Rise of the Kiwis' black sheep

Chris Rattue laments the absence of New Zealand quick bowler Dion Nash... a situation which puts the spotlight right back on Chris Cairns.

From Inside Edge, March 2000

For a brief moment, he was portrayed as an enfant terrible of New Zealand cricket. And for much of his career, a back complaint has been an unwanted companion. Last month it removed him from the equation for the games against Australia, and the Kiwis are going to miss their toughest competitor.

Dion Nash has negotiated a tortuous journey to earn the sort of popularity few in New Zealand cricket ever command.

It is not the sort of movie-star attention that follows the likes of Shane Warne, or the mass appeal Chris Cairns developed when his looks won attention as cricket followers despaired at his apparent wasted talent.

But the 28-year-old medium-fast bowler and decent middle-order batsman has gained the sort of following that sports stars value the most. Deep respect from the public, who finally discovered a cricketer who could not only come up with consistent world-class performances, but backed that up with a relentless, aggressive attitude on the field that belied a likable nature off it. A super hero, without the flashy coat.

Even at one of his lowest points, Nash still managed to emerge with some honour. In early 1995, he, current captain Stephen Fleming and the since discarded Matthew Hart were given brief suspensions after admitting they smoked cannabis at a barbecue while on tour in South Africa.

This was during some of New Zealand's darker days. The golden era inspired by Sir Richard Hadlee was long gone, and the country's top players had the reputations of spoiled brats - and image not helped by over-the-top television advertising campaigns.

The suspended trio actually won some respect for admitting they had smoked the drug, as it was known that other more senior players ducked for cover. They had also been promised immunity from further cricket prosecution after being fined $250 each on tour, yet were hauled to account on their return home.

Cannabis itself is hardly regarded as a hanging offence by many New Zealanders, where it is freely smoked and grown even though it is still illegal. And the impression was that three young cricketers had taken the blame for others.

Still, it was clear that many of the national side did not have their minds on the job as much as they should, and Nash was right in the centre of the storm.

Yet five years later, he is seen as central to the turnaround in New Zealand's cricketing fortunes.

When Fleming was injured out of matches against India and South Africa in the 1998-99 season, Nash was given command. And his competitive urges are believed by many to have been the catalyst which has spurred Cairns to produce a series of match-winning performances.

At least one selector was believed to have feared that Nash's early return from the tour of India last year would blunt Cairns' effectiveness.

Now that fear is set to be tested. In Nash's absence it will be Cairns who is asked to step up a gear and confront the Australian juggernaut.

Cairns' early inconsistencies haven't earned him the universal respect of his trans-Tasman opponents, a point made crystal clear by former batting star Dean Jones on the eve of the tour.

Jones basically slagged the allrounder off, predicting he would fold under pressure.

But the rejoinder from Sydney-based former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon was swift. He painted Cairns as a new man and predicted "a fair amount of egg" would be heading in Jones' direction - "soon".

But it was unquestionably Nash who set the tone for his newly-competitive countrymen. He had a number of clashes with Steve Waugh on Australia's 1998 tour of New Zealand, and received a match referee's caution after colliding with the great Australian batsman during a one-day international at Eden Park.

He was also spoken to by umpire Russell Tiffen about gamesmanship during his superb display in an innings victory over the West Indies in Hamilton last December.

"Sometimes I push it a bit... you've got to get into the game and you've got to put yourself on the line or else you'll get dictated to," Nash said afterwards. "I tend to put myself in a position where I'm too embarrassed to come off second-best."

Nash has built a reputation as an all-rounder with Otago, Northern Districts, Middlesex and latterly Auckland, although bowling is definitely his stronger suit.

His figures put him up there with the best in Kiwi history - the incomparable Hadlee apart - although they would only be footnotes in the records of the great cricket countries.

In 30 Tests, he has taken 92 wickets at an average of 27.20 - Cairns has 150 at 29.30. Nash's Test batting has brought 642 runs as an average of just over 21.40.

His back injury is a real worry for New Zealand, not just for the coming series but well into the future. It put him out of action for nearly two years before he returned to the national side in early 1998. New Zealand cricket even hired a bio-mechanics specialist to help him get back into action.

Although many Test cricketers have made a mark in their 30's, they don't usually include new-ball bowlers with serious back complaints.

Nash has already earned a special place in the hearts of New Zealand sports fans, for helping turn around the fortunes of a team whose credibility, for much of the 1990s, appeared damaged almost beyond repair.

The question over the next few weeks is not so much who will take the wickets and score the runs he would have contributed, but whether or not anyone is prepared to stand up and supply the backbone.

Picture: Dion Nash... his loss will be sorely felt by the Kiwis

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