Cricket: Peter Fulton wants more

Peter Fulton during the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Phil Walter / Getty Images

Peter Fulton always knew he was more likely to prosper at cricket than in his family's North Canterbury farming enterprise.

Widely embraced as the country's next major batting hope, the 26-year-old experienced a dream run against the touring Sri Lankans earlier this month, posting his maiden ODI century and a series average of 88.

For someone who can already boast first-class triple and double centuries, a promotion into the New Zealand test squad now seems well within his grasp, especially if he continues his success in the upcoming one-dayers against the West Indies.

Whatever happens there, Fulton can already look back at a deliciously unconventional rise to the top bracket, having first avoided being roped into the family farming scene at Swannanoa, and then being passed over by NZC's Academy selectors.

It wasn't until he blasted the establishment out of their stupor with an astonishing 301 not out for Canterbury in 2003 that people started taking a bit more notice and invitations to New Zealand Cricket's Lincoln facility followed.

Fulton's 1.95m-tall frame is a useful asset to him now, but his constant growth spurts as a youngster made for a rather gangly colt, and as a result he was seldom chosen for Canterbury's age-group sides. But with physical maturity came improved strength and power, elements that blended effectively with his intense powers of concentration, and a stubbornness borne of his earlier struggles.

Where there may have been a touch of the ugly duckling about his batting, there is now a ruthless effectiveness, to the extent that his name is already being bandied around beside some of the best in the land.

When Fulton scored an unbeaten 221 for Canterbury against Otago last season, he joined a select group of New Zealanders who had made both a triple and a double century, including Bert Sutcliffe, Roger Blunt, Glenn Turner, Ken Rutherford, Mark Richardson and Craig Spearman.

So, it was a clear-thinking and level-headed rookie who absorbed his recall last month (having made his debut last season in Bangladesh) and set about devising a plan to make the most of his chances.

"If there was ever a favourable set of circumstances for kick-starting your international career it was against that particular Sri Lanka side, at that particular time of the season, and in New Zealand conditions," he said yesterday.

"I sized their team up and thought that I should do well. I knew the competition was going to be a notch up on what I was used to, but I also knew the wickets would be better to bat on.

"It came down to having the correct mental approach; realising that I was good enough to play international cricket, that I was good enough to score runs, and that I actually belonged at that level."

Fulton was a revelation after being drafted into the opening game at Queenstown, making consecutive scores of 70 not out, 32 (Christchurch), and 50 (Wellington), before posting 112 at Napier.

Each time he batted he appeared to accept the responsibility of the game situation and tailor his batting to suit, rather than relying on the direction and initiative of more established and senior players. "I was excited about the way it turned out; it was better than I'd imagined," he said. "If I'd got a couple of decent scores I probably would have been happy, but to find the consistency I did was more than I expected; a really amazing experience."

One of his great thrills was the chance to play in front of crowds of 10,000 to 20,000, a far cry from the hundred or so hangers-on that usually turn up for domestic games and even "A" contests.

He said he now understood why international players found it so difficult and anti-climactic returning to provincial duty.

As for his test chances, Fulton has definite aspirations to play in the five-day format but doesn't want to get too far ahead of himself and says he will pour all his energy into preparing for the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies.

New Zealand play five one-dayers against the West Indies and three tests at Auckland, Wellington and Napier.

"The success that I've had in the one-day game so far tells me that I can play test cricket," he said.

"I know they're dramatically different formats but you're basically playing the same game against the same players at the same venues, so it's a bit of an indicator. If you can make runs in one, you should be able to succeed in the other.

"But I also have to be realistic about the test side. I've done well against Sri Lanka, sure, but it could take some time to crack the test squad. I simply need to concentrate on making runs, that's the bottom line."

Fulton comes from a well-known cricket pedigree but speaks with feeling about the treatment dished out to his uncle Rod Fulton, a fine batsman for Canterbury and Northern Districts, and later a high-ranking official within New Zealand Cricket.

It was Fulton senior who effectively blew the whistle on a number of controversial behavioural issues within the national team after the tour to South Africa in 1994-1995, paving the way for the sacking of coach Geoff Howarth and the appointment of hard-liner Glenn Turner.

However, Fulton's position at Christchurch HQ was not to last, ostensibly because he'd gone out on a limb to expose poor management practices.

"I remember a little bit of it; I was at high school at the time and was aware of what was going on," said Peter Fulton. "He was made a scapegoat for blowing the whistle on what was going on within the team at that time, and I'm sure that put him off cricket in terms of having an active involvement."

Fulton, who also grew up playing rugby at fullback and wing, said sport was a constant theme around the family in his younger days, and that he spent every spare minute playing footy and cricket with his three brothers.

It was the same for his father and his uncles, although with the continual commitment at the farm only Rod found enough time away to pursue a genuine career as a first-class cricketer.

"I didn't have an ambition to carry on the farming lark," said Peter. "It was just one of those things. You have to carry a passion for farming to be good at it. The older you get the more understanding you get about having to pitch in as a youngster, but I was never very interested in it as a career, and I'm still not."


Peter Gordon Fulton

* Right-hand batsman
* Age: 26
* Teams: Canterbury, New Zealand
* ODIs: 273 runs at 68.25
* Strike rate: 81
* Highest score: 112 v Sri Lanka, Napier, 2005-06
* First-class: 3131 runs at 48.92
* Highest score: 301* v Auckland, 2002-03