New Zealand a class act on and off the field

By Alex Martin

Published:

IT TOOK New Zealand little more than three hours to demolish Scotland's dream of a victory in the triangular one-day cricket series at Mannofield on Thursday, and just three days to prove they may be winners of the field, but also more importantly a class act off it.

In the past fortnight the Black Caps have been a pleasure to deal with. Every request for access and information was granted – a refreshing change from football clubs I could mention.

On Thursday the likely New Zealand victory was guaranteed by the win of the toss. In conditions perfect for swing and seam bowling, their pace bowlers used conditions to perfection and ripped through the Scotland batting line-up.

With little more than 100 to score, the game was done and dusted before lunch, Ross Taylor hitting the ball as hard as I have ever seen in more years than I care to remember watching the game.

In years gone by there might have been a temptation to provide fitting entertainment to the crowd by batting first and posting a mammoth total before rolling over the opposition – exactly what they did to the Irish in the first match of the tournament.

But the Kiwis were in Aber-deen for a win – nothing else – and dewy-eyed sentiment has no place in the game.

Job done at just after 2pm, to their immense credit the squad ensured every autograph and photograph request was granted. Several starry eyed youngsters returned to parents laden with equipment and uniforms from the players, a perfect piece of public relations from the winning team. It might not matter much to the team, but it certainly meant a lot to the next generation of cricketers who witnessed a brilliant display from the Black Caps.

It was their first visit to the north-east, and while they had their time away from the game to “enjoy” the delights of Royal Aberdeen, when it comes to winning they are peerless.

I hope we see them and other Test-playing nations back at Aberdeen soon. The club performed a small wonder in ensuring Mannofield was fit for purpose, in fact it was better than that, a superb piece of hard work and organisation by the many volunteers who did it for the love of the game.

Their reward was to watch one of the best teams in the business, both on and off the field.