KEY POINTS:
Cricket tours are often best remembered for their personalities rather than the quality of play they produce.
The Pakistan side in New Zealand in 1989 were captained by Imran Khan.
At the time, Imran was on a crusade to get neutral umpires introduced to international cricket. Frankly he became a bit of a bore over it all and every press conference would include another plea for the game's rulers to do away with home umpires.
But Imran, more than most cricketers of modern times, was able to appeal to more than those who know their outswingers from their cover drives.
Put it this way: it was not unusual to find women of a certain inclination stopping for a drink or three in the bars of Pakistan's hotels throughout that tour, and they weren't looking for Abdul Qadir.
Imran was a great cricketer, a forceful, arrogant personality, and left a strong impression on New Zealand.
So too, in a different way, did Chris Gayle, who left with his West Indies team this week.
The woman running a dairy near Napier's McLean Park knew her cricket, and her men. At the halftime break of the final ODI this week, she inquired what the score was.
Told the West Indies had rattled up 293 for nine, she was impressed. Told that Gayle had cracked 135 at better than run-a-ball rate, she remarked what a fine batsman he was.
Then, half-pie under her breath, she muttered, "God, he's stunning." And she wasn't talking about the power of his straight drive either.
Gayle was in charge of an average West Indian team. But his performances were terrific.
He played three spectacular innings in New Zealand. His 197 at Napier saved the second test, and enabled the West Indies to draw the series; his century on the same ground this week came within an over of securing victory, and the ODI series, albeit under the Duckworth Lewis rain-affected rules.
And his 67 in 41 balls lit up Eden Park on Boxing Day.
Gayle hit 26 sixes and 63 fours in New Zealand in 10 innings, averaged 73.1 over that time, all the time with a demeanour which suggested getting out of bed in the morning was physically taxing. But long after this tour is put in the ever-fattening file of past tours and largely forgotten, his exploits will be remembered by those who saw them.
So what about India, now playing three tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s in an enlarged tour starting on February 25? Who will be the eye-catchers among them?
They will certainly have more names with cricketing stardom attached than the Windies. This assumes they bring their full-strength side, and there have been comments from important Indian figures recently to suggest they will.
That means Virendar Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, big-hitting Yuvraj Singh and the rapidly rising talent, lefthand opener Gautam Gambhir, among the batsmen; fast men Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, and spinners Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra, the latest legspinning find.
But the two biggest names will be Sachin Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Tendulkar, world recordholder for test and ODI runs and hundreds, and in style the closest thing to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman, according to the Australian himself, will surely be on his last trip to this part of the world.
From conversations with a range of cricketing people, the only ones who don't want to see one last great innings from the little 35-year-old are the New Zealand players. And even they appreciate the sentiment.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni is the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League, a charismatic figure who hits hard and leads with strong conviction.
And in pragmatic terms, NZ Cricket, by substantially reworking the schedule, won't have hurt their relationship with the Indian board either. As India is the most influential country in the game right now, that's smart business. So call it a win-win outcome for New Zealand cricket.
