Mark Richardson: A dose of desperation essential for success

When I watched Bangladesh play the Black Caps, I saw desperation from one team.

I saw Bangladesh players desperate for success, desperate to gain the respect of their counterparts, fans, media and wider cricket community.

I don't believe I saw the same level of desperation from our team - and I have not seen it for some time.

I see Australian players desperate to keep their places in the team, to honour the winning traditions of the 'baggy green', to maintain high levels of achievement. When I watch India, I see players desperate to succeed in the game that means so much to their country.

I don't see that in our team.

International cricket is hard. It is hard to make the grade when you first arrive, it is hard to maintain consistent performance and it is hard to play at the level required to win matches.

I don't care who you are and how good you may be, if you are to achieve at the top level you must be desperate to succeed.

We hear from players who are meant to be our matchwinners that they still want to perform for their country. But there is a difference between wanting to and being desperate to.

Do our top players desperately need to succeed any more for New Zealand?

I'm not sure they do. They may want to succeed but do they need to succeed? With the distraction of the IPL and Champions League, performing on low-profile New Zealand tours is not the priority.

They have financial security and think they already have the respect of the international community and can't be dropped.

The good news is that in India things may be different. Desperation levels will be heightened. Maybe the Indian environment and the perks that follow success over there may just make our 'big boys' a little keener on high performance.

But how do we ensure our players perform when the stakes aren't as high ... for themselves?

The stakes are always high for the game of cricket in this country. Wouldn't it be sad if these players who will personally exit the game in great shape, leave cricket in New Zealand in worse shape than when they entered?

As for Friday's NZC crisis meeting that resulted in no change to the Black Caps leadership structure, one may question it as a simple PR exercise. It did achieve something very important - the creation of a cricket committee to review all facets of the game in this country.

This is desperately needed. Our lower levels are not creating enough good cricketers in enough numbers. That has to change.

That said, the model will only work if it is driven from the top down. Now is the time for our top players to do something for cricket in New Zealand, not just themselves, and do it regularly.