Cricket: Crowe tells NZ players to sharpen up

6.00pm

JOHANNESBURG - New Zealand's cricketers have been warned to smarten up their act as manager Jeff Crowe weighs up whether any further action is required in the wake of the Durban nightclub incident.

Crowe was today completing a detailed review of the incident, after a reportedly drunk Chris Cairns was king hit from behind outside the Tiger Tiger club early on Friday (local time).

Allegations of drunk and disorderly behaviour have emerged from club owner Guy van der Post and other witnesses after 11 players including Cairns and captain Stephen Fleming drank at city nightspots until the early hours.

Crowe was to forward his review to New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden in Christchurch today, and Snedden would determine what would be done next.

There hadn't yet been any team meeting called over the incident as the side prepared to fly to Kimberley later today for their next World Cup match against lowly Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Players were forbidden to discuss the issue with reporters at training yesterday, with media liaison officer Simon Wilson pre-empting any interviews with orders not to ask any questions about it.

Crowe confirmed he had given all players a note "which made mention of the fact they are high profile sportsmen, their responsibilities in public and how they can be vulnerable in certain situations".

Crowe said he had a one-on-one meeting with Cairns, whose memories of the assault were understood to be hazy. He had been told his South African partner Carin was pregnant with their second child, and was apparently out to celebrate.

Crowe had spoken to Van der Post and was also trying to contact former Springboks rugby fullback Andre Joubert - who was drinking with some New Zealand players at the bar - to try and get the full story.

South Africa's national Saturday newspapers had a field day over the scuffle, with several making it their front page lead story.

The Johannesburg Star's lead story was headlined "Haka Started The Fracas", adding a shirtless rendition of the haka by some players incensed several patrons.

Cairns and young wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum were asked to leave the club after taking their shirts off on the dance floor and being asked several times to put them back on.

When they left in view of their four armed close protection officers, words were apparently exchanged outside and Cairns was eventually punched, knocking him to the pavement and leaving him with facial grazes and a split lower lip.

McCullum grappled with the offender, who was labelled by The Star as "a known troublemaker" and who had been banned from other city clubs. The team's security manager Eugene Theron stepped in to quell the situation.

Theron evacuated all the players and several officials into waiting cars as "it wasn't safe to hang around".

Major Afrikaans-language paper Beeld's front page lead headline was "Kiwi-Skandes" - or Kiwi Disgrace. Tabloid The Citizen said "Black Day For Black Caps" while the Natal Witness' headline was "Raucous Kiwis In Club Brawl".

Crowe said the incident was "disappointing and pretty disruptive at this stage of our campaign".

The team had a full open wicket training session today and were to board a short flight to the diamond mining town of Kimberley later today.

Fleming was avoiding comment on the issue but said the players needed to work hard after a short break as they entered phase two of their World Cup campaign.

Exactly a week after their epic nine-wicket win over South Africa and with the shadow of the Durban scuffle hanging over them, Fleming said it wasn't ideal for their momentum.

"It's disappointing we couldn't have played that South Africa game a few days later, because now is like starting the season again," Fleming said.

"While we're doing lot of nets and a lot of physical work, the intensity we created was building into something really good. We have to recreate that."

- NZPA


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