Cricket: Heroics from Daniel, bye-bye from Shane

Daniel Vettori has made his presence felt off the field as well as on it this year, captaining a side that has no coach. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Andrew Alderson puts his front foot down the wicket to play through a year of on- and off-field dramas, narrowing it down to 11 significant players, issues and moments that defined the 2009 cricket landscape.

1) Daniel Vettori

Vettori has been the star of the New Zealand cricket year. He has become the umbrella for every major position of responsibility at the top level - captain, core spin bowling option, selector, all-rounder, coach and now test century number six.

He also added father to that mix this year, with his wife Mary giving birth to son James.

At no stage has Vettori shirked or flinched in his various roles, such is his self-belief. And now he's prepared to join Queensland for a cameo too. His ability to deal with the pressure is reflected in his statistics - his key international averages for the year, except that of test bowling, are better than his career averages. All those numbers have improved since he took over from Stephen Fleming. The real stunner is perhaps the test batting average of 59.92 this calendar year. Vettori also became just the eighth test cricketer to take 300 wickets and make 3000 runs.

Equally important is Vettori's status off the field. He is respected by the players, media and public for his playing ability but also his thinking on the game which is articulate and canny.

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2) The loss of Shane Bond from tests

It was glorious on that afternoon at Dunedin's University Oval, Bond steaming in, traumatising Pakistani batsmen, winkling out a test victory in the final session on the last day.

That was followed by the press conference - a beaming Bond in jandals with the evidence of his toil there in all its glory, a bloodied left big toe with the nail ripped off because of his impact at the crease.

Then it was all over, due to a small tear in an abdominal muscle with the forlorn hope he'd repair and be back later in the summer to torment Australia and secure a first test victory in 17 seasons.

But New Zealanders won't see him in white over five days again, with his retirement from tests this week.

The stark fact is that of Bond's 18 tests, New Zealand won 10 and lost just two. He has 87 wickets at an average of 22.09 which trumps even Sir Richard Hadlee.

So there we were, thinking the New Zealand bowling attack suddenly had depth with the added bonus of Daryl Tuffey returning from his ICL-enforced lay-off as well.

But then came news of Iain O'Brien's retirement; Chris Martin is talking about a move into the media post-cricket. The list of replacements is short - very short.

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3) The Ryder Riddle

It will remain a question that lingers long into next year ... and presumably years to come. Can Jesse Ryder, a man blessed with sensational hand-eye co-ordination, embark on a prolonged career or will a lack of fitness or discipline get the better of him? The recent groin strain at the Champion's Trophy in South Africa has left him in rehab, so to speak.

Matters weren't helped by the revelation he gave manager Dave Currie a verbal lashing after being dismissed by Sri Lanka at the same tournament. In Ryder's favour, not everyone in a national sports team can be a lap dog or a role model. There are egos to be massaged. It's also hard to revoke someone's right to play when they average a shade under 50 in 11 tests, have a strike rate of 93 opening the batting in one-dayers and bowl more than useful medium pace as a recognised partnership breaker.

But the question lingers: Is Ryder man enough to mature and take responsibility for himself and a potentially lucrative future? There's little convincing evidence to suggest that's the case.

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4) The Twenty20 World Cup

The ICC World Twenty20 captivated fans with the shorter version of the game as never before. Even purists might have been tempted to take a sneaky second glance as they stormed off to the study, noses in the air with a Wisden tucked under the arm while the rest of the family revelled in the coverage.

For starters it was a mere two weeks, not the nearly two months it took to host the last 50-over World Cup.

There were upsets, with the Dutch beating the English, and the semifinalists were a surprise, with eventual winners Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and South Africa making it through.

Fans were also treated to Tillakaratne Dilshan debuting his scoop shot and New Zealanders are likely to see more of it next month when he plays for Northern Districts in the domestic Twenty20 league. He suffered an unforeseen delay this week thanks to a hastily-organised tri-series.

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5) Andy Moles' departure

Sadly, as had happened with Kenya and Scotland, Andy Moles was unable to cut it as an international coach. He lost the Black Caps dressing room just 11 months into his tenure in October with allegations Vettori had effectively been coaching the team in all but name for six months. The Englishman was respected as a genial bloke but not as a cricket coach.

Ironically the story broke just after New Zealand had made the final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa. Any number of names and possible roles have been bandied about since. Former captains John Wright and Jeff Crowe, past mentors Warren Lees and Steve Rixon, Otago coach Mike Hesson and New South Wales boss Matthew Mott have been among those mentioned. However, it's understood little has been done towards making the change yet, with NZC management happy to let skipper Daniel Vettori's leadership momentum fill the void in the meantime.

