Sun shines on Black Caps
The Black Caps won a thrilling one-day international series against Pakistan 4-1, with captain Stephen Fleming leading by example. Highlights included an unbeaten century by Scott Styris in the first match, another by Fleming in the third, and NZ posting its highest one-day score ever against Pakistan (307) in the series final. 
(17 January 2004)
    

Umpiring as an art form
BBC feature on NZ cricket umpire, Billy Bowden, tracks his unlikely rise to the top of the white-coated ranks. Bowden fell into umpiring after rheumatoid arthritis halted his own career as a player. He has since made a name for himself as an on-field eccentric, who's distinctive and flamboyant gestures have earned him more fans than detractors. Bowden - described by ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed as representing "the next generation" of umpires - is the first NZer to be admitted to umpiring's elite panel.
(22 August 2003)
   

89 all out!
"England were routed by an undeniably better team", proclaims The Guardian, as New Zealand dismisses the poms for their second lowest one-day score ever (80) in the 2nd ODI in Wellington. Meanwhile Stephen Fleming is hailed "one of the very best international skippers and continues to prove why". "If this was fashion, New Zealand would be designing next year's styles while England would be wearing last year's" - The Independent. 
(17 February 2002)
         

Bat to beat all
Best place to pick up a custom made stick to make sixes? New Zealand maker James Laver "just the sort of man one would want to make one's bat".
(10 June 2001)

Wright for the job
The Indian cricket team is looking for a new coach and former New Zealand opener John Wright seems to be the man for the job. The final appointment will be announced before the team's November tour of Zimbabwe.
(26 October 2000)
               

Wisden Cricketer of the Century/Cricketer of the Century announced
Hadlee 10th equal (with Imran Khan); Cairns - Wisden Cricketer of the Year and tops the Price-Waterhouse all-rounder rankings.
(6 April 2000)
   

Editor Wright returns to cricket bible Wisden
Cricket's bible, Wisden, has got a new editor, New Zealander Graeme Wright, who returns to the position after a break of eight years. Skysports.com cricket reporter Alex Sharratt asked him what had changed.
(11 April 2000)
                     

Astle bows out 
Nathan Astle has retired from international cricket as one of NZ's most successful ever batsmen, just six months before the 2007 World Cup. In his twelve year career he has accumulated a total of 11,792 Test and One Day International runs, including 27 centuries. Astle bows out in fourth place on the all-time NZ Test batting list, behind Stephen Fleming, Martin Crowe and John Wright. His 16 one-day centuries are the most achieved by any New Zealander and place him ninth equal in the history of the game. "I have been fighting this day for about eight months," he said in an official statement. "I so desperately wanted to go to my fourth World Cup, but deep down inside I knew that I was lacking motivation and the enjoyment levels were just not there." 
(26 January 2007)

NZ cricket patriarch remembered
Walter Hadlee, involved in NZ test cricket from the start has died in Christchurch aged 91. A productive and aggressive batsman, Hadlee played 11 Tests for NZ, eight of those as captain, and later served as national team manager, selector and chairman, as well as president of the cricket board. "Walter was very much the patriarch of NZ Cricket and made an enormous lifetime contribution," said current NZC chairman Sir John Anderson. Hadlee was awarded an OBE in 1950, a CBE in 1978, and was inducted into the NZ Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Three of his five sons - Barry, Dayle and Richard - also played Test cricket, with legendary fast bowler Richard knighted for his services to the game in 1990. 
(29 September 2006)

Great expectations
Former Black Cap Mark Greatbatch is the new coach for British county cricket side Warwickshire. Greatbatch is also Director of the Warwickshire Academy, and has previously coached at Giggleswick School in Yorkshire and at Edgbaston.
(29 September 2005)
   

    
History made by "best side ever"
The NZ Black Caps have leaped from 8th place to 3rd in world one-day cricket rankings thanks to their first ever series win over South Africa. "It feels great," said captain Stephen Fleming of the 5-1 victory. "It's a wonderful day to create history and we've done it pretty well." Records continued to fall in the ensuing Test series, in which NZ achieved its highest ever score against South Africa (584-8), Scott Styris posted the best score by a NZ batter against South Africa (170), and Chris Cairns made an astonishing 100 runs in one session, racing from 53 to 158 between tea and stumps. Former NZ wicket-keeper, Ian Smith, called the side the "best ever" - high praise indeed coming from a member of NZ's 1980s super-team. Despite the Black Caps' top form, the Test series eventually ended in a draw.
(18 - 31 March 2004)
  

