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the new zealand dilemma

benchmark00

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Pretty much agree with benchmark. Not suggesting by any stretch that we should be dominating but periods like mid 90s when we were truly utterly abysmally awful and then some of the last five years just should not be happening. Low population is such a weak excuse.

Low population just means there is less margin for error with your limited resources. Some failings are due to bad luck with injuries at the top level but there are also numerous examples of poor organisation and facilities down to the junior levels, generally not being good at spreading cricket to kids who aren't white and affluent, years of ****y management at a higher level, and selection policies that have driven away good and potentially good players.

I think our most legitimate excuse is the ****y weather - really does make it difficult to play a summer sport that relies on dry conditions like no other.

Rugby certainly doesn't help but the AFL comparison is an interesting one seeing as it near monopolises the attention of Victoria - not so many Australian fast bowlers coming from Victoria at present are there?
AFL monopolises Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and as much as NT as possible really.
 

KiWiNiNjA

International Coach
Rugby certainly doesn't help but the AFL comparison is an interesting one seeing as it near monopolises the attention of Victoria - not so many Australian fast bowlers coming from Victoria at present are there?

New Zealand (population 4+mil)
- monopolised by rugby
Victoria (population 5-6mil)
- monopolised by afl


Yeah, I suppose that's a decent comparison.

If Victoria played international cricket, and were only allowed to choose from those born in AFL dominated Victoria.
 
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vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
I think the conditions play a big difference. From the impressions that I've gotten, it's a similar climate to England with soil like Australia, which makes playing on wet/damp wickets much harder than in England.

Is it true you end up having some higher standards played on synthetic wickets early on in the year until the turf can get up? I thought I remembered someone on this site saying that years ago.
 

benchmark00

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Come to Australia and pick up the Herald Sun. I bet there's more football coverage in that than there is Rugby coverage in the NZ papers.

It's no excuse. Football is a winter sport. The people who don't play cricket so they don't pick up injuries aren't serious about cricket and won't make it anyway. Stop using that as an excuse.
 

thierry henry

International Coach
KN is chronically exaggerating how big ole Ruby Onion is in NZ- dunno why, must be a provincial thing or something.

The real issue is not how big rugby is but how small cricket is. It really is very minor imo. I feel like our culture is constantly moving away from cricket.
 

Mike5181

International Captain
:laugh: You serious bro?

Simon Hickey won the young player of the year award for the second year running then dropped it for rugby. You can't play two sports once you reach any serious level.
 

benchmark00

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This happens everywhere!

There are dozens of AFL players currently playing who could have been state cricketers.
 

KiWiNiNjA

International Coach
I'm not using it as an excuse. I agree with what you said earlier
It's much easier for Australia though because we have the population plus the infrastructure, and I do think that infrastructure is more important than just pure population numbers.
but I also think it's not that simple in NZ's case.

It's the whole mentality of rugby versus the rest from a young age.
Cricket and soccer are for soft ****s. etc

Most of the athletically gifted end up choosing Rugby. There is money in it. There is a winning culture.


I'm not saying it's only because of Rugby. It's just not as simple as "Rugby is a winter sport and Cricket is a summer sport". Maybe so when you're a kid, but when the time comes to choose......


And yeah, there's also the weather.

Poor infrastructure, poor funding, no money in cricket. No history of winning.
A lot of that comes from the dominance of Rugby.
 
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thierry henry

International Coach
Don't substantially more kids play soccer than rugby? Didn't realise we were living in the 1950s ftr. In day to day life I see no evidence of an overwhelming rugby culture. I certainly don't see it in attendances at the games.
 

Flem274*

123/5
Speaking as someone who plays a sport where other countries resources are hilariously larger than ours, but yet we still manage to beat them, infrastructure and money will only go so far.

Money and infrastructure will only go so far to stop daft shots or long hops. You can correct those pretty cheaply.
 

Debris

International 12th Man
Speaking as someone who plays a sport where other countries resources are hilariously larger than ours, but yet we still manage to beat them, infrastructure and money will only go so far.

Money and infrastructure will only go so far to stop daft shots or long hops. You can correct those pretty cheaply.
I think that is a bit of a myth that other countries have more resources than NZ for rugby. Other countries are much larger but rugby is not the main sport. The actual number of rugby players is not much larger for most countries (except maybe SA). Pretty sure NZ are not lacking in funds for rugby union either.
 

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