Editorial: Mealamu an example to kids and cricketers

Keven Mealamu visited Whangarei's Morningside School yesterday.

Kids say the darndest things.

Yesterday, at Whangarei's Morningside School, it was suggested that the All Blacks played the Warriors in last year's Rugby World Cup final.

All Black legend Keven Mealamu not only possessed one of the biggest "hits" in world rugby, he has one of the biggest grins. And it was beaming at Morningside yesterday as he listened to the kids' suggestions as to who he (a surprise guest) was, or what he was up to last year.

It's good for sports stars to be reminded that not everyone knows who they are, and what they have done. And someone like Mealamu takes it in his stride. He is immensely likeable, approachable and professional - no wonder a company like ASB have secured him to promote their brand.

And no wonder Mealamu was considered such an integral part of two world cup-winning squads.

Switch codes and let's contemplate another group of World Cup winners.

The West Indies cricketers stunned England in the final of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, with all rounder Carlos Brathwaite smashing four sixes in a row off hapless bowler Ben Stokes in the final over, to win the match.

Were the Windies humble in victory? No.

With the scores tied, Marlon Samuels couldn't resist abusing Stokes, who apparently had been chipping away at Samuels earlier in the match. Samuels also climbed into Stokes after the match, as well as Shane Warne, who has criticised Samuels' playing style. This was after he had stripped to the waist and paraded half naked around the ground. There was an "up yours" tone to the victory, some of it driven by the Windies cricketers' ongoing tension with its national body. Regardless, they were deserved winners but the post-match conduct was brash, arrogant and unpalatable to many cricket fans.

Wouldn't it be nice if some time in the next year or so a kid pipes up at a school assembly and tells Samuels that the Windies played the All Blacks in the T20 final, and Keven Mealamu hit the winning runs.