From: H.Edwards@massey.ac.nz (H. Edwards)
Subject: Re: NZ v Zim - Lack of Play
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 03:27:09 GMT

In article <1992Nov5.231807.22108@dmpe.csiro.au> mohan@theta.mel.dms.CSIRO.AU
(Mohan Krishnamoorthy) writes:

>In article <1992Nov5.130231.11972@waikato.ac.nz> hist1261@waikato.ac.nz writes:
>>
>>[...stuff on Zim vs NZ Test delay _due to rain_ deleted...]
>>
>> Thanks for the reply, but I did already know most of this myself via the radio
>>and "Herald".  What I was really was after was a posting from the "other side"
>> of the debate, but I guess there are no takers from Zimbabwe.  You can't
>>defend the indefensible I suppose...
>
>What _debate_?  Why make every issue a contentious one?  Why treat the
>entire world with suspicion?  

Hang on, Richard was talking about the obvious disagreement between Crowe
and Houghton as to whether conditions were dangerous for the fielding side.
This is the only issue mentioned in his article, and seemed to have little
else to do with to do with the rest of the world.  Are you sure you read the
article properly?
>
>Why was there no debate?
>
>. perhaps because the issue was trivially insignificant in the total
>  scheme of things!

Could be - but I don't think that Martin Crowe and the rest of the New
Zealand team were concerned about the total scheme of things, they
were concerned with the Zimbabwean captain's refusal to take the field
(again, are we talking about the same article?)

>. more importantly, perhaps because there is no one from Zimbabwe who
>  _has_ access to this net!

A very good point.

>That doesn't mean they are necessarily indefensible!  Good of the New
>Zealand papers to carry that unnecessary interview of Martin Crowe.

Why was it unnecessary - or do you think that the comments of a
test captain about a current test are not appropriate content in the
newspapers of his home country?  Read many Australian papers that don't
carry AB's comments during an Oz test?  But I agree that "indefensible"
is too strong.

>Did they carry the views of Houghton?  It is easy to beat your chest,
>jump up and down and cry fowl (like the British tabloids did, when
>Waqar and Wasim were ripping through their national team like a tailor
>would, his cloth).  It is more important to report objectively.
>
>That apart.  Why did Zimbabwe refuse the option of playing in wet and
>potentially dangerous conditions? (remember, they do not have the wealth
>of experience that NZ has in this level of cricket).  Why not?  I can't

I don't know about newspapers, but the Radio New Zealand report I heard
carried comments from both Crowe and Houghton.  Houghton said that a test
was much more important than a first class fixture, and that his decision
could well have been different if it had not been an international.

As for why Z don't have the "wealth of experience" of NZ, I suspect it
has something to do with the difference in average summer rainfall in the
two countries!  Zimbabwe's previous encounter with NZ before this tour
was the World Cup match played on a cold drizzly day in Napier.

>. . see NZ adopting a simlarly magnanimous attitude in a test match against
>Australia (for example) when their own position is precarious.  It is
>easy to jump up and down and cry out that these things ought to be done
>for the (sic!) `sake of the game' (a banal cricket cliche, if ever there
>was one!).  However, when it comes down to the crunch, all teams are
>selfish in protecting their self-interest.  NZ is no saint in this
>regard.  So, why pretend being one -- for the sake of the game...

I can't imagine that NZ would ever pull that sort of trick against OZ
after the infamous underarm incident.  NZ may not be a saint, but there
certainly have some infamous sinners over the years.  Nowhere do I
read a claim that NZ is saintly, just some discussion over tactics
and decisions in a recent test match.  Why does this cause a response
of such self-righteous indignation?

Oh sorry I forgot - this is rec.sport.cricket, isn't it?

Self-righteous, indignant responses anticipated.

>/Mohan
>
>> Richard.
>
>-------
>Mohan Krishnamoorthy, CSIRO, Division of Maths and Stats,
>Private Bag 10, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia.
>Phone: +61 3 542 2474; 	email: mohan@mel.dms.CSIRO.AU

-- 


Howard Edwards				Ph: (64)(6)3569099 ext 8331
Dept of Statistics			Fax: (64)(6)3505611
Massey University			email: H.Edwards@massey.ac.nz
Palmerston North
NEW ZEALAND
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket