There’s a popular television commercial of a car company going around during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, where a father pleads to a cricket coach to make his son learn all tricks of the game and added attributes like batting with both hands, fielding, dancing, etc. The coach retorts saying that he is just a cricket coach and not that part particular car brand.
The scenes in New Zealand are quite the same now. Cricket coaches around the nation are getting requests for enrolment by parents asking to make their wards like the Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum. Yes, that’s what a sporting success does to a nation. It is said that Fields Hockey was India’s number one sport till Kapil Dev’s men lifted the World Cup in 1983 at Lord’s and since then the sport in India has never looked back.
Wanganui is a small city, located on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Wanganui is 73 kilometres from Palmerston North, which hosted matches in ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2010, and is 195 kilometres away from the capital Wellington. Like the other Kiwi cities, the rapture of McCullum also captures Wanganui.
Criclife caught up with Dilan Raj, Cricket Development Manager in Wanganui, which is a part of Central Districts Cricket. Central Districts is from where ace batsman Ross Taylor and express bowler Adam Milne play their First Class cricket. Raj, who himself has represented Matabeleland in First Class cricket in Zimbabwe, has been a part of New Zealand cricket for many years and is really thrilled with the success of the Blackcaps.
“It’s really huge here. Among players Adam Milne is hugely popular in Wanganui as he is a regular to the city. Martin Guptill’s knock at Wellington was inspirational. (Daniel) Vettori’s body is barely holding up but he has been truly outstanding. But zero to hero, the most talked about is Grant Elliott’s innings in the semis. He’s a real good bloke who batted out of his skin,” said Raj, who coaches many young kids in the city and is in-charge of the development of the sport there. (Read: Australia vs New Zealand, an intense sibling rivalry where nothing else matters than ‘win’)
The inspirational efforts of the new national “heroes” have made parents enrol their kids to academies, even at the end of the cricket season.
“It’s incredible to see how kids are flocking to the game because of their new heroes. The kids mainly watch on TV and the performances [by New Zealand side] have made a big difference. We have new kids wanting to sign up even though it’s the end of the cricket season. You know it’s really catching on when mothers phone to register their wards. Number of parents now watch their kids rather than just drop them off and pickup later. Also amazing is the cross culture of ethnicities that participate,” added Raj.
Raj acknowledged McCullum’s leadership as the reason for the nation’s phenomenal growing interest in the game.
“McCullum’s been a top player. World class. He is like a God at the moment. Every kid wants to be like him. For a Rugby nation, cricket is having its moment in the sun. Thanks to him,” said Raj.
It’s not just the Indians settled in New Zealand, who are rooting for the Blackcaps, in fact the Kiwis will receive much more than the support of four and half million (New Zealand population) from India itself.
Sunita Rana is of Indian origin and is settled far north in Auckland. She says like most of the New Zealanders, she too wanted an. India-New Zealand final, but will have to live with it.
“Atmosphere is great here and was terrific at Eden Park on Tuesday. Many from here have gone to Melbourne for the final and many of Indian origin too. A Kiwi girl here sponsored her boyfriend’s trip to Australia spending AUD 2000 for the final. Kiwi’s here were too keen to see Blackcaps face India in the final but that didn’t happen. We are disappointed with that but now it’s time to make history. Fingers are crossed and we are ready sporting our Blackcaps,” said Sunita, sincerely hoping a New Zealand win.
Like Sunita, there are millions of other Indians all over the world rooting for the Blackcaps, who are up against a dominant Australian side.
“We are glad to get the Indian support. It does seem like every cricketing nation in the world are rooting for New Zealand and we thank David Warner for that,” quipped Raj.
New Zealand and Australia, though trans-Tasman neighbours, play completely different brand of cricket. While McCullum’s Kiwis like to attack, inspire and give it all, the Aussies do the same but like Raj mentions, they love to wield the tongue too. It will be Daniel Vettori’s last international match and Australian skipper Michael Clarke’s last ODI appearance, and there’s lot at stake as both sides have enough inspiration and motivation ahead of Sunday’s clash.
But for New Zealand as a nation, McCullum and his men have inspired and injected zest to a sport in the land. The mood is best summed up by former skipper Stephen Fleming in his ICC column, “Win or lose, New Zealand’s players have done their country proud.” Then came the caution, “but they will want to make sure they leave nothing in the dressing room because the chance to play in a World Cup final is as special as it gets.”
(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)
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