Cricket: Choosing the champions

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Ross Dykes often strikes a lone figure as he stretches out beyond the boundary at Owen Delany Park in Taupo, Eden Park's Outer Oval, Hamilton's Westpac Park or any other of New Zealand's cricket grounds.

He might nod off at times at State Championship matches but, as a member of the three-man national selection panel, he pays more attention than most.

As a selector for 23 of the past 24 seasons, he has seen his share of good and bad. But, he admits, there are times when he does switch off.

"You can't watch every ball of every day," said Dykes, who joined the national panel in 1991 after selecting Auckland teams for the previous dozen summers - that just two years after ending 10 seasons as a wicketkeeper in Auckland's middle/lower order.

"If you watched every ball for 6 1/2 hours you would end up like a zombie. But it is not just about what the players are doing out in the middle. It is about talking to people - coaches or whoever - and bouncing things off them."

As one closely involved with the out-of-the-blue selections of Northern Districts bowlers Daniel Vettori and, more recently, Ian Butler, Dykes is well positioned to explain.

"Elevating Vettori into the test side did not happen by accident," said 57-year-old Dykes. "Steve Rixon and I had watched him bowl five or six overs against England in Hamilton and were encouraged by what we saw.

"We then spoke to John Bracewell, who had taken him to England with the youth side. We also spoke to [former national selector] Ric Pickard, who had had contact with him through the age groups at ND. It was a well-researched process."

And Butler last season, and suggestions that convenor Richard Hadlee at first asked Ian who?

"Richard was probably not aware of Butler at that stage, and, neither should he have been.

"I had first seen Butler in Blenheim ... I was impressed with his sharp, steep bounce. I took a mental note. Things went from there. It was a case of talking around and finding out more."

Dykes said he and fellow selectors Hadlee and Brian McKechnie often went to watch a specific player.

"But in reality I hate to say that because someone else is likely to catch you out. Being at the ground is vital. You can't help but learn something every day.

"Sometimes the player you have come to have a look at gets an unplayable ball first up and is out for nought," said Dykes. "That does not mean he is a bad player."

Although he enjoys a reasonably good relationship with the players, Dykes says the selectors are careful to keep their distance.

"While we want to encourage players to talk about their game, we also have to be aware that at some stage we might have to drop them. We certainly are careful not to intrude on their space. There has to be a small barrier."

Dykes said the time he spent as manager of the A team [to India] and the Black Caps played an important role.

"As manager it is much easier to talk to players. Much of the time it is more talking about life than cricket."

Now, as the World Cup approaches, the pressure is on. Dykes says the selectors could probably list 10 of the 15 players who will go to South Africa.

"We have to name the World Cup squad after the seven one-day internationals against India. That is not going to be easy, just as coming up with the list of our top 20 was a real test.

"If New Zealand do not make the top six at the World Cup we as selectors would have to look at ourselves."

That, you feel, is a bridge Dykes is in no hurry to cross.