Cricket: Sultans of swinging fortunes test fans

By RICHARD BOOCK

Never mind Fantasy - the new designer drug on the streets is our New Zealand cricket team.

Pop a daily dose of this baby and you are likely to wander in a daze for most of your life, with occasional surges of euphoria countered by long bouts of withdrawal and confusion.

"I think I've just watched New Zealand win a one-day cricket tournament, Doc."

"Really? Well, take two of these before you go to bed and everything should be right in the morning."

Whatever might happen in the second one-day international against the Proteas overnight, the New Zealand cricketers have already run the full gamut during the African tour, carrying fans from the edge of despair to unprecedented heights in the space of a fortnight.

The first New Zealand side to lose a one-day series against Zimbabwe were days later crowned the ICC Knockout champions, prompting delirious fans to react with their usual three-step ritual: a pinch on the arm to confirm consciousness, a day-long celebration, and an attempt to steel themselves for the inevitable plummet back to normality.

The last was partly experienced during the first one-dayer on Friday night, as South Africa cantered through to 191 for two after 38 overs before being defeated by a Potchefstroom thunderstorm.

Again nothing made sense, New Zealand lining up with two wicketkeepers but no spinner, and then finding their attack lacked variety to exploit the limitations of Nicky Boje, who was unbeaten on 105 when the weather packed up.

This has been the story from the start of the season in August, when the New Zealanders began a tour that has swayed between the brilliant and the baffling.

They were eliminated from Singapore without a win, scored a rare 2-0 test series victory over Zimbabwe, became the first New Zealand team to lose a one-dayer series to Zimbabwe, and then won the mini World Cup.

On top of that, their casualty rate has read like the news item from a small civilian uprising and some of the team selections might have been drawn from a hat. Yet despite some well-documented problems - the form of Craig Spearman and Stephen Fleming, the lack of an opening batting partnership and the inconsistency of the seam attack - there have been several areas of encouragement.

The world-class form of Roger Twose, the mercurial deeds of Chris Cairns, the heartening progression of Craig McMillan and some good, positive reinforcement from coach David Trist have shown through in a squad who - if nothing else - have clearly shown the worth of discipline, patience and trust.

To the horror of England's talent identification industry, Twose now rates as the third-best one-day batsman in the game, with his average of 40.98 ranking 14th of all time.

And McMillan, dropped from the one-day side last summer, found some timely form in the leadup to Kenya, where he played arguably the most significant innings of his career, an unbeaten 51 in the semifinal against Pakistan.

Still only 24 years old, the right-hander has been more relaxed at the crease this season, and his habit of playing the ball late seems well-suited to a No 5 or 6, who are often required to collect runs through the middle of the innings.

But maybe the most unheralded member of this party has been the coach with the RAF moustache, who found himself with a hard act to follow after Steve Rixon's swansong in England last year.

Trist's side have won a respectable 12 of 23 one-dayers and have shared the tests 4-4, among the spoils an unprecedented whitewash of the West Indies, a rare test series win in Zimbabwe and the jewel in the crown, the ICC trophy.

Pinch me, someone ...