It's been well documented that many farmers are coming under increasing pressure due to the hot summer that has taken hold throughout New Zealand in recent weeks, but spare a thought for cricket fans. We have the Cricket World Cup due to start in a couple of days and I, for one, am hoping summer lingers just a little longer. That's not to say I don't wish it would rain in those parts of the country that desperately need it. Ideally, it would rain in the rural areas of New Zealand and stay blissfully sunny in and around the various match venues.
Incidentally, there has been much conjecture as to the weather forecast for the opening match in Christchurch this Saturday. Many are pointing to the MetService forecast and its less than favourable predictions. I asked Phil Duncan on Monday's Farming Show what his radar tells him and, notwithstanding his willingness to take a swipe at a fellow weather forecaster, he replied he sees nothing that would interfere with a game of international cricket in Christchurch on Saturday. I hope he's right.
Nevertheless, it's a blessing for a cricket tragic to have so many elements come together at one time to create an almost perfect scenario. The Black Caps are on a virtually unprecedented run of form under the much maligned Hesson/McCullum regime. They've won eight of their past 10 Test and One Day International series, including victories at home and abroad. The major talking points centre on who to leave out of the side, rather than who to include and, let's face it, it may well be another 20-odd years before we see the tournament grace New Zealand shores again. The last time we hosted the tournament in conjunction with our Aussie mates, the Kiwi side was so underwhelming in the lead-up no one gave them a chance.
The flip side to all this is the old adage that a mate of mine always reels out when I start to espouse the virtues of the national cricket side; namely, "don't underestimate the crapness of the NZ cricket team". In the past, this has rung true more times than I care to remember, but I wonder whether this particular side has turned a corner.
To be honest, while NZ has produced some world-class cricketers since our inclusion into the international ranks, there's really only been two eras where the entire team has been truly consistent and competitive. The first, of course, was the mid-80s under Jeremy Coney and the second was in the early 2000s under Stephen Fleming. There have been wonderful victories from other sides at different times, but these teams stand out as a class apart.
