Liam Dann: Unlikely rock stars - the economy vs the Black Caps

Ross Taylor bats during the Cricket World Cup 2019 match between New Zealand and Australia at Lord's. Photo / Photosport

COMMENT:

We're overly dependent on weather conditions, we only have a handful of world-class performers and we're often undone by our own lack of confidence.

Yet somehow, thanks to a mix of good luck and good management, we continue to punch well above our weight on the global stage.

Anyway, enough about our economy.

How about those Black Caps?

Yes I know. This is one of those columns. It's probably going to get a bit hokey. But the timing is too good to ignore and my brain is still addled from staying up for that unlikely semifinal win.

I've done the research. I asked Twitter for comparisons between the Black Caps and the New Zealand economy.

A clear theme emerged.

As well those similarities I listed above I could also add the gloomy outlook of many commentators.

There were plenty of us ready to write the Black Caps off on Wednesday after what looked like another below-average batting performance.

Likewise, there's never any shortage of economic commentators - myself included - who can tell you why the wheels are about to fall off the economy or stock market.

Usually we are technically right, yet somehow the economy keeps rolling on.

To be fair it's very hard to forecast, especially when a lot of the important stuff is happening overnight.

Then something unexpected happens - interest rates suddenly reverse course, we get a lucky break on world markets, or the weather gods smile on us.

It's a little unnerving to think about just how tied the fortunes of the Black Caps and the economy are to grass growth.

Agricultural exports are New Zealand star players - when they shine the economy almost always wins.

So, to completely labour the point, that might make Kane Williamson the dairy sector while Trent Boult is Beef + Lamb.

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson's enormous contribution makes him the dairy sector of the New Zealand team. Photo / File

I'll leave it to the purists to finish that debate.

Just as one of the strengths of the cricket team in the past 20 years has been a second world-class batsman, New Zealand's agricultural sector has had strong back-up this century from the rise of New Zealand as tourist destination.

It's now our largest non-agricultural earner of foreign exchange.

Let's, for argument's sake, make Ross Taylor the Tourism sector.

Also important in the Black Caps' winning equation is winning is the second strike bowler.

We've been far from consistent with these over the years and often that end is best propped up by a less glamorous, but surprisingly effective spinner or medium pacer - forestry and horticulture so to speak.

Then are a number of others sectors that can certainly be world class on their day.

Our best manufacturers, tech companies and wine producers can all foot it on the global stage - although individually none has quite had the scale to be economically transformational.

Collectively, though, their contribution is vital and very much part of New Zealand's winning formula.

Like that ever elusive second strike bowler it seems like we're always on the cusp of something breaking out and lifting our game to the next level.

But the reality is that it is not easy when you are as small as we are.

Trent Boult is Beef + Lamb. Photo / AP

We don't have the depth of natural resources of a country the size or the population and talent pool of an India or England.

What we do have, though, is a knack for making the most of what we've got.

So it's worth crediting good management and captaincy when we look at both the economy and the cricket team.

Of all the light-hearted comparisons here, this attribute is the least coincidental.

It goes to the national character of New Zealanders.

That matter of fact, downbeat outlook we maintain can look like a lack of confidence, especially when stacked against the brash arrogance of our Aussie cousins.

Perhaps it's the tyranny of distance, the adversity faced by our colonial (and pre-colonial) ancestors. Perhaps it's the weather (with the exception of England we must be the coldest cricketing nation)

Regardless, its a pragmatism and a conservatism that keeps us focused on managing resources and carefully applying strategies that maximise strength and minimise weaknesses.

We're fiscally conservative and we love to bowl dot balls.

It might not always be scintillating stuff but it's served us well across successive generations of political leaders and cricketing captains.

Another sharp cricketing commenter on Twitter noted that both a strong economy and a strong cricket team are good for our wellbeing.

Minister of Sport and Finance Grant Robertson is hoping for a Black Caps victory. Photo / File

I'm sure that won't be a point lost on our fiscally responsible Minister of Sport Grant Robertson as he gets back to day job of managing the finances and fomenting national happiness.

On that note, inspired by Twitter as this column is, it seems appropriate to finish with one his inspiring posts from the night of the big semifinal:

Oops, no not that one, this one ...

Yes, whatever happens in England tonight, whatever that inflation data looks like on Tuesday, it doesn't hurt to take a breath and be proud and thankful for everything this little nation manages to achieve - against the odds.