The Crowd Goes Wild: Get the hopes up

Why should Sir John Kirwan be sacked? And does it matter if his Blues are rubbish? Photo / NZME.

Mark: I have a lot of concern for Hurricanes fans right now. They are getting their hopes up and getting far too excited. As a former sporting great, I understand the need to remain psychologically stable. You must ensure you keep perspective. You cannot allow the highs to be too high or the lows too low. Right now, Hurricanes fans are higher than a Titans player on Mad Monday and the ensuing crash could be too dramatic and too devastating to recover from. I worry about you, Andrew, and your mental wellbeing.

Andrew: Picture this - it's 5pm at Rainbow's End and you say to me "Really? You want to go on the Corkscrew rollercoaster again?" and I answer "Yes I do because I know what's coming and it's still exhilarating". What I would have concern about would be if the players started talking like an emotionally attached, needy and unstable blithering Hurricanes fan like me but they're not. They realise the schedule is kind and the New Zealand conference games are still to come. I worry about the Blues, who can't catch a break.

Mark: I would not go to Rainbow's End. If I want that sort of thing, I go to Disneyland because I do it right and I sure as hell don't worry about the Blues. For that matter, why do so many people get all upset if the Blues are rubbish? They are one out of five. Why is it so important that they perform? Why should Sir JK be sacked? Why can the Highlanders escape the uncompromising scrutiny that the Blues face? These are all questions that must be asked and I am asking them.

Andrew: Here are more questions people ask of the Blues. How come they have 1.5 million people and not one of them can be a regular first five? Why do the Crusaders have so many of them and none of them ever leaves for another franchise? Why did Isa Nacewa last all of 12 months with speculation he's going back to Leinster? Why can't Isa still play in the No 10 jersey? I do have a problem with the "Tom Taylor" situation, which was preceded by the "Tyler Bleyendaal" situation which came after the "move Mehrtens to the Hurricanes in 2003" situation.

None of them leaves. New Zealand Rugby needs to move players around to spread the wealth.

Mark: Okay I answer these for you. First of all it's not the "Auckland Blues", its "the Blues". So the size of Auckland's population should not matter because you can recruit from anywhere. Secondly, in answer to your Crusaders question, why does Sky Sport have all the sport ... so no other player can have it ... and if you have to be seen as not anti-competitive then cough up the stuff no one wants. That's right, soccer fans, you're a minority group in New Zealand. I can't answer the Nacewa question. No one can answer that question. And to your final question which is more of a statement I say, "what wealth?". Why would I want to go from Prime to Sky TV when the BBC wants to pay me so much? So many questions but here's my answer: we win the Cricket World Cup, no question.

Andrew: You are the biggest hypocrite in New Zealand! You were only a couple of weeks ago picking Australia to win it all and now, because Kane Williamson manned up, you're basing this on a one wicket win at a venue Australia will never play at again. But they will love the MCG in the final. You have no shame. Breakers win in two games, by the way. Tonight and then on Sunday they will be crowned NBL champions for the 4th time in five years.

Mark: I am not a hypocrite at all. I am a measured man who bases his decisions upon current trends and the latest information. You, on the other hand, are ill informed. The MCG is a slow dung-heap of a wicket and that will suit our lads far more than the Aussies. And if that game the other day had been at the MCG, Kane would just have placed the first three balls of the over neatly into the outfield and picked up the runs in twos. Yeah good on the Breakers, but it's a shame that the cricket is on at the same time and no body will see them win. You know what they say: if the Breakers win a championship at the North Shore Events Centre and nobody sees it, did they really win a championship at all.

The pros and cons of the Cricket World Cup format

Pros

Mark: The World Cup is great, why is everyone moaning about it being too long? It's Cricket Christmas and you want it shortened? If it were to be shortened you would miss out. It just doesn't make sense to want to expedite the road to the final. If it was shorter you could not televise every game and, for sure, games like Scotland v Afghanistan would never make it to air. If that was the case then you would miss out on the drama of Afghanistan's come from behind last over last wicket, first ever World Cup victory. Would you have seen Ireland topple the West Indies, no you probably would not. You simply can't play loose and flippant with the drama of ODI cricket and leave things to chance. And since this gig is run by India you probably wouldn't see any New Zealand pool games either.

Cons

Andrew: Too long, too many minnows and too many heavy defeats. I look forward to the next tournament because 10 teams is the right amount. Having the second-tier nations is fine but six of them is four too many and the tournament takes too long. The Black Caps don't need to wait an average of six days between games. We had seven games against Sri Lanka recently that were squeezed into around two and a half weeks. At least two games a day, every day and no rest days will keep the momentum and the interest going. Sachin Tendulkar says there should be 25. Bless him for continuing to play a straight bat in retirement.