Cricket: Patience pays off for veteran

By Richard Boock

Warren Wisneski struck a blow for the old guys yesterday as the New Zealand cricket selectors sent the clearest message yet of the pace-bowling concerns facing their one-day side.

The 30-year-old Wisneski's inclusion in the New Zealand squad for the first two one-day internationals against Australia comes after some stand-out form for New Zealand A and the Canterbury Shell Cup side - but also after a procession of preferred pacemen failed to take their opportunities in the international arena.

Wisneski and Simon Doull are the only changes to the line-up named for last month's fifth one-dayer against the West Indies, having been called in to replace Andrew Penn and the injured Dion Nash, respectively.

Convener of selectors Ross Dykes said the question of age never arose when Wisneski's claims were being discussed, although he believed the selection would send a healthy signal to those mature cricketers who might have felt passed over.

The former Central Districts seamer headed south to Canterbury after gaining some notoriety in his home territory, where he clashed with officials at Taranaki and Manawatu before deciding on a change of scenery.

He conceded yesterday that he had mellowed in more recent years, but had never given up hope of national honours.

"If I hadn't moved down here I would've given the game away," he said. "I've just kept plodding away. I've been given an opportunity and - if I get a chance - it's up to me to take it."

That will be music to the ears of Dykes, who said the flipside of the Cantabrian's selection involved the panel's dismay at having to look past several bowlers who had recently played for New Zealand at ODI level without being able to justify re-selection.

Chris Drum, Andrew Penn and Shayne O'Connor were all overlooked after proving too expensive in the ODI and Shell Cup competitions, while World Cup squad member Carl Bulfin was another who failed to exploit the season-ending injuries suffered by Nash and Geoff Allott.

Instead, the selectors have opted to recognise Wisneski's yeoman service for Canterbury and - if the drums have been beating a reliable message this past week - the next cab off the rank would have been Wellington's Robert Kennedy.

"It's been very disappointing in terms of players failing to progress," Dykes said yesterday. "Over the past 12 months we've given several players the chance to establish a place in the side and to be brutally honest, none of them have gone close."

Dykes suggested the selection of Doull, who had bowled just 29 overs in the Shell Cup following knee surgery, was another indication that his panel were not exactly swamped with options.

"Ideally, he would have been left to work on his fitness in the Shell Trophy with a mind to bringing him back for the tests, but the injury to Dion [Nash] has forced our hand."