Richie McCaw is in danger of bowing out of test rugby a treble-loser. Picture / Getty Images
Readers send in their burning questions for Mark and Andrew, who tried to find the answers to them all.
What's more likely to happen? A Kiwi golf major winner (men's only sorry Lyds), a Kiwi wins a tennis major or a Kiwi wins an F1 race. (I would have added Tour de France stage but Jack Bauer made that look totally doable.)
Brent, Gisborne
Mark: Brent, I hate to be a corrector here, but come on! We've already won a golf major! Michael Campbell everyone. Duh. Has it got so bad that everyone has erased him totally from their memories? Will we win another before a tennis or F1? No.I rate Tim Wilkinson, Danny Lee but they tend to get the fourth-round wobbles and in a major that would only be worse. Sorry, but for a young Kiwi the tennis slams are a financial stretch too far so I am going for F1. Mitch Evans, he's on track and in front of the right people and he can drive.
Andrew: I think I really want to say it's going to be a Formula One driver because our motorsport talent is so good here and we're a country that does very well in events sitting down but I think it will be a tennis major. But it will be a kid not necessarily born in New Zealand who plays under our flag, and I'm okay with that.
Where does Jesse Ryder's test career rank among our greats? Top 10 or top 20? His average (40.93) is eighth but he only played 18 tests and scored just 69 more runs in his career than Dipak Patel. Give me some names in ranks in-between?
Callum, Browns Bay
Mark: Ryder sits alongside people like Rodney Redmond - 1 test, 1 hundred, average 81; John F Reid - 19 tests, 6 hundreds, average 46; Jack Cowie - 9 tests, 45 wickets, average 21 and, yes, even me - 38 tests, 4 hundreds, average 44. We are all people who came and went and were not too bad but statistically only really did half a job. Top 20 would be too generous. I can think of a lot of names with far more distinguished test records. Ryder is number one in my most talented list, number one in my wasted talent list and number one in my what a bloody shame list. But no, he would not be in my top 20 list, not even close.
Andrew: We're at that point aren't we? Where we're resigned to the fact we've seen the last of Ryder playing for New Zealand. Shame really but those names Mark listed above aren't relevant because it's ultimately Ryder who decided he was done playing international cricket, not the selectors like the other names.
How to make Super Rugby more interesting? Obviously they'd never do a draft (which would be awesome) but how about the NZRU says whichever team wins the NZ conference gets their pick of hosting an AB game the following year. Some incentive at least. What else would work?
Louis, Mt Wellington
Mark: Louis, ensuring the Hurricanes don't make the playoffs is incentive enough for most teams and the main interest in it for me, but I'd argue Super Rugby is still very interesting and is not broken. The local derbies must be protected because until playoff time they are what captures the imagination. I don't really see where you are coming from. Maybe there could be reward for topping the New Zealand conference but the reward for that is that you are probably good enough to go on and win the whole thing.
Andrew: A draft system would work here but there would have to be a major overhaul of the contracting system for Super Rugby in New Zealand to make that work. It's feasible but getting the players and the Players Association to buy into it is the challenge. There aren't compelling enough reasons why it wouldn't work and get a heap more interest.
Michael Campbell has already delivered a major. Photo / NZME
Hey ya. Is it true that Geoff Ogilvy put a hit out on Robert Allenby?
No name attached
Mark: If that is true then the hitman must have been Michael Campbell because if he was trying to kill Allenby he cocked it up pretty bad and didn't even get close.
Andrew: Who's Geoff Ogilvy?
I have a real fear that Richie McCaw will end his career by completing the RWC losing trifecta - defeat in a final to go with semifinal (2003) and quarter-final (2007) defeats. There's a decent chance he will go out a loser. This can't happen. Help me get over this fear.
Renee, Hastings
Mark: Renee, England are going to win the World Cup.
Andrew: Renee, don't listen to Mark. Don't worry about such things. Richie and his team have this. Those losses are the reason why we'll win the World Cup again this time.
What happens to cricket if another batsman is killed by a bouncer during the World Cup?
Paul, Te Awamutu
Mark: For God's sake, Paul. It's not going to happen. Don't you understand the concept of "freak accident".
Freak means it's freaky, as in freaky-deaky, as in very, very, very rare. Think about how many batsmen get sconed every year and how many die.
If I may quote Scribe, "not many if any".
There is more likelihood that one of the coaches will be killed by gangster bookies after his team gets knocked out of the tournament and he's going to blow the lid on the "fix".
Imagine that! Anyway if someone did get hit and killed the tournament would go on.
I'd imagine his team would leave and the game at the time would be abandoned but the show must go on. And no, it is not disrespectful to the dead player to play on.
Andrew: Better question - what if David Warner learned and spoke fluent Hindi? I'd be more shocked.
If Ryan Nelsen decided he wanted to come out of retirement, could he still get a gig starting for the Phoenix?
Sue, Cambridge
Mark: Sue, I have put some thought into this and eventually come to the answer of, yes. Actually, Sue, I didn't need to think about that at all.
Andrew: I'm not sure Ryan's hamstrings are good enough to last but with a proper pre-season I bet he'd be great.
If the Breakers only played with four players, but one of them was LeBron James, where would they finish in the Australian NBL?
Karena, Tokoroa
Andrew: Forget the NBL. They'd win the NBA's Eastern Conference and make the finals.
Mark: Who's LeBron James?
Correction: Last Friday's column wrongly stated that Jim Laker took 19 wickets in a test in 1948. It was actually 1956. We apologise to anyone who lost points in their pub quiz.
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