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The Rediff Cricket Interview/ Jeff Crowe

'Kapil Dev will have the uppermost respect from us'

Part I of the interview

Cricket is not the number one sport in New Zealand. Is that one of the reasons that the pool of players you have to choose from is limited, and hence the scarcity of world class performers?

That's probably a fair call. We are a country of three million people. You probably have 2.5 million people in this little city here, you know. So, we're not going to have such huge numbers, but we have always been a sports-based country. We do have natural people who come out with natural talent and good skills. Rugby is our main game. It's in our blood. Even these cricketers will reluctantly tell you that it's in their blood.

Whereas for the Aussies, cricket is in their blood. In India, cricket is in their blood as well. So there always is this little battle and we will try and see to it that the culture of cricket is more exposed, and make cricketers breath a little more in their early ages. Young kids should be exposed to the sport early on and they must have that desire to be the New Zealand Black Cap cricketers.

Whereas Australians wake up every morning and have cricket right there in them. They have an understanding, a second nature. Whereas we don't quite have that in us. They need to be guided a little bit in their early ages.

Are you happy with the domestic scene in New Zealand?

It's actually difficult for me to say anything. I can make a comment about it and say that of the little that I have seen, I think it would be fair to say that our standard is not quite as high as it could be. I think you need to have a good nursery ground if you have to produce good players. Because there are always injury factors and you need to have enough resource within your squad, that if there are injuries or there is loss of form there are players to replace. Sometimes you are only as good as your reserves.

And yes, we want to improve the standard of first class cricket in New Zealand and so we are getting more structure into place and it is getting addressed. The difficulty is that the international itinerary is so demanding and frequent that the fact that our top players in the squad are hardly ever playing.

But Australia, South Africa as well as West Indies have their itineraries planned in a manner whereby all the top players of the country participate in the domestic leagues. How do they manage that?

I will tell you the reason for that. They have the climate and they are able to play cricket for longer periods. We have a climate in New Zealand which has conditions available to us for really good cricket, only from the end of November to March. That's the time teams are touring New Zealand or when we are away. Also you need to give the players a breather when they are back from a hard tour. All those things need to be taken into account and put into the equation.

We would love to have the players play for a longer period but it is not that simple. You also have a domestic schedule, which you need to put together which is best for the home scenario whereby you get the crowds coming out and watching them. So it's a whole lot of things. So it's a difficult ask just to fit it all into one small area of about 3 or 4 months of the year. In Australia you start playing in September, and if the weather and conditions are superb they can go until March.

Does New Zealand cricket have a paucity of funds with respect to the sponsors for the team?

It has definitely improved. There has been a very good management of people who have sold the vision to our corporate community and our commercial supporters. And by so saying they have sold the vision that this team could be good if they are given the right support mechanisms. And that's where this extra management team has come from. It's a direct result of those visions that have been agreed upon and people have put their faith in it. And they are now beginning to see the results.

How important was the series win in England?

Very good! It was huge. It's only the second time it has happened for us so that in itself speaks. I don't know these players too well but their attitude is good after the victory and that's a positive sign. They are so willing to learn and want to do it again and want to become better players. They want to achieve better results, want to lift the bar of achievement. So taking on the challenge of playing in India and that is a huge and the most difficult challenge. And they are prepared to meet this head on and I have a lot of confidence that they will do well.

Do you reckon that the Indian tour is the toughest of the lot?

I can't comment as a former Test player because I have never toured India for a Test series. I don't know first hand or what I hear from the players. Maybe I can tell you at the end. They are regarding this as the hardest. They think one of the hardest things is to win in India. A bit like playing in the West Indies. World cricket is about winning away from home. Most countries tend to dominate at home because they are so used to their conditions and they can easily manoeuvre that to their advantage.

So do India start favourites? Or would that be an exaggeration?

I think they have to start favourites. New Zealand are the underdogs. Simply because if you look at the world rankings India are above us. If you want to take that into consideration, that is. We will regard this as a great challenge.

What is the key to success in India?

I think it is attitude. We have a good attitude touring India. We are here not just to play hard cricket, but to understand the country and enjoy it, the people and its culture. It's one of the key things to do. India is a wonderful country, and that's the key to winning here. And the guys have taken on board that they want to win in India. Sheer volume of people makes it such an exciting place to be.

You are in India with just two spinners knowing well that spin does the trick in India. Any comments?

We do have some options there. I mean we don't have an abundance of spinners back home because conditions don't really allow it. We are working hard at the academy, we know we need to have them because they are match winning players. And touring India for batsmen, for example, it's the crux. There is, of course, Srinath, but as we know the bowling will come from the spinners. But we would like to practise at home before we come here. But the spinners we have here are good and it will be a learning experience for them.

How do you assess the Indian team?

To be quite honest, I'm still coming to terms finding their names. Trying to learn who they are.

The key thing is that we need to organise ourselves first. I think everyone in the side will be a key player. One of the key players in the side will be Kapil Dev as coach. He will have the uppermost respect of his players and also the uppermost respect from us. And whether he can combine all his team together as a unit will be the key to them.

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