Cricket: Gillespie up for a challenge

Mark Gillespie has no idea whether he'll be required for New Zealand's opening Champions Trophy game against South Africa on Monday, but that hasn't stopped him hoping.

The rookie New Zealand paceman appears to have been picked as cover for more-established but injury-prone teammates, and shapes up as one of those likely to miss the cut for the day-nighter at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium.

What Gillespie does know, however, is that any chance he might be offered during New Zealand's fourth mini World Cup campaign is almost certain to involve a critical, if not sudden-death, situation, in which he will have little time to find his feet.

Does that worry him? Quite the opposite, by the sounds of things.

"If I play, it'll be for keeps and I'm excited about that. I'd love to get a run," he said yesterday from Mumbai.

"Every outing is a crunch match in this tournament so you've got to be on your game every time you walk out on the park. It's not as if there's a few soft games for blooding a youngster, it's not like that.

"But I like the challenge; I like the extra buzz and the excitement, and I especially like the thought of playing over here, where it seems that just about everyone is obsessed with the game."

The 26-year-old Wellington seamer won his place in the squad on the back of a reasonable State Shield campaign and an impressive performance for New Zealand A in the Top End tournament at Darwin over the winter.

He has been immediately touted as a possible death bowler for the Black Caps, a dubious privilege if ever there was one, although the jury remains out on when, if at all (during this tournament), he will be given his chance.

"I've had no indication of what, if any games, I might be considered for," he said. "I haven't given it much thought to be honest; just taking every day as it comes.

"I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself. If I play, well great, but if I don't I'm still getting a marvellous learning experience."

New Zealand's practice game on Wednesday was postponed until yesterday because of overnight rain, and they were then scheduled to play another practice match against an invitational side today; the final shakedown before Monday.

Gillespie said the one practice New Zealand had under lights on Tuesday was interesting, in that it allowed him to gauge the likely conditions for the match against South Africa.

"It was overcast and humid and the white ball swung around a bit, so that was a good sign," he said. "There was a little bit of dew around but nothing too dramatic."

As for his first trip to India, he said he was astonished by the overwhelming support for the game on the subcontinent, and the lengths people went to in order to make some sort of contact with players from all teams.

"It's been pretty crazy; a new experience for me, definitely," he said. "They just adore cricket, the people over here. It's amazing, no matter where you go there are crowds following you.

"I haven't got any previous experience over here so I don't know what's normal. But people are just crazy about the cricket and the Champions Trophy right now.

"At one stage all the teams were in the same hotel and it was just absolute madness, with the security people, hotel staff, players, officials, media and onlookers, just a kind of cricketing chaos."

But if Gillespie thinks he's surrounded by chaos, he should take a minute to study the South Africans, who are being forced to endure an even more disjointed build-up to Monday's match, courtesy of the controversy swirling around batsman Herschelle Gibbs.

The South African right-hander, fined and suspended for six months after he admitted accepting money to underperform on the 2000 tour of India, has never returned with his team to the subcontinent until now, because he feared being arrested.

Accompanied by a swarm of South African lawyers on his arrival, he yesterday faced an hour-and-a-half interrogation from Indian police, although there was no suggestion his liberty was at risk.

South Africa, meanwhile, won yesterday's warm-up game against Saurashtra in impressive fashion, posting 303 batting first before restricting the opposition to 227 for five and winning by 76 runs.

Skipper Graeme Smith made 90, Jacques Kallis 78, Boeta Dippenaar 33 and Shaun Pollock 32, while the bowlers proved economical if not overly penetrative.