Jerome Kaino of the Blues has made his money in Japan and returned to settle down. Photo / Getty Images
Jerome Kaino of the Blues has made his money in Japan and returned to settle down. Photo / Getty Images
Mark: Well that's that then, we won the World Cup.
Andrew: Yes! What does the Moral World Cup look like, Mark? Where does it sit? On the higher ground above the Aussies? Is it not beneath us? We're being championed and it's nice but can we possibly just make sure next time we make a final we win?
Mark: In a game dubbed "The Gentleman's Game" I take winning the Moral Cup very seriously. Will there be a next time? Let's not forget McCullum won't be there, Vettori won't be there, Elliott won't be there and they're the ones who had the big hand in us getting there.
Andrew: But we're getting the associations to play the brand of cricket that Hesson wants which is wonderful to see. Will they buy into it? Do we have those types of players? Maybe more people will be drawn to aggressive batting and bowling at the domestic level. As a game it's never been more popular with everybody and that's crucial for New Zealand Cricket and because while the tournament has made them money, it's the goodwill the Black Caps generated you just can't buy.
Mark: Yeah you may be right there. So really this is not about what the Black Caps do over the next year or so it's about what the provinces do over the next few years to implement the 'new way.' This said though it is pretty important that the lads, and they are my lads now, go well in England. The weather is fair right now but the fair weather fan turns foul faster than the West Coast in a westerly.
Andrew: The last thing anyone wants to do is get into a weather conversation about inversion layers with you but bring on England and goodbye Dan Vettori. I probably didn't need to include his last name but since it's a Thursday you might think I'm talking about "Carter" but no, I'm talking about the boy wizard. Also, goodbye to Charles Piutau who's in charge of his financial security as a 23-year-old outside back that is off to Ulster. It's the new OE for All Blacks. A fringe player? Played a handful of tests? Your value is more but is the pathway blocked or the amount just too good to be true? Then Bon Voyage but I like to think that Piutau will be back in 2019 in time for the defence of the Rugby World Cup.
Mark: Well I'm a bit foggy on this one but now that the mist has cleared somewhat - get it, inversion layer - actually the red mist has cleared because losing our best young rugby talent to the Euro used to annoy me no end, I can see clearly now - ha, get it fog, inversion layer - anyway I used to fear what losing these players would do to our rugby development but I've now come to believe it actually has a positive effect. Look at Jerome Kaino, he leaves for Japan, makes money, has fun, then returns to settle down. His experience is now locked in place. I'm sure Piutau will get the financial job done, get the travel bug out of the system and return for the better. The factory that is New Zealand will continue to spit out talent.
Andrew: What do we do now? I read somewhere, I think it was in these pages, that the Warriors, the Phoenix and the All Blacks Sevens all lost on Sunday. What an awful day of sport. Is it now that we reacquaint ourselves with these sports? Easter weekend is the perfect opportunity to unzip the beige suit, remove the box, take off the pads (not in that order) and settle back into footy (whichever that code is to you, the reader). Maybe even google 'Scott' and 'jandal' and see how one of our Kiwi drivers is doing in the V8s.
Mark: Excuse me, The Masters anyone? It was wonderful while it lasted and long may it last into the future but yes the time has come to move back into our comfort zone that is the oval ball. It makes life so much easier on a talkback radio show when we just need to open up with, "how about that rugby, eh" and the boards light up. However I am a little uncomfortable with, "how about them Hurricanes eh". At least the tried and true "how bad are The Blues" is still there as a trusted show opener. We will always remember this time in our lives, when the Black Caps became feng-shui or more fair dinkum but let's not fall into Shane Warne's trap and know when it's time to move on.
Pros & cons ... of sledging in cricket
Grant Elliott, left, chats with Australian players Brad Haddin, James Faulkner and Pat Cummins. Photo / AP
Mark: Sledging must stay. Sledging is not just part of the game, it's part of the entertainment. Could all the "outragers" please get down off your high horses and harden up. It's good for the game. No one wants to watch cricket, or rugby, or league, they want to be entertained. What was the most entertaining action in all of the World Cup? That's right, Wahab Riaz going off at Old Nobby Pants Watson when Australia played Pakistan. Pakistan were always going to lose but boy that mano a mano confrontation was awesome to watch. And don't give me this, "it's a bad look for the children" leftie garbage either. It's up to our coaches to coach the young ones how to sledge the right way, after all it's part of the game. However, send-offs! No no no no no. I have neither tolerance nor stomach for the send-off. Once a wicket has fallen it's contest over. The game is up and regardless of what went on before the batsman, bowler confrontation is done.
Andrew: Look. I know you lost your nerve in the bowels of the Adelaide Oval and can't handle it any more but sledging is part of the game, it's just that it's not clever any more. If it's clever send it upstairs for review and an arbiter of dry one liners or "zingers" can then rule properly for such occurrences because let's be honest, they check anything and everything these days. But send-offs must stay. Send-offs are celebrations and a reminder that you're out just in case you've forgotten. It's the whole point of sport - celebrating the minor and major wins and it's the game within a game that excites the players and the audience. We need send offs because we need villains. The Black Caps don't care about it so why do we?