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6) Limited overs firepower

New Zealand has developed potential match-winners in the game's shorter form this year. Grant Elliott has fronted on several occasions with bat and ball, notably with 61 to see the Black Caps home against Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and again with 75 to get them home against Pakistan at the Champion's Trophy (CT). He did likewise with the ball against England at that tournament, taking 4-31. Others to contribute with the ball have been Kyle Mills (4-35 against Australia, 3-69 vs England at the CT) and Ian Butler (4-44 vs Pakistan at the CT). Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder have also combined with some dynamic opening partnerships. The Champions Trophy provided the benchmark with 125 from 20 overs to help beat Sri Lanka, then 84 from 12.3 overs to dismantle England, meaning they've erected a "Do Not Disturb" sign around themselves for the rest of the summer, once Ryder's fit.

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7) Dampened hopes

The Black Caps came close to a couple of significant series wins - but were thwarted by weather. The first was against Australia in the deciding game of the Chappell-Hadlee series in Brisbane. Australia had made 168 from their reduced 22 overs, New Zealand was chasing superbly at 123 for six from 14, still with a batting powerplay in hand. They needed 66 runs from eight overs and were matching the required rate.

Martin Guptill - New Zealand's sole member in the ICC world one-day team of the year - was blazing away on 64 from 34 balls and Brendon Diamanti had 26 from 22 in his debut (and so far only) 50-over match. The rain drove away New Zealand's hopes of securing the Chappell-Hadlee trophy for the first time away from home.

The second occasion came in the third test against Pakistan. It was the opportunity for a first series victory at home against a side other than Bangladesh since 2005-06 when the Black Caps beat the West Indies. BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh made a great start and had New Zealand 90 without loss from 19 overs needing to chase down 208 from a possible 41. Then, in what anyone in Hawke's Bay will tell you is rare for mid-December, the rain hosed down and so was the series.

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8) Strauss rights England to regain the Ashes

It didn't have the impact of England's 2005 win but Andrew Strauss' England proved there's life in the old urn yet with their 2-1 series victory. Strauss kept his nerve through a torrid start to the year as the new captain and was rewarded, thanks to measured, determined leadership laced with old-fashioned sincerity.

That earned the respect of his men after Kevin Pietersen's resignation from the role at the start of the year, along with Peter Moores axed as coach to be replaced by Andy Flower.

Strauss has manners and an opening batsman's grit which would have seen him top England's averages had Jonathan Trott not scored a crucial century on debut in the deciding Oval test. Strauss' leadership helped England through a tough year which, even though he got three centuries in the Caribbean, saw them lose a test series to the West Indies before turning matters around.

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9) Australia's slide in test rankings

Australia started the year on top, despite South Africa having just incurred a first away series win against them. However, with the Ashes series loss, it meant they slipped as low as fourth before clawing back to third by year's end. Certainly the quickfire retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had an impact but it also coincides with a time when some player behaviour has been deplorable. You have to question if the right leadership is in place.

Ricky Ponting is capable of leading from the front with his batting and fielding but questions will always abound whether that is at the expense of his players' on-field conduct.

During most series, the aggression of his players spills over at some point as the stress of being alpha-cricketing-males in 'the lucky country' takes its toll. You would think they'll be third or worse for some time if Shane Watson's childish antics farewelling Chris Gayle were anything to go by last week. Might be time to score a test century or take a five-wicket bag if you play a 15th test, Shane ...

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10) The rise of freelancers

The issue of whether international cricketers will continue to put country before freelancing has been a curious one this year and will remain so for 2010. The lure of big money could now see New Zealand players eye up short-term Twenty20 deals in England to go with the present opportunities in India and possibly Australia.

It's unlikely anyone will want to miss out on the cash, and understandably so, as cricket moves towards more of a European football model where clubs start to have more clout.

The spin comes with how you haul in the most cash possibly without looking greedy in the public eye.

Player reaction has been interesting, given there's still often talk of burnout. If you come from the school of thought that says country is first priority then the attitude of England's Stuart Broad will have been refreshing, saying he's prepared to sacrifice any potential Indian Premier League contract to prepare for England's defence of the Ashes later in the year.

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11) Last chance to see Tendulkar

New Zealand fans probably saw the last of the 'Little Master' in March and April when he toured with India. If you were lucky enough to have been at Seddon Park on the morning of the third day of the first test, you might've seen the now 36-year-old pick up a delivery from outside off and flick it to square leg for a quick single off James Franklin for test hundred No. 42. More importantly it helped take an Indian side to its first test win on New Zealand soil in 33 years. The only other time he achieved the feat in New Zealand was century 17 at the Basin Reserve in 1998.