Time New Zeland made an impact, says Nash
By Richard Boock
From the NZ Herald, January 26, 2002

Dion Nash believes the time is right for New Zealand to make another big splash in the world of one-day cricket.

The former test captain found himself in the all-too-familiar position of watching from the sidelines this month as New Zealand made all the early running in the tri-series.

The good news is that he emerged from a pseudo-serious workout against an Australian Country XI mid-week without any ill-effects, and will be available for today's much- anticipated ODI against Australia.

Nash, who was also injured when New Zealand lifted the ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi two seasons ago, said after practice yesterday that a combination of factors augured well for another strong performance in this series.

"There's no one single reason for the side's improvement. It comes down to a variety of factors, from the composition and balance of the squad to the degree of familiarity with the opposition.

"I think we've got a nice balance within the team.

"There's new guys like Brendon McCullum, who are fresh and bursting with enthusiasm, and a few old heads who still have it in them as well.

"At the moment there's a good make-up to the squad and good temperament to go with it, which is ideal."

Nash's most recent ODI was against Sri Lanka during the Coca-Cola Cup tournament six months ago, a series in which he underlined his value to the side with a string of strong performances.

He had a further setback at the start of the pre-Christmas test series against Australia when he was forced home with an abdominal problem, and was then floored by a groin strain at the start of the present series.

"I'm feeling pretty good now," he said.

"I was pleased to get on the park on Wednesday after all the time on the sideline and I'm definitely keen to play - it would be good to strike some form and help the guys to build on this good start."

Despite the heady scenes at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Nash said the squad had managed to keep their collective feet on the ground during the series so far, because they knew the tough part was yet to come.

New Zealand might need only one more win to ensure they qualified for the finals, but Nash would not write off the struggling South Africans, and was particularly wary of the threat of the host nation - particularly after their back-to-back wins on Sunday and Tuesday.

"I think we're hanging in there against them, but there's no question they're a fantastic cricket side and that all our hard work is still in front of us.

"No one's under any illusions about the difficulty of the task in front of us.

"We're aware we've made a good start, but we're equally aware that it's all for nothing unless we follow through and make it count. So everyone's got their eye on the ball."

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