Cricket?s No. 1 fan a true fanatic

The hunt is on for the most fanatical cricket fan in New Zealand and odds are Masterton's Dean Goodin could be right in line for the honour.
Dean has seen all but two cricket one-dayers played at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington since 1984 and can be found on the sidelines at the oval in Masterton on Sundays supporting the local players.
He can reel off anecdotes about memorable performances from a multitude of New Zealand games and vividly recalls the first match he went to see at the Basin in 1984.
"It was England versus New Zealand. Glenn Turner made 92, and Ewen Chatfield took 3-11. I was a young buck sitting with all the yobbos and they were in fine form, though not behaving like the guys in Auckland last weekend."
He takes time off work to watch cricket and has missed only two one-dayers in Wellington since he started going as a boy.
Dean says he loves the way cricket can be broken down statistically in so many ways. He says while he recognises that some people find watching five-day tests to be a bit on the boring side, he is completely absorbed from start to finish.
"Even when we are playing badly, I sit and watch them.
" I'm going to Wellington to see the Australians play today ? they are the best team in the world," he said.
Richard Hadlee is his all time favourite cricketer though he was disappointed he didn't get the great allrounder's signature on Hadlee's book.
His most prized piece of cricket paraphernalia is a miniature cricket bat with the signatures of the 1989 New Zealand team.
Dean also prizes the memory of being invited to a function where he met cricket stars Martin Crowe and Ken Rutherford.
He plays for Lansdowne club and can spend hours watching reruns of old classic international cricketing contests on his DVD.
Dean says it is a tragedy that there will be no one-day international held at the Masterton oval this year. He rates it as the most picturesque ground in the country.
He has as a treasure trove of cricket gear and memorabilia including signed cricket bats, programmes from past games, DVDs, several uniforms (including the classic New Zealand beige ensemble), and around 40 books in his library about cricket.
Dean's a pretty obvious contender for the cricket crown, but perhaps you know of another Wairarapa bat and ball follower who can bowl Dean out then contact the Times-Age on 06 370 0925.