certainly it's not something that you know, we neglect.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I guess it's.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Something that we continue to grow and work on and hopefully,
you know, it'd be pretty nice to kind of, you know,
put some decent performance is on the board from that
aspect as well, which would be quite special.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
When that first test gets underway up against Afghanistan, I'm
presuming you're going to be picked because they've put you
up for media, so it makes sense to me that
you will this is a team not to be taken lightly.
What do you know about them as a Test nation?
What do you fear, what do you respect?
Speaker 4 (09:25):
A jazz Well, I guess the unfamiliarity is always a
difficult one, especially, I guess in international cricket, generally, when
you play an opposition, you've got a lot more information
around their style of play and what they're going to bring.
And I suppose the fact that they're still pretty young
in terms of the Test playing nation, there's a lot
(09:46):
to learn about them, and I guess for us as
players where we're going to have to constantly be thinking
on our feet and reacting to what we see out.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
On the ground.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
And they've got immense talent and their passion for cricket,
as we know is unbelievable, and so what they've achieved
and I guess the last eight to ten years in
terms of a cricketing nation, has been pretty phenomenal. So
there's certainly not a team to take lightly that They've
got a lot of talent in that group and a
(10:15):
lot of guys who do have exposure of playing cricket
around the world, So it will be challenging, especially, I
guess in these conditions and we've just got to make
sure that, you know, we treat them with the respect
that they deserve and go out there and I guess,
you know, put our best foot forward and make sure
that we really turn up well.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
And Kettie when the toss bowl. That's the idea, isn't it.
Maybe a return to the good old days ages. Thanks
for joining us, mate, Great to have you back on
board again. The enthusiasm is infectious and I'm really looking
forward to wasting away so many evenings over the next
nine Test match as well the last three at hound
mate in the Subcontinent. What an evening's entertainment. Thanks for
(10:56):
that and thanks for your time Age. As you go, well,
cheers Darthy.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I hope you enjoy the viewing.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Mate.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
We'll try and give you some entertainment down here.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Please, thank you. That's what we want. Ajas Betel superhero
from back in the day.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
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