Long-distance calls rev up Twose

Positive play is paying off for the Black Caps' unlikely batting star, reports RICHARD BOOCK

LONDON - A long-distance relationship has fired up cricketer Roger Twose to make him New Zealand's best batsman at the World Cup.

Twose has maintained regular contact with Wellington-based former Shell cricketer Robbie Kerr, whom he credits as a major influence in his resurgence on the one-day international scene.

Our most consistent batsman by a long stretch, Twose has scored 177 runs in the tournament so far, with two half-centuries and a top score of 80 not out against Australia.

Most impressively, given the British pitches, his strike-rate stands at 80.09 and, perhaps most crucially, luck is with him too, which allowed him to survive four dropped catches to anchor New Zealand's innings against Scotland.

And as the Black Caps prepare for their first Super Six clash - against Zimbabwe tomorrow night (NZ time) - the man who only got into the squad thanks to a late call-up is now one of its key figures.

Twose credits his bolder approach to long-distance encouragement from Kerr, who has urged him into more positive shot-making.

"We basically decided that the time had come to take more risks," Twose said this week. "I had tended to err on the conservative side and that had to change.

"I needed to be more positive in every way and that's manifested itself in the way I walk to the wicket - I feel like a matador - to the way I'm playing my shots.

"I'm even calling louder, and generally being far more assertive."

Twose said he had kept up the calls to Kerr because he felt it was difficult to get a fully independent viewpoint within a touring party.

And Kerr says he is delighted to see his friend firing. "I told him he should give himself the opportunity and not die wondering, and he has done extremely well.

"The trouble is I've been staying up to watch all of Roger's innings, and he has been batting so long I've been getting pretty tired. I'm not complaining, though."

The 31-year-old Twose reckons he has more good innings in him, saying he is hitting the ball better than ever before.

"I don't want to leave this tournament as an also-ran. I want to make a difference.

"It's good to stand up to the challenge and to take charge."