Cheers Vettori!

One of New Zealand cricket's legends has finally brought down the curtain on his long and illustrious career.

Daniel Luca Vettori, who made his debut as a 19 year old for the national side in 1998, announced today that Sunday's Cricket World Cup Final in Melbourne was his last international match - and likely to be his last ever competitive cricket match; Vettori is set to become coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.

Vettori, quite possibly the best offspinner ever produced in this country, and one of the best ever to play the game, had a terrific World Cup despite being out of the side for nearly 2 years, finishing in the top 10 of the wicket taking list and still playing a key role for the Blackcaps particularly against Australia.

Like Hadlee and Cairns before him, Vettori developed into a fine all-rounder particularly enhancing his runs tally when he took over from Stephen Fleming as captain after the 2007 World Cup.

His reign as captain was not without controversy, with critics saying that Vettori earned too much power by becoming coach, selector and captain all at once. His time as captain also coincided with one of New Zealand cricket's most fallow periods although that was probably down to senior players retiring and a lack of quality players replacing them.

But it wouldn't be fair to end this tribute on a sour note. Vettori's record in tests - 362 test wickets at an average of 34.36 and 6 tons, 4531 runs with average of 30.0 - warrants him being considered one of the game's greatest ever all-rounders, and his record in ODIs is even better.

But it's not his record that makes him great - it's his character and humility that earns him so much respect from his fans and contemporaries.

Thanks DL Vettori! You will be missed.

A Look Back at the 2015 Cricket World Cup!

The dream is over.

After the most magical 6 weeks of cricket - and sport - that this country has ever experienced, the 2015 Cricket World Cup is over. Unfortunately, New Zealand cricket fans didn't get the ending they desired following 6 weeks of the most exhilirating and competitive cricket seen in this country since the days of Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe.

Nevertheless, Brendon McCullum's and Mike Hesson's class of 2015 will be fondly remembered as one of the best ever sports teams produced in this country, and at the same time, returning cricket to the same levels of respectability that the All Blacks - and even the Kiwis get - after a very fallow decade for the sport in this country.

With autumn well underway in this country, it will be interesting to see if the effects of this World Cup will filter through to grassroots level next summer - participation numbers in cricket have been declining in the last couple of years with other sports like football, basketball, rowing, athletics and rugby snatching future cricketers at school level.

Fortunately, the hangover from this World Cup shouldn't last long with the Indian Premier League due to start in a few weeks featuring several Kiwis and then the Blackcaps touring England in late April until June to wrap off an exhausting season of cricket.

And of course, there's the Aussies albeit without Michael Clarke to look forward to for a round of revenge next summer.

So here's a look back at the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Team of the Tournament -

(not quite strictly adhering to positions where players excelled in due to the number of changes throughout this tournament in batting order, i.e. Steve Smith moved from 4 to 3, AB de Villiers down the order).

Martin Guptill, New Zealand
Brendon McCullum, New Zealand (captain)
Kumar Sangakarra, Sri Lanka (wk)
Steve Smith, Australia
AB de Villiers, South Africa
Grant Elliott, New Zealand
James Faulkner, Australia
Imran Tahir, South Africa
Tim Southee, New Zealand
Trent Boult, New Zealand
Mitchell Starc, Australia

Bowler of the Tournament - Mitchell Starc, Australia. Trent Boult and Tim Southee had brilliant tournaments but no bowler has ever started so brilliantly in a Final as Mitchell Starc. Moreover, in a tournament where bat generally won over ball, Mitchell Starc broke that convention and was virtually unplayable on his day. There will be more to come with an Ashes tour later in the year where Starc will no doubt play a big role in.

Batsman of the Tournament - Kumar Sangakarra, Sri Lanka. May have missed out to Guptill for highest runs scorer at this tournament but Sangakarra was clearly the batsman of the tournament, breaking the record for most consecutive hundreds at the Cricket World Cup. Clearly Mr Sri Lanka at this tournament and when he went out for not much against South Africa in the quarterfinal, victory was guaranteed for the Proteas.

Game of the Tournament - CWC Semifinal - South Africa v New Zealand, Eden Park, Auckland. Nuff said, watch the highlights. Australia v New Zealand (round robin), Pakistan v South Africa, Afghanistan v Scotland and England v Bangladesh come pretty close too.

Moment of the Tournament - Grant Elliott's six to send the Blackcaps to the CWC Final. See Game of the Tournament.

Disappointment of the Tournament - England. All teams in this World Cup inc. Afghanistan had at least one star player who could make a difference. England had absolutely no one and seem to be 10 years behind the rest of the game. For a country considered one of the 3 power brokers of the game - and given seeding 2 years ago for this tournament - this was an absolutely shambolic tournament that just about avoided ignominy at the death against Afghanistan.

Surprise of the Tournament - Bangladesh. They started slowly but the Bengal Tigers got better and revealed some stars of the game in Mahmudullah and Rubel Hossain in their last pool games against England and New Zealand. Hopefully this will finally catapult Bangladesh into a respectable test cricket nation.

