ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2015

New Zealand cricket through the eyes of Don Neely

 •  Published on
Don Neely was the New Zealand chairman of selectors in 1992. (Credits - Jamie Alter)
Don Neely was the New Zealand chairman of selectors in 1992. (Credits - Jamie Alter) © Cricbuzz

On February 22, 1992 the Benson and Hedges World Cup began at Auckland's Eden Park with a match between hosts New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand made 248 for 6, and were on the field to begin their defence. Up in the hospitality suites, the chairman of selectors Don Neely was sitting with friends, wearing his best suit, surrounded by the tinkling of wine glasses around the air-conditioned enclosure as waiters and waitresses kept the well-to-do guests replenished.

As Martin Crowe set his field at the start of Australia's chase, the bespectacled Neely got up and excused himself. He was asked by his company where he was going.

"Just keep your eye on the first over," he said as he went outside to watch closer.

Neely, a former Wellington captain who had made some innovative calls on the field, including opening the attack with a spinner in the the late 1960s, could sense something different was going to happen. After a young Chris Cairns bowled the first over, Crowe signalled for the Indian-origin offspinner Dipak Patel, who came in from the outfield and handed his cap to the umpire. At the time it was unthinkable on the international stage, madder still in the World Cup.

Crowe's captaincy was one of the touchstones of the 1992 campaign, particularly his innovative use of Patel with new ball, and a platoon of slow-medium bowlers who dried up the opposition. Neely credits the idea of taking pace off the ball up front with Patel to Crowe.

"It would be fair to say that Martin and his coach Warren Lees were the ones who get the credit," he says. "It could have been an influence that I had because when I captained Wellington, I used a left-arm spinner to open the bowling, so there was a history with me doing it, but that was Martin's call. It's one thing to say something to the captain; he can take all that information on board and try it. But I remember knowing full well that the opening over was going to be bowled by Dipak Patel."

On that day at Eden Park, Patel finished with figures of 10-1-36-1, his sole wicket being that of Australian captain Allan Border for 3. A theme had been set. Patel went on to share the new ball on six occasions and finished the World Cup with eight wickets with a superb economy rate of 3.10, the best for all major bowlers. "It was a mystery to batsmen and it worked. I was amazing," says Neely. "Dipak was the most economical bowler and worth his weight in gold in the covers. When we picked the side, Martin thought maybe Cairns could do this role of taking over the bowling, but in the end it was Dipak."

That was a campaign famous for its innovations, and from a New Zealand perspective the other big one was Mark Greatbatch being given free licence in the opening role. Greatbatch, or 'Paddie' as he was nicknamed, did not play New Zealand's first two matches but when John Wright got injured, the team management picked him to slot in. "We had discussed that Wright would try to bat through the innings, scoring at roughly two runs an over, get a hundred, holding up one end, and others could come in and play aggressively. We were looking at 250," says Neely. "When he got injured we said to Paddie 'Mark, theres an opening here, so would you like to open the batting?'. His eyes opened wide because he just wanted to get out there and bat. He readily agreed, but with one condition: that he would be the attacker. You could see the adrenalin rising, his eyes were shining. Our response was 'OK, yep, that's fine, off you go.' And it was amazing."

Picking the squad for the World Cup was not a very confidence-inspiring process. In the immediate lead-up, New Zealand played England at home for a full series. One Test, one ODI, two more Tests, two more ODIs, three days off and straight into the World Cup. Players were tired and there were no tearaway quicks to choose. Those playing Tests were playing one-day cricket. Neely and his fellow selectors chose to use one batch of players for the most to see where it would lead, keeping others fresh. Chris Harris, he says, was picked as much for his fielding as his batting and bowling.

"We had a very ordinary attack. Nothing. No pace. The fastest bowler was probably Chris Cairns, he was 19 or 20. Erratic as hell," says Neely. "A pop-gun attack with Dipak Patel opening the bowling, Rod Latham, who hardly got any wickets playing club cricket, took four in one game. And it was wonderful. So many caught and bowled dismissals. The pitches had nothing, slow and low. We won seven in a row. Incredible."

New Zealand's glorious run continued until they were dumped out of the semi-finals by Pakistan. Pakistan's win at Eden Park is best remembered for a young Inzamam-ul-Haq's assault on New Zealand's bowlers, but Neely credits another opposition player. "No, no, no no. For me, Javed Miandad, who always stuffed us, was the key," he says. "He was chatting all the time, telling Inzamam where to go, how to do it. Between overs he'd be showing him strokes and such. With Inzamam, they came from nowhere, raced up. Then in came Moin Khan, and Javed kept the same course going. He got the last few runs and we were gone. That was massive."

Neely is 79, fit and with a good crop of hair. His memory needs no refreshing. He can remember dates and figures like they were from yesterday. He is a veritable encyclopaedia of information. He is well respected in New Zealand, having been a former Wellington captain who led them to the Plunket Shield in his first season in charge, national chairman of selectors, New Zealand Cricket president, trustee of the New Zealand Cricket Museum, historian and author. He has to his credit many books on the sport, including the highly rated Men In White, a comprehensive history of New Zealand cricket. The scoreboard at the Basin Reserve is named after him too.

After he retired, Neely was a selector for 14 years, seven of which he was convenor. During the 1980s, the New Zealand team played 59 tests, won 17 and lost only 15, with 27 games drawn. They were unbeaten at home, winning seven series and drawing four. Naturally, Neely has a soft spot for that period.

"Very rarely does a nation put 11 Test players on the field, who are at the peak of their powers. In the 80s, we had Richard Hadlee. That's the key ingredient," he says. "When we first beat the West Indies in 1980, Hadlee was critical. While the West Indians were getting the ball to sit up and get nicks, Hadlee was skidding the ball on. He got more lbws. Ewan Chatfield, Lance Cairns were good workmanlike bowlers who kept it tight. That helped Hadlee. Hadlee was also lucky that no West Indian bowler got close to 400 wickets. There were four of them striking! How could any one of them get 400? Hadlee was excellent with the new ball, old ball. And he was well looked after. If it was a day when opposition batsmen were scoring a lot, he wasnt over-bowled. With his bowling success, his batting got more into line. And he was a bloody good gully fielder. Jeff Crowe at first slip, Jeremy Coney at second, a very good cordon."

There is, obviously, huge respect for Martin Crowe. "A good captain, and a fine batsman," says Neely. "In the early 80s, he was coming through, scored five Test hundreds at the Basin Reserve, another big factor in our success. He ended up with the same sort of stats as Dennis Compton, but Martin played much fewer Tests. Imagine what he could have done had we played more Tests."

Neely is not in touch much with Crowe out of respect for privacy, with the cancer he is battling in what must be an incredibly difficult period for the New Zealand great. Yet when he speaks of Crowe and the 1980s and 1992, the respect is all too evident. After all, it was on the backs of men like Crowe that New Zealand cricket came of age in that period. And Neely, a cricket lover to the core, had a front row seat for which he is grateful.

Dipak Patel, the offspinner, opened the bowling for New Zealand during the 1992 World Cup and proved to be effective with eight wickets at an economy rate of 3.10.
Dipak Patel, the offspinner, opened the bowling for New Zealand during the 1992 World Cup and proved to be effective with eight wickets at an economy rate of 3.10. ©Reuters
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