Column: Doig NZ cricket's messiah

By Murray Deaker

Terry Jarvis should know what he is talking about when it comes to analysing the business of New Zealand cricket.

Not only was he a successful opening batsman in test matches in the 1970s but he has also prospered since then to become one of this country's leading business entrepreneurs.

Jarvis is on the national board, having just been returned for a second term. He is adamant that one of the main reasons New Zealand cricket is now making real progress can be directly attributed to the ability and skill of its chief executive, Chris Doig.

"Doig is quite outstanding," Jarvis told me. "He has all the qualities that top businesses look for in a CEO - vision, courage and diligence."

When I pointed out that most of the public did not view Doig that way, linking him to the Glenn Turner dismissal, Jarvis prickled with aggression.

"That decision was made by a selection panel and approved by us as a full board. It has been totally unfair on Doig that he has had to take the rap," Jarvis quickly retaliated. Nevertheless, the perception is there that Chris Doig got rid of Turner. There is no question that it has clouded the view most cricket fans have of Doig's contribution to the game.

The comments by Jarvis moved me to investigate more fully the state of our cricket since Doig assumed the position of CEO back in November 1995.

Recently John Hood, now vice-chancellor of Auckland University, completed his second review of the state of New Zealand cricket. He is another full of praise for Doig's achievements: "In 1995 New Zealand Cricket was still reliant on an `amateur' organisation. Chris Doig has led the transformation of it to become a successful franchise."

So what exactly has Doig achieved? In three years he has grown the business of New Zealand Cricket from a turnover of $7 million to one of $20 million. He has grown the total staff to 25 with the key appointment of John Reid to head the cricket operations department that now also includes high-performance staff Dayle Hadlee, Ashley Ross, Gilbert Enoka and Dougal Steven.

It is the high-performance centre developed at Lincoln University that marks Doig out as an administrator of vision and substance. The training facilities are arguably the best in the world.

It was Doig's enthusing and skill that attracted the funding from Michael Watt, the Lottery Grants Board and BIL.

Directed by Dayle Hadlee, this academy has already had 29 graduates, 28 of whom have gone on to play first-class cricket, six of whom have now represented New Zealand.

In the last three years the average wage of our test players has almost doubled, while top first-class players can now earn $25,000 during their season.

Doig's term has seen the establishment of Cricket Max, the successful amalgamation of the men's and women's games, the appointment of a full-time national umpiring manager, the first day-night matches, the development of the portable pitch, the growth of junior numbers playing the game to 55,000 boys and 11,000 girls, the doubling of New Zealand Cricket's sponsorship in the last two-and-a-half years, the establishment of a cricket fraternity with a database of 50,000 names, the granting of $3 million to each major association this year and the accumulation of $3 million in reserves by New Zealand Cricket.

When this evidence is stacked up there is little doubt that Jarvis and Hood are quite right: Chris Doig has achieved outstanding successes in establishing a number of new ventures for New Zealand Cricket.

It is time his name was linked with these and the future.