Cricket: Change of style at a rapid clip

COLOMBO - The New Zealand cricketers have single-handedly kept Colombo's hairdressers in business this week in a bid to take follicle fashion to new levels.

The most alarming transformation came from spinner Daniel Vettori, who will enter tomorrow's first test against Sri Lanka with a shaggy, bleached Mohawk look in the mould of soccer star David Beckham.

Others to get in on the act include Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, who both went for a head shave and a hint of a rusty brown colour; Jacob Oram and Ian Butler who opted for the bleach-blond look; and Scott Styris, went to the other extreme and plumped for the jet-black dye.

But no one was brave enough to follow in the footsteps of former Australia offspinner Colin Miller, who brazenly lined up in a test match with bright blue hair.

Past New Zealand sides have tried to beat the oppressive heat and humidity in Sri Lanka by reaching for the clippers, but none has taken it much further.

Captain Stephen Fleming attributed the trend to something in the thick air of Colombo.

"As soon as you step off the plane in Sri Lanka it's a case of either shave it off or colour it, and it seems to have affected a few guys," Fleming said.

"There are quite a few young guys who haven't been on a test tour here and they saw a chance to change their image, which they wouldn't do in New Zealand."

Fleming has kept his dark locks intact and was adamant he would not be following the trend after an unhappy experiment on the last full tour here five years ago.

"I've been there, I shaved my head and also lost a tooth, and it scared me how ugly I could be."

-NZPA