Nash rates Rixon best
From The Evening Post, May 4, 2002

Retired all-rounder Dion Nash rates Steve Rixon as the pick of the coaches he played under during his decade in the New Zealand cricket team.

Nash played under five coaches – Geoff Howarth, Glenn Turner, David Trist, Denis Aberhart and Rixon – but has no hesitation in singling out the former Australian wicketkeeper.

Nash, 30, said Rixon was far from the complete coach but he related well with the players, drove them hard and instilled confidence.

Those ingredients shone through in 1999 when New Zealand beat England for the first time in a series in England, as well as making the semi-finals of the World Cup.

"Steve Rixon was the best coach, but I do have to temper that because he was aided by a very good management team," Nash said.

The other members were manager John Graham, technical expert Ashley Ross and psychologist Gilbert Enoka.

"We really did go from a bunch of individuals to a team under Steve," Nash said.

"He brought no baggage. He got in there and drove it hard and demanded us to be successful.

"He didn't accept below-par performances and he got angry when we didn't do ourselves justice. They were simple emotions but so effective and refreshing."

Nash, who retired on Thursday because he said he lacked the motivation to attempt another comeback from injury, declined to be specific on the other coaches.

"The rest of them have all done their best, but as far as I was concerned they were just another coach.

"I hope I don't offend anyone by that, but it is just what you get out of it."

Nash's career has the material to be a best-seller. From the highs of his memorable performance against England in 1994, when he became the first player to take 10 wickets and score a half-century at Lord's, to the lows of battling constant injuries, an unhappy time at English county Middlesex, dope smoking in the West Indies in 1994 and last season's suspension for abusing an umpire.

There was also a bold attempt to crack the national one-day team as a batsman and earlier some assertive leadership in the absence of captain Stephen Fleming.

When fit, Nash had the ability, through the late movement of his outswinger, to dismiss the best batsmen in the world. He probably under-achieved as a batsman himself, though he did develop under Rixon, when the emphasis was on improving his leg-side game.

He departs with one regret, injury preventing him and Chris Cairns from playing more together. The pair clashed early in their careers but their friendship is now a close one.

"I grew up with Jeff Wilson as my rival at age-group level and when he retired from cricket it became Cairnsy.

"But because we didn't have the same age-group relationship, we got off on the wrong foot. It took a while to turn, but by the end we are great mates.

"So if there is one thing I am sad about, it is we didn't get to play together at the top of our games. If we had two or three years together we might have taken the game somewhere."

Some will remember Nash for his aggressive, sometimes bordering on over-the-top attitude. He finds that disappointing.

"I'd rather go over the top than not go far enough," Nash said. "It's funny. Apart from the suspension last year, which upset me, I've only ever had one citation in my career."

Nash played 32 tests, taking 93 wickets at 28.48 and scoring 729 runs at 23.51. He also appeared in 81 one-dayers, picking up 64 wickets and making 624 runs.

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