Editorial: New work ethic behind cricket's superb summer

Brendon McCullum jubilant after scoring his triple-century. Photo / Mark Mitchell

For too long, New Zealanders have had to put up with the weakest of excuses from some of their sportsmen and women. "That's just the way I play" or something along those lines has often been trotted out after another limp effort. In effect, the players are suggesting that changes which would improve their performance are somehow beyond them. We must take them as they are with all their limitations and accept that second-best is good enough as long as sporadic success is delivered.

In reality, however, this is just an excuse for an unwillingness, mentally or physically, to put in the work required to achieve success consistently. Never has that been more evident than in New Zealand's glorious summer of cricket.

Test series victories over the West Indies and India, the world's second-rated team, were achieved, in large part, on the mountain of runs scored by the Black Caps' captain, Brendon McCullum, and Ross Taylor. McCullum's season was topped off by the triple-century, the first by a New Zealander, which saved the second test against India. Taylor, for his part, seemed unable to stop scoring runs.

At the start of the summer, however, this sort of output seemed unthinkable. Throughout their careers, both men had demonstrated flaws in technique and approach that undermined their natural talent.

McCullum had a well-warranted reputation for impetuosity. Too often, he gave away his wicket too easily. That has changed with his elevation to the captaincy. Team requirements have led McCullum to add a mental toughness to his game, never more so than during his marathon 302 at the Basin Reserve. If his approach is still relatively adventurous, it is tailored far more to the situation, as are the shots he chooses to play.

Taylor could have chosen to dwell on his axing from the captaincy. Instead, he elected to make himself as good a batsman as he could be. His flood of runs has taken him up to fifth in the ICC rankings. Again, there has been a significant change to his game. Gone is the six-hitting, especially the slog-sweep, that had become his trademark. Instead, there was a far more considered and far more orthodox approach to building a long innings.

Other factors contributed to this most wonderful of summers. Kane Williamson continued to develop as a world-class batsman, and in Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, New Zealand now has bowlers who can dismiss the best batting line-ups. Other medium and fast bowlers also showed they were ready to step up when given opportunities.

The team has also benefited from astute selection, not least in the unearthing of two all-rounders, Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham. Astoundingly, Anderson scored the fastest one-day century on record, while Neesham announced his arrival with an unbeaten 137 at the Basin Reserve.

The level of success this summer has fans contemplating another era like that of the 1980s. That may be premature. There are still question-marks, notably over the opening batsmen and Ish Sodhi's development into a top-class spinner. But there is good reason to look forward with confidence to the world Twenty20 tournament contest in Bangladesh and a tour of the West Indies. Succeeding consistently and away from home is the next goal. In embracing the need to change, McCullum and Taylor have shown the way.