Thoughts for the Future?
Stick to 12 teams and retain the current qualifying tournament but have games every 3-4 days to reduce the length of the tournament. The break that the Blackcaps had at times was just ridiculous and I'm sure they wouldn't mind playing 3 games within 7 days during this World Cup. How about a 3rd/4th place game for revenue purposes?

Why NZ Cricket is a Winner Already

Never in New Zealand's history has cricket been so loved by the public and media.

Even the fabled 1992 side and Richard Hadlee's merry men of the 1980s didn't get this much attention - then again, news and social media and Apple weren't as powerful as they are nowadays.

The Hurricanes' 6-0 start and the Warriors 20th anniversary celebrations have grabbed the attention of sports media but even then, they are a mere dent on the juggernaut that is Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson's Blackcaps of 2015.

The real essence of the story is the turnaround of a team that was at its nadir at the start of the 2010s, after a fairly fallow decade of inconsistent results and forgettable bit players, into a consistently victorious and highly competitive team.

For so long, New Zealand cricket for all its talent, has had the odd great result against a big name - mostly at home - yet never gone on to show that it can consistently deliver the wins and become a force in the game.

Hence, it's why this World Cup has been so wonderful and more than thumps the performance of Martin Crowe's 1992 side which fell short at the semifinals to Pakistan.

The gritty win over South Africa signalled the arrival of the New Zealand cricket side that the public has always dreamt of seeing - on record, it caped off an unbeaten campaign at home for the Blackcaps in this World Cup but it also showed that New Zealand's cricketers finally had the same grit and strength that were hallmarks of that other team that New Zealand loves.

Whatever happens in Melbourne on Sunday night, New Zealand cricket is a winner already.

Without wanting to be a lone dark cloud in a sunny blue sky, winning the World Cup on the turf of the ultimate enemy who happen to be the hosts will be difficult and there will also be elements on the day that could conspire to deny the Blackcaps the World Cup, i.e. refereeing decisions, weather, luck.

The 1995 All Blacks were denied the world title by ill health and a nation hellbent on showing the world what they've missed for so long due to apartheid. But their defeat in the Final did nothing to harm their status as one of our greatest All Blacks sides.

I think the 2015 Blackcaps, win or lose, will be considered one of our greatest cricket teams - possibly even our greatest; of course that status would be secured by World Cup glory. Defeat will be heartbreaking but should not stop the impending revival of the game in NZ in the grassroots.

Right from the start, that is probably the result the NZ Cricket fraternity would have wanted.

Well Done Hurricanes, But You're Not Contenders. Yet.

The Hurricanes are 6-0, a record that most people wouldn't have expected them to be on at the start of the 2015 season.

Consider that their start of the season included two games to kick off the campaign in South Africa against the Bulls and Lions in the middle of summer in the highveldt plus taking on the Force in Perth who are always a banana skin for New Zealand sides travelling to and from the republic.

Consider also that they only played their first true home game of the season in Wellington on Friday night - the stadium had of course been reserved for the game every Kiwi seems to be crazy about at the moment for 6 weeks.

Consider all these things and it is quite a respectable achievement for the Central North Island franchise and a terrific start for new coach duo Chris Boyd and John Plumtree.

However, the real stuff is yet to come for the Canes who have only played two fellow NZ sides this season, i.e. the out of form Blues in a thriller in Palmerston North and a Highlanders side hit by injuries at the wrong time in Dunedin.

The Canes fans, coaches and players know that to really be considered serious title contenders, that firstly they need to maintain their winning run at home - one surefire way to get the crowds back to the stadium for the rugby after years of below par attendances. Motivation for the Wellington franchise is the fact that the Hurricanes will be the best quality rugby the city will see this year with the ABs only playing two tests at home this season with one of them in Auckland and the other in Christchurch.

Secondly, they need to beat the Chiefs and Crusaders, the two NZ sides everyone expects to lead the Kiwi fight for Super Rugby success. Lack of wins against the two when it matters have really been a problem for the Canes in the last couple of seasons and has proven fatal for a side that still relies heavily on confidence.

If the Canes are lucky, they could still make the playoffs without a win against either side, but the ramnifications of beating the Chiefs and Crusaders during the regular season could be huge later on in the season as they are likely to face one of them again to progress in the competition.

The talent has always been around in the Canes and even with the lost of players this season, the Canes still have talent in abundance. And for once, the talk has been about the gain of a star player, i.e. Ma'a Nonu which appears to have revitalised the whole team.

On that note, Nehe Milner-Skudder has proven to be one of the findings of a season where his contemporaries, TJ Perenara, Brad Shields and Jeff Toomaga-Allen have made the step to become leaders in the side. The Manawatu fullback's form has been so good that Hurricanes fans should probably be asking "Andre {Taylor} who?"

