Column | It's time we congratulate New Zealand for sporting successes

In early 1994, India visited New Zealand to play a one-off Test and four One-Day Internationals. The Test ended in a draw, and the ODI series was tied at 2-2. The ostensible reason behind the hurriedly organised tour was to give Kapil Dev an opportunity to go past Richard Hadlee’s world record haul of 431 wickets. Since Kapil managed to reach the landmark during the series against Sri Lanka that preceded this tour, the matches turned out to be dull ones with only statistical significance, little remembered by anyone except those who took part in them.

However, this tour was important for Mohamed Azharuddin, then leading the national side. After this series, he wrote in his syndicated column that this visit opened his eyes to the fitness levels of not only professional sportspersons and athletes in New Zealand but also ordinary citizens.

He wrote about people jogging on the streets during their lunch breaks and, on the whole, sporting a healthy and fit demeanour. Azhar was so impressed with what he observed there that he vowed to pay more attention towards maintaining high fitness levels. Even before this tour, Azhar was among the best cricketers in the side, but after this, he took his fitness to an even higher plane.

For a country with a population of just 5 million, where the population density is as low as 19 per sqkm, New Zealand’s sports achievements are mind-boggling. They have been the champion side in Rugby, their national sport, where the “All Blacks” are synonymous with victory. Though currently ranked No. 3, they have a history of occupying the top spot for longer than all the other teams combined, besides winning the World Cup three times.

In the Paris Olympics of 2024. New Zealand won 10 gold medals, thus finishing at the 11th position. Besides rugby sevens for women, they attained pole positions in events such as rowing, sailing, cycling, canoeing, golf, and athletics. Their maximum pickings came from Canoeing, where they finished with four gold medals. In Athletics, their gold medal winner was Hanish Kerr, who cleared a height of 2.34 metres in the High Jump to clinch the top spot. The wide variety of disciplines in which the country won medals shows not only the versatility of the sportspersons but also the infrastructure available to them and the support they receive in their endeavours.

Though dubbed the “eternal bridesmaid” on account of their relative inability to win important championships, the Kiwis' achievements in cricket have also been nothing short of phenomenal, given their smaller talent pool.
They have only two titles to their credit -- the inaugural World Test Championships in 2021 and the Champions Trophy in 2000. Incidentally, on both these occasions, they beat India.

Though they have not won the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, New Zealand entered two finals and lost seven times at the last four stage. Their loss at the hands of England in 2019, in one of the most closely fought ODI matches ever, was nothing short of heartbreaking.

In the 1992 championship, they showed their mettle in no uncertain terms before losing their way in the semifinals against Pakistan, the eventual winners. In this tournament they initiated the practice of opening the bowling attack with an off spinner, a move that shocked the cricketing world but was soon emulated by other sides. Similarly, New Zealand successfully implemented a “pinch hitter” at the top of the order in this edition of the World Cup.

And now the New Zealand cricket team has achieved the impossible by whitewashing India 3-0 in the Test series in India. They not only conquered the final frontier, which even the mighty Aussies under Steve Waugh could not scale, but managed to blank out the hosts in a three Test home series, which has never happened before.

India had gone into this series as the overwhelming favourites but found themselves so badly bruised and battered that even an eminently achievable target in the last innings of the final Test proved beyond their capabilities. Without mincing words, the fact remains that the Kiwis handed the Indians their worst-ever drubbing in Test match history on home soil.

How does the country produce such outstanding performers and mould champion sides? There are broadly two reasons. First, a culture that encourages outdoor activities and second, the existence of a dedicated structure to identify and nurture talent.

As a nation, which is starved off sunlight during the winter months, people make maximum use of the limited time they have access to this precious resource. Hence it is not unusual to find entire families out in the open during summer months basking in the Sun and indulging in all kinds of outdoor activities. Schools also encourage students to participate in multiple sporting disciplines, and prowess in sports and games is considered at par with excellence in academics. More focus is placed on the all-round development of the child so as to identify his/her areas of strength and guide them accordingly. This has also resulted in a culture where remaining physically fit has become an integral part of every individual’s DNA!

An elaborate yet effective system also exists for finding talent and promoting it. In cricket, Hawke’ Bay camps, which are organised every year in a district carrying that name located at the southern end of the North Island, can claim to be the cradle from where the journey of top cricketers began. Close to 400-odd matches are held here every summer, where around 2,000 players participate.

One may find some comparisons with the Kanga League organised in Mumbai every year at the start of the season, even before the monsoons abate, which constitutes a rite of passage for every cricketer of repute hailing from this city. These camps and leagues where the up-and-coming players get opportunities to rub shoulders with the tallest masters in the game are time-tested methods for grooming talent and preparing them for the sterner trials ahead.

Another interesting aspect about New Zealand is that they welcome sportspersons from other countries like the developed countries laying the red carpet to highly qualified professionals. The practice of giving equal opportunities to both natives as well as those who have emigrated has helped this country to get some exceptional talent in all fields, including cricket. In the squad that toured India they had Glen Philips, who was born in South Africa but moved to New Zealand when he was five years old, and Rachin Ravindra, who was born to parents of India origin two years after they settled in there. This practice of treating budding players on equal footing irrespective of their origins has played rich dividends for this nation.

Finally, one must place on record that the most endearing features of cricketers and sportsmen from New Zealand are their sense of team spirit and sportsmanship. It is difficult to recall an instance where any player from New Zealand has been hauled up for expressing dissent or behaving in a manner that brings the sport to disrepute. It is this positive approach that that they bring to the game that makes the athletes and other sportspersons from this island popular across the world.

In these times of heavy commercialisation, nations like New Zealand and their sportspersons are a breath of fresh air, bringing back some of the romance and allure associated with sports. So, let us doff our hats and congratulate this nation on its achievements in sports and games.