Anendra Singh: Taylor made to suit Caps' requirements

In sport, the first casualty is almost always common sense. The second, of course, are all those people who fail to recognise common sense as it stares them in the face - albeit disguised in greasy overalls in its endless pursuit to make life a smoother transition.
Suffice it to say, if every time people employed the Greasy Overalled One and someone dropped a 10-cent piece in a piggy bank, common sense would be in a tuxedo - and the world a less complicated place.
For argument's sake, look at the Stephen Donald revelation.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry, almost in the mould of Bill Gates announcing another Microsoft gizmo that will revolutionise the way the world will think and act, reveals that Donald isn't in the equation for the World Cup squad any longer.
Common sense beat King Henry to that one many moons ago.
But my preoccupation is with the captaincy appointment of a bloke who loves deep-fried, finger-lickin' chooks.
Ross Taylor, the willow-wielding, half-Samoan dude, who has assumed the mantle of head honcho of the Black Caps on the field come summer.
Common sense eventually prevailed - not that I suspected anything otherwise, after having put my ear on the ground to decipher what was happening in the New Zealand commune.
Needless to say, no one ever gave me a straight answer and - in defence of people who were kind enough to throw me their mental morsels - there probably wasn't one.
It seems, though, the choice was always clear-cut and coach John Wright indicated that in a roundabout way by expressing his dismay at why the selection process felt like watching Gone With the Wind twice over in one night.
I beg to differ and reiterate good things take time, especially if the process of fermentation is required to improve one's lot.
It's just such a pity NZ Cricket didn't turn it into an episode of reality TV show Survivors with Taylor and Brendon McCullum as the tribal leaders of the two factions.
That the media typecasts Taylor as a "nice chap" isn't wrong but it does tend to camouflage the qualities of a man I found not only to be astute and assertive but also spontaneous.
Yes, he was "stumped" when asked at the post-appointment media scrum what his plans were.
But how does anyone know if he wasn't simply pretending to be dumbfounded to avoid setting warm-fuzzy targets that could come around to bite him on the bum?
Besides, losing his train of thought shouldn't be a yardstick of his mental fortitude or his inability to eloquently express himself.
Inevitably, Taylor's litmus test will be in the arena when the slip cordon fumbles and the opening batsmen depart for a total of three runs on the board after six overs.
Getting sassy and humouring his way out of impending press conferences will require dexterity but it won't hoodwink the public into accepting Black Caps any perceived inadequacies.
That Taylor will be able to find traction with a talented Jesse Ryder, his former Central Districts teammate and NZ Cricket's problem child, will be some of the other but pivotal factors that would have weighed in the new skipper's favour.
Knowing when not to go ballistic with the bat is also critical, something McCullum didn't take in his stride.
I remember early this year cornering Taylor and now Mrs Taylor, Victoria Brown, in the foyer of the Napier City Rovers clubrooms. The steely resolve in his eyes were unmistakably.
The man, who on numerous occasions publicly vowed to make tons at McLean Park and delivered accordingly, was definitely a man on a mission.
Taylor in 2008 told me outside his Marine Parade hotel room he intended to join the high rollers in the IPL in India.
Soon after visualising the enormity of the mind-boggling wealth with a toothy grin, the man from Masterton, in the same breath, emphasised the importance of putting his country before all else.
This year's one-million-dollar man has nailed the quinella with a clinical precision to be revered.
Being ambitious is not a crime although there is a fine line between being assertive and tyrannical.
If, for argument's sake, McCullum did have a fleeting chance of beating Taylor to the post did out-going skipper Daniel Vettori give Macca the kiss of death?
Sure, Vettori was the salt of the earth, the bespectacled Harry Potter, who spun his way into the hearts of countless fans, not just here but around the world.
That the Swiss knife of cricket made it publicly clear McCullum was the successor to his shaky throne was in itself detrimental to the Otago wicketkeeper's chances.
Common sense, like a breakout of measles, suggested New Zealand Cricket perhaps wanted an alter ego rather than an omnipresent leader - someone who would have a drink and disappear to his room to read a book or watch a movie.
As inconsequential as it may sound, it's those things in small doses that will be the sum total of everything Taylor-made to suit the Black Caps' requirements.
Whether Taylor will be an award-winning performer, like Clark Gable in the epic movie, remains to be seen.
What he definitely won't want is to be remembered as the willow-throwing batsman with a Pacific Island heritage who became the first Black Caps skipper to challenge the sensibilities of a conservative brigade that doesn't think Polynesian and Maori have the nous to play bat/pad.