Why Making the CWC Final Will Be Bigger than Winning the RWC

The summer of 2014/15 will forever be remembered by New Zealanders as the summer the country fell in love with cricket again. 

Thanks to the Blackcaps and brilliant marketing and management by the organisers of the Cricket World Cup, our summer game has never been so popular amongst the public and media. 

And now we've made a World Cup Final and obviously the goal is to win the whole thing in Melbourne. 

New Zealand has won every game we've played in this World Cup at home - something the hallowed 1992 side failed to achieve - and earned our right as the 2nd best side in the world.  

Victory in the Final at the MCG will be bigger than winning the Rugby World Cup in my opinion. Not putting down Stephen Donald and Richie McCaw's achievements of 2011 but you must remember that the All Blacks of 2011 and today are the world's best team at their sport and are expected to win the World Cup - a bit like the Aussies at cricket or Brazilians at football.

Perhaps also, it is the fact that for much of this century, the Blackcaps have made New Zealand sport's could-do-better list. 

Other than fleeting cameos which showed how brilliant they could be on their day, the Blackcaps have lost more games than won them and spent much of this century in the bottom half of the top ten of test nations, floating just above the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

I myself have had a love-hate relationship with the Blackcaps to the point that defeats were just shrugged aside and considered part as the norm. I certainly think that the years after the likes of Fleming and Astle retired were one of the worst years for New Zealand cricket, i.e. 2008-2011.

Which makes this recent rise of the Blackcaps so great and thrilling to watch. What has been even more satisfying is the fact that the Blackcaps have not only risen to midtable security but have now emerged as real contenders for the title of best cricket team in the world in all forms of the game.

Obviously with the Cricket World Cup over the last month or so, that has been evident in the 50-overs format of the game but improvement has been very evident in the other forms of the game. 

It is a remarkable achievement given that in New Zealand, other sports like soccer, basketball, tennis, rowing, cycling, golf and video games have started stealing youngsters who might have gone on to play cricket. The professionalism of rugby union and rugby league have also meant that youngsters no longer have time to play cricket in the summer, further reducing our pool of cricketers.

It is also a win for the world game in a time when the big 3, i.e. Australia, India and England are negotiating to play more cricket with each other and less cricket against the "lesser" nations. The way New Zealand dispatched England earlier in the World Cup must make a mockery of those claims for superiority. 

Whoever New Zealand face in the Final will be tough but as McCullum and co have shown throughout the tournament. This World Cup campaign will be marked down as a success for NZ cricket whatever happens in the Final but it would be nice to have that icing on the cake. 

   

Should the Wellington Phoenix Be Playing in the AFC Champions League?

The Wellington Phoenix are definitely rising above the ashes. Their form will at least guarantee them a spot in the playoffs but Ernie Merrick, Nathan Burns and their merrymen are aiming for more than that - top spot after the regular season which would give them home advantage throughout the playoffs, and the chance of Wellington hosting the Grand Final of Australia's domestic league.

A mouthwatering prospect given New Zealand's recent form of ruining Australia's parties and perhaps the icing on the cake if New Zealand beat Australia at the MCG in the Cricket World Cup just over a month and a half prior to the scheduled A-League Grand Final.

Winning the championship would be an astonishing effort for the NZ based franchise and should come with plenty of rewards not just for the club but also for New Zealand football.

However, the Nix will be denied one reward that would normally presented to the A-League champions and runners-up - qualification for the financially lucrative AFC Champions League.

Because the Wellington Phoenix are a New Zealand registered franchise albeit playing in an Australian competition, they are in fact a Oceania Football Confederation entity playing in a Asian Football Confederation competition, and are therefore, not entitled to compete in the Asian Football Confederation as per agreement between FIFA, AFC and the OFC - or so we are led to believe.

Yes the Phoenix are a New Zealand based team and are not the only club in the world that play their football in another country - Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto all have clubs in the MLS across the border and Welsh clubs Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport all play in English leagues.

But hang on, the Phoenix franchise is effectively a FFA franchise that has been handed out by the FFA to a New Zealand based organisation, just like every other team in the A-League. So how does that make them different from the other A-League teams and make them less entitled to the riches of the AFC Champions League?

This will be a key sticking point should the Nix make the A-League Grand Final at least - a more distinct possibility now.

Yes, the AFC's version of the Champions League is not a bar on the more prestigious UEFA version or the Copa Liberatadores. But it is a very prestigious competition and a very financially lucrative one for any club that participates.

Ok, the fact that the competition is played in the A-League off-season may be a down side - Western Sydney's A-League season was clearly affected by the fact that the players played in the Champions League during the off-season.

It is still the highest tier club competition in this region and something to add to a player's CV - as well as their bank balances.

At this stage, the most the Nix can achieve is success in Australia because they aren't allowed to achieve success in Asia like the other Australian clubs.

I would love to see Saudi or Korean clubs playing the Nix in Wellington and I think we would give them a good fight during our winter at the stadium. It would also compliment our pre-season of playing Premier League sides.

So what's stopping that from happening?