the state of nz cricket....and a whole lot more

just want to say does anyone think the nz cricket side is in the state of decline? ive noticed ever since retirements of some of our greats eg chris carins, nathan astle, craig mcmillian etc we have been putting in substandard performaces, and I feel bad for saying that because I'm a supporter of nz cricket and I'm still supporting them through any time, although I can say they could try better. However I know I have to take into account that in the one day game stephen flemings retirement and the replacement of a captain that has held the reins of a national side for the best part of a decade would have an impact on the side and the intriduction of a new captain can be probably a bit testing as new leadership styles come into play. I rate daniel vettori very highly but havnt seem much of his captaining skills yet, but lets hope and pray for his success and for him to be a genuine bona fide captain. Who knows we will pick up our game again? Us and the rest of the world need to catch up to the leading cricket nation which is australia. beyond the top 3 or 4 there seems to be a huge gulf between australia and the rest of the world and new zealand needs to catch up to them and so does the rest of the world. i mean i admire the australian team in general but will always back new zealand, we cant have australia dominating world cricket for eternity can't we?

I probably have rambled on a bit, but yeh thats just my opinion, ive sent emails to minnow cricket associations suggesting ways to further their development abd ideas on how to obtain funding from organisations like the i.c.c and promoting cricket as an elegant game yet has the sense of gusto, high paced, action packed and energy filled game. Maybe for the top countries they could have tri/quad tournaments (i'm not just talking about world cups and tournaments that only invite minnow countries to participate every 2 to 4 years) regularly that enable the participation of minnow nations (eg canada, ireland, netherlands etc) to face higher leveled competition which definetly would help enhance their game, and letting some of their countryman play in top domestic level cricket in the leading cricket nations. it might be too much of a big ask but its an idea that i think could work (given some planning and detail and logistics etc).

I can compare the 1999, 2003 and 2007 world cups and the minnow sides have greatly increased in their skills on the field, which is a good effort from them. was very suprised when ireland upset pakistan at the world cup and made the quarterfinals! they played with energy and pride and also with alot pf passion, and any team that has those attributes will succeed in their future ambitions.

Right back to new zealand cricket... a few years ago i had this dream (it sounds weird but i remember the exact date) that on the canterbury plains their was a huge cricket complex built, with 3 state of the art cricket stadiums with catering facilities, hotel complexes within the stadium complex, it was kind of like a mini town devoted to cricket, it was so real it was that weird. it was an awesome sight i just wish new zealand had a bigger population base so the infrastructure could be supported financially, perhaps countries like australia, south africa, england,especially india and pakistan (depending on the current wars on terrorism over there) could better support such a facility.

Speaking of the current terrorism conflicts, i think they are destroying the game of cricket ( in india, pakistan, the middle east, sri lanka etc)there have been some cricketing greats from those regions. what could the cricketing big bodies to to help the situation? its a hard one because theres alot of politics involved and i can understant why the cricketing big bodies are a bit cagey about things. lets just hope that things will get better.

Cheers for listening in!

Rob