Cricket: Hadlee's heroes

By RICHARD BOOCK at the World Cup

Sir Richard Hadlee has given his World Cup squad a glowing compliment on the eve of their Super Six campaign, describing them as the best one-day side New Zealand has produced.

As the debate continues over the ifs and buts of qualification for the second round, New Zealand's chairman of selectors sounded an emphatic vote of confidence in the Class of 2003, who will meet Zimbabwe at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein this evening (NZ time).

"There's no doubt in my mind that this is the best one-day side we've had, certainly in my experience," Hadlee said yesterday.

"It's a complete team and Stephen Fleming has got options to burn - whereas three years ago he didn't even know some of his players.

"It's a beautifully-balanced side, probably better balanced than any other team in the competition."

After forfeiting their group game against Kenya, New Zealand found themselves in a virtual sudden-death contest after the first match of the tournament.

But they met every remaining challenge to ensure their place in the second round.

They still face an uphill assignment to make the semifinals - they need to win two of their three Super Six matches to win a top four spot.

But on their present form, it would be a brave punter who would dismiss their chances.

New Zealand's strong performance has been built mostly around their in-form batsmen, led by Scott Styris, Fleming, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan.

All three seems to have hit their straps despite playing in relatively new positions.

Fleming, after 12 months in his newrole as an opener, appears to be in superb touch.

His partner, McMillan, is improving with each outing, Styris has been the talk of the competition and Astle seems to be tailor-made for No 3.

On top of that, Chris Cairns looks ready to explode at the batting crease if his timing and ball-striking is any guide, and the lower-order is bursting at the seams with multi-skilled players renown for their high strike-rates.

Hadlee said evidence of the side's ranking among New Zealand's best-performed ODI teams lay in the fact that they had won 10 of the past 13 games, a record eclipsed only by the 1982-83 side who won 10 out of 12.

"It's a very pro-active side in terms of flexibility and what it is capable of," said the fast bowling great.

"Other sides have become very predictable in the way they play the game, but these guys have so many options - as an opponent it's difficult to anticipate how they will come at you.

"They've played some very good cricket over here. The idea is to win games and they've done that, so I'm very pleased for them.

"People talk about the technicalities of forfeits and wash-outs, but the fact is that they won more games than the teams who missed out."

Considering the season began under a cloud when the international and first-class players went on strike for more money, disrupting the build-up and causing all sorts of tension, Hadlee said the performance was extremely pleasing.

He revealed that when the strike ended the selectors sent the players a memo - a "wake-up call", he called it - to remind them of the expectations and obligations that went with the territory.

"The players' strike shook everybody up and caused a lot of concern, but you've got to say that they've performed very well this summer, and that's reflected in their impressive win-loss ratio.

"They've been very convincing and I'm delighted for them."

Hadlee also confirmed that some of the established players dropped earlier in the season were omitted as a "reminder", to ensure they understood the role they needed to play, and the attitude required.

Styris, Chris Harris and Lou Vincent all spent time on the outer during the summer.

Vincent has a thumb injury, but Styris is at the top of the tournament batting averages, and Harris showed encouraging form this week in Benoni with a performance that again suggested he is better off in his traditional role down the order.

Hadlee said the top-order reshuffle that moved Astle down to first-drop was first considered during the test against India at Hamilton, late last year.

"We knew Nathan's home record was good, that his off-shore record was only half of that, and that if he did score big runs we usually won the game.

"Over here we decided he was too vulnerable early in the innings, and that since he was such an influential player, we should take steps to protect him.

"The feeling was that, if we lost someone else at the top of the order, maybe it wasn't as significant as losing Nathan, given his impressive ODI record."

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