Mark Richardson: Current squad on the right path to something special

The Black Caps bounced back well in the second test against Pakistan.

I'll take a draw with Pakistan, especially after what happened in the first test.

There are plenty of 'could haves' and possibly even 'should haves' when it comes to the Black Caps' performance in the second test in Dubai that finished yesterday morning (NZT) but the reality is that, after being totally and utterly outplayed and outskilled in the first test, another hammering was always on the cards when faced with identical conditions to what they faced in Abu Dhabi. But it wasn't the case and, for much of this test, it was the Black Caps who drove proceedings.

This is why I have so much belief in this current team and why I was reluctant to write them off after the first test. This team have the ability to bounce back. There's a drive for success that I like.

There's no doubt they have a healthy dose of skill, too, but there's a level of determination that means they now respond pretty well to failures. Now we just need to see a bit more of this without having to experience the necessary preceding kick in the pants.

I have played cricket with many really talented players who were wonderful when they were trying to prove a point but who, when having proven that point, coasted back into mediocrity. These were players who made the grade but nothing more.

We don't want a cricket team like this, and the challenge for the current crop is to push on once they regain our trust and faith and to actually earn our admiration.

In the late 1990 and early 2000, the Black Caps moto was BTB - Better Than Before. It was a mantra than not only meant bettering the achievements of the teams that went before but also drove a constant drive to improve in each and every facet of your performance be it in training, competition and even down time.

Perhaps this current team's mantra should be NBS - Never Be Satisfied.

Quite frankly, New Zealand cricket fans are seldom satisfied with their team and the players should take a similar approach.

A bounce-back is only that - a bounce-back. There can be no resting on the laurels of the past week. Life as a Black Cap is not easy and players have to accept this.

There was a time a few years ago when I really didn't like this cricket team. I felt it was a team full of players who carried an arrogance they surely didn't deserve to have - not that arrogance is ever anybody's right.

But this was a team who appeared to have an over-inflated opinion of themselves and their worth. They were overly-precious and did little to promote the game in this country.

Thank God those days seem to be over.

However, people's perception is their reality and the perception of this team is that it's far from a champion team just yet.

Pakistan are good - a very good team in the current playing conditions - so for our lads to get into a situation where they could make a declaration was a hell of an achievement.

But guess what fellas. It's time to suck it up and do it all again. Not much fun, eh.