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Wow, here I am as coach of the New Zealand cricket team. A really great position; and one that even Hogan’s never had. I really feel proud of my new title, and am looking forward to touring around with the boys and laying out cones for them. I thought I’d give Sportsfreak readers the chance to get a unique look into the camp, and how things are panning out in the most important job inside NZ cricket. After all, you guys aren’t the Times of London or anything like that, so I feel happy to talk to you.
Andy Moles was a nice guy, but where was the batting for 14 hours and 21 minutes against Australia to save a test match in his CV? And when things get tough, you need to draw on memories like that. In fact I take inspiration from that vigil even on the good days. Justin’s a good bloke, and sometimes it’s easy to forget he’s a Doctor these days. He’s always been prepared to bend over for the team cause, and that’s one of the things that’s we like about him. He opened in tests in Pakistan when none of us wanted to, and he sure knows how to make the players happy these days. So when he told me that Dan and the boys had picked me to be their coach, I knew he had the finger on the pulse. He also said that Heath Mills is pretty happy about my appointment too, so that’s pretty important. It’s been pretty full-on since my appointment; in the radio commentary box in New Plymouth one day, sitting in on team meetings the next. Fortunately Dan’s done all the tricky Press Conferences so far; although I don’t really know how much longer that one’s going to last. And hasn’t my reign got off to a great start? Hammering the Bangladeshis like that in a T20 match was all I could have hoped for. I like it in Hamilton; always have. It’s a long way from Havelock North, but it’s still a good place; I scored a test century here once, and it’s where Dan is from. As you can imagine, with all this going on, it’s a really positive mood in the camp, and I’ve had heaps of good feedback so far not only from the players, but also from media people like Rigor. Hogan hasn’t said anything to me yet, but I bet he’s really chuffed. And, although I haven’t spoken to him for a while I am sure that Wrighty’s really happy for me too, and that we’re still great mates. So now we’re on our way back home to Napier and a switch to the ODI series starting tomorrow. I can’t wait. More chance for me to stamp my style on this job; I’ve insisted that Dan tells me the team the moment I turn up at the park tomorrow morning. I’m in charge all right and I’m loving it. Cheers, Batch and the Boys
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