Cricket: Farewell Steve Rixon, nice job

By Richard Boock

One would love to be a fly on the wall when Steve Rixon reports back to his mates on the various idiosyncrasies of your typical Kiwi.

The Sydneysider who three years ago took over as coach of a fractured New Zealand cricket team flies home a happy man tomorrow, having just manufactured the perfect reply to all those jibes about his Ocker shortcomings.

According to some critics, Rixon was your archetypal Australian with bells on. Prone to overstatement and impulsiveness and given to speaking his thoughts aloud, he was, they claimed, all bluff and bluster.

But as he wings his way home without as much as a "Oh, and by the way Stumper, well done mate," Rixon can at least rest safe in the knowledge that his team realised their goal of understating and over-achieving.

Presumably he will still be shaking his head at a perceived negativity towards our national cricket team, but the good news is that he can now reflect on a term in which New Zealand captured something far more important than a series win in England - the public's respect.

And in bringing some credibility back to a side that has far too often become the laughing stock of New Zealand sport, he now stands down, however ironically, at a time when his value is being hastily reassessed.

Admittedly, the sweat-band didn't help. But what Rixon brought to New Zealand was a unity and harmony, and when all the dust had settled on the English tour it was this sense of togetherness which made the difference during that last, exhausting week abroad.

Despite claims by a few commentators, and notably Rixon's predecessor Glenn Turner, that it was not essential for a coach to be "liked" by his players, the former Aussie test player has shown that it is certainly no disadvantage and, in terms of a long tour, probably a great asset.

Like another relatively successful national coach in Warren Lees, Rixon is a former wicket-keeper who as a coach places more emphasis on training, preparation and a winning attitude than the technical details of batting and bowling.

As far as New Zealand is concerned, this approach sometimes ended in failure because of individual form-slumps, but it ultimately paid a dividend in terms of the side's collective effort against India (last summer) and England (this winter).

Under Rixon, New Zealand won nine of 26 tests, including series triumphs against England, India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and a rare success on Pakistan soil. His one-day record was not quite as flash with 25 wins against 35 losses (and three ties), but it was boosted by the Commonwealth Games bronze medal and the World Cup semifinal effort.

Even more importantly, however, he leaves behind a confident and fairly self-sufficient test squad, who are about to face far more difficult foes in India, the West Indies and Australia.

For the past couple of years, when New Zealand have been able to call on their best players without problems of injury or illness, they have usually proved quite competitive and this will again be a major factor during the looming summer.

Despite the loss of Simon Doull halfway through the England series and Geoff Allott before the final test, the fitness and performance of Cairns and Nash gave the New Zealand attack an edge and the lower-order batting some depth.

This took on extra significance as the Kiwi top-order batting struggled during the four tests and, in the final analysis - along with Daniel Vettori's all-round abilities - proved to be the difference between the sides.

Rixon was an avid fan of fielding practices and worked his players tirelessly in their various disciplines, at no time neglecting Adam Parore's glovework, which went from strength to strength, and paying close attention to the slip fielding.

Ultimately this was another area in which his players delivered, with Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan proving deadly behind the wicket and snaring most chances that came their way.

If there was a drawback to Rixon's reign, it was his inability to improve the technique and method of his batsmen, although it should be pointed out he was hardly alone in that regard.

He concentrated more on their attitude, on the planning of their innings and their tactical appreciation of the game and was at least rewarded with sporadic success in England, where Matt Horne, Astle and McMillan all scored test centuries.

And now, his main focus is to reintroduce himself to his family who, after four months alone, are looking forward to having him back home.

Our loss is their gain.