Fleming top scores with critics
The NZ Black Caps scored a rare overseas tournament victory, winning the Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Stephen Fleming - named man of the match in the final versus Pakistan - has now confirmed his status as the best captain in the world at the moment. Bangladesh Independent: "Cricket pundits round the world laud him even more for the mere fact that he leads a team without any genuine superstars … Fleming can pat himself on the back for a job very well done!"
(24 May 2003)
   

Black Caps' dark horse
Stephen Fleming will come out looking good no matter where NZ places in this year's Cricket World Cup. So says Johannesburg's The Star, which included the Black Caps' captain in their official "World Hunks XI." "One look at him and we immediately want to have his babies."
(8 February 2003)
   

Master Blasters
Explosive all-rounder Chris Cairns plays "one of the great one-day international innings in the 22-year history of the game [...] When he is on song, no oval in the world is big enough to contain him". The team's ability to fight back and win receives high praise in Australian newspapers: "they simply refuse to accept they are beaten", remarks the Sunday Herald. Fleming is hailed as the "best young captain in the game", and Warne is flogged out of the Aussie attack.
(19 January 2002)      
       

Great spinner
New Zealand-born Clarrie Grimmet's 216 wickets from 37 tests earned him a place in Australia's pantheon, despite a rift with the big man of Australian cricket.
(27 February 2001) 
              

Coach Bracewell has opponents in a spin with the All Black way 
Former New Zealand spinner John Bracewell, now in a coaching role, has turned the fortunes of underachieving Gloucestershire a full circle through preaching 'the All Black way'. They are looking to complete a hatrick of one day finals in the Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord's.
(9 June 2000) 
   

Champions
Solid bowling and strong fielding led New Zealand to victory in the Women's Cricket World Cup on December 23. The trans-Tasman final was "probably the most exciting match in the history of Women's International Cricket". More coverage in The Age.
(4 January 2000)
 

Fleming's new game plan
Stephen Fleming made a gracious departure from the Black Caps on the fourth day of the final Test against England in Napier. Although New Zealand had a disappointing loss, Fleming left Test cricket much as he came, with his second elegant fifty of the match. England gave him a guard of honour when he came to the crease. "It was a very humbling ... especially as it was from Michael Vaughan, who I regard as a good captain and a nice guy," Fleming said. Leaving the pitch, he removed his helmet and acknowledged the standing ovation given him from all points of the ground - a fond farewell to a great captain, a great achiever and an almost great player. Fleming is set to play for the Indian Premier League and will also pursue a sports promotion and marketing career. 
(25 March 2008)

Black Caps victorious 
Three famous victories in a row have seen the Black Caps complete a "black-wash" of the world champion Australians and claim the Chappell-Hadlee series. Over a period of six days the Black Caps broke a number of records, their run chases in games two and three ranking as the second and third highest victorious run chases in the history of international cricket. Craig Macmillan's 117 off 97 balls during the final match in Hamilton was the fastest ever one-day century by a New Zealander and the Australian's defeat in Wellington was the first ever defeat of an Australian team by 10 wickets. With both teams now heading to the World Cup in the Caribbean, Captain Stephen Fleming believes the tournament is wide open. "We're going to a World Cup with teams beating each other. I guess that's the exciting and scary thought that on any given day one of eight teams could win this World Cup. I don't think the world is focusing on Australia. There are other teams…that will be just as dangerous."
(21 February 2007)

Mark the Great
Mark Greatbatch comes in at number four on the Guardian’s list of all-time greatest Test cricket rearguards. “He was better known as the man who invented pinch-hitting at the 1992 World Cup, but Mark Greatbatch could knuckle down too. At Perth in 1989-90, NZ were forced to follow on, 290 behind, by Australia when Greatbatch embarked on a marathon of self-denial, batting for nearly 11 hours and facing 485 balls for his 146 not out.”
(14 March 2005)
   

You say Chappell-Hadlee I say Hadlee-Chappell
Sir Richard Hadlee had his audience in stitches at the launch of the inaugural Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in Melbourne. Among other quips, he noted that the event was called the Hadlee-Chappell Trophy back home. The Black Caps drew the series after a thrilling win in the first match and narrow loss in the second. The decider was rained off.
(6 December 2004)
   

The Wright stuff
John Wright led India to a historic Test series win against traditional rivals Pakistan - the side's first on Pakistani soil. The former NZ player is the first non-Indian to coach the national cricket team.
(16 April 2004)
  

End of a long innings
Gordon Lindsay Weir, the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, died in Auckland on October 31 aged 95 years and 151 days. Known in cricketing circles as ‘Dad,’ the right-hand batsman and medium-pace bowler played 11 Tests for New Zealand, as well as making 9 first-class rugby appearances for Auckland.
(1 November 2003)
   

