Cricket: At least it will be a Kiwi to lambaste

By Richard Boock

Shades of Ghandi maybe, but at least we can be in charge of making our own mistakes now.

Steve Rixon's replacement as New Zealand cricket coach will be announced on Tuesday, and unless a Dav Whatmore or a Bobby Simpson has been hiding in the wings, the successful candidate is almost certain to be of Kiwi origin.

Whether this will make any difference is debatable, but with David Trist, John Wright and Co on the horizon, the days of blaming a sweat-banded Aussie for everything from Chris Cairns' hairstyle to Daniel Vettori's loop are all but over.

As an experiment, the selection of Rixon will more than likely be remembered alongside the likes of Laurie Mains' fireproof paint as Great New Zealand Ideas (that have gone wrong).

Leaving aside Glenn Turner's departure for the moment, the concept of an overseas coach had held merit only if an outstanding candidate had been available, and that New Zealand Cricket considered Rixon - after some state success with New South Wales - in this category, says more about them than him.

Although in a statistical sense Rixon will be happy to hold up his coaching record for scrutiny, the New Zealand cricketers have struggled to progress sufficiently on an individual basis during his reign, and as a consequence have also disappointed collectively.

Under Rixon, New Zealand won seven of 23 tests, while losing nine and drawing seven. Of 72 one-day internationals, 25 were won and 35 were lost (three were tied and nine were abandoned).

The test success under Rixon should n't be underestimated, given the Kiwis' meagre return at this level historically, even though five of the seven test wins were against either Sri Lanka (3) or Zimbabwe (2).

However, his scratchy ODI record, culminating in some ordinary cricket at the World Cup, represents a period which is unlikely to be remembered by New Zealanders with any enthusiasm.

Turner might have had his faults (one of which seemed to be an inability to work with anyone else) but at least he knew a thing or two about technique and how to develop a successful batting method.

One of the most disappointing features of the present tenure has been the decline of several of New Zealand's brightest hopes and the stagnation of several others, despite the presence of a technical adviser, a team shrink, a High Performance Centre, computer analysis personnel, physiology experts, and better pay.

Craig McMillan's form has been dragged down by some fundamental technical defects, Nathan Astle has reverted to the type of player he was six years ago, Cairns has trod water for 18 months and Vettori appears to lack the specialist support a young left-arm spinner needs in the international arena.

Only time will tell whether Tuesday's appointee - the fifth Kiwi coach in six years - will make any difference, but as footsteps go, Rixon's should not be too difficult to follow, even for a New Zealander.