Superb, eh?
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming played the "innings of his career when his team most needed it", scoring 133 not out, to lead the Black Caps to a comprehensive 9 wicket win over hosts South Africa in a must win match for the Kiwis on their quest to win the Cricket World Cup. SMH headline: "Hosts discover horror has a face and its name is Fleming."
(17 January 2003)
     

Consistency and then some..
The NZ Black Caps followed up their Test series victory over India with an unassailable 4-0 lead in the one-dayers. The Kiwis have remained on top form against the somewhat disappointing tourists, with stand-out performances from fast-bowlers Jacob Oram and Shane Bond backed up with the bat by Scott Styris and Nathan Astle.
(Dec 2002 - Jan 2003)
       

Colonial post
New Zealand beat England for the first time at home in 18 years as the series finishes 1-1. "New Zealand are a very resilient side and they are very hard to break down", says England captain Nasser Hussain. The win provides wicketkeeper Adam Parore with his 200th Test dismissal, making him just the eighth player to reach the 200 mark, (along with legends of the glove Ian Healy, Jeffery Dujon, and Rodney Marsh), and the first from New Zealand. "It's a huge honour to be in that club...those guys have been my heroes since I was a little boy".
(3 April 2002)
                 

Man of the series
Kiwi paceman Shane Bond wins Player of the Cricket World Series, taking an astonishing 21 wickets against Australia and South Africa. Sir Richard Hadlee rates him "the quickest bowler New Zealand has ever produced [...] providing the real firepower we have lacked for a number a years [...] He could be our jewel in the crown". 
(9 February 2002)
          

Kiwi resourcefulness
The Guardian takes time out from the New Zealand - England cricket series to talk up World Cup preparations: "England are on the way although they have a way to go, but it would be in total keeping with the resourcefulness of the Kiwis for them to come up with something exceptional. Anyone who can produce the All Blacks, Kiri Te Kanawa and Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc can never be discounted".
(13 February 2002)
         

"Over the last five days they basically outplayed us in most departments."
Australian batsman Justin Langer: "New Zealand proved to themselves and the cricket world that they have the credentials and determination to compete with the best." In the final test of the series the valiant Kiwi cricketers verged on a famous victory, threatening the World Champ Aussies with their first home test series defeat in nine years. As the frustration on Cairns's face shows, they were unaided by some dubious umpiring. "Walk, Aussie, Walk!"
(6 December 2001)
              

Smashing record
New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan smashed 26 off one over - a new world record. "I love hitting boundaries and I love taking on spinnners," said the man of the season, speaking after "the most perfect Test you could play".
(31 March 2001)
           

Right-hander's ultimate innings 
Walter Mervyn Wallace, one of New Zealand's greatest batsmen has died, aged 91. As a young man Merv Wallace appeared such a prodigy that the New Zealand press did not scruple to make allusions to Don Bradman. While no one has been able to sustain that comparison, there was never any question of Wallace's extraordinary natural ability. A key player of the Parnell Club side at only 16, Wallace made his debut for Auckland in the Plunket Shield in December 1933, and first represented New Zealand (though not in a Test) against Errol Holmes's MCC side in 1935-36. Wallace played 13 tests between 1937 and the 1953 seasons. He served as New Zealand's coach in the team's 1956 Indian and Pakistan tour, and was Test selector for a number of years. From 1947 to 1982 he ran a sports shop with New Zealand tennis player Bill Webb. Of Wallace, former New Zealand captain John Reid said he was: "The most under-rated cricketer to have worn the silver fern." 
(24 March 2008)

Black Caps start as they mean to go on 
The Black Caps made a fine start to their 2006 season, cruising to victory in the five-match ODI home series against Sri Lanka. NZ won the deciding third match at Jade Stadium by five wickets. Nathan Astle - who was initially left out of the NZ squad - was the top run scorer, with an impressive 90 not out.
(4 January 2006)

Double milestone
The Black Caps’ tour of Bangladesh was a resounding success, with NZ winning both the Test and ODI series by comfortable margins. During the second Test captain Stephen Fleming overtook Martin Crowe as NZ’s highest Test run scorer. The match also marked his 87th Test outing, beating Richard Hadlee’s previous record of 86. After going down 2-0 in the Test series against Australia, the Black Caps came back with a nail-biting four wicket victory in the inaugural ODI match. The win marked the end of a three year ODI drought against Australia. 
(October 2004)
   

Guardian: “NZ near one-day perfection”
The Black Caps cruised to victory in the NatWest ODI tri-series against England and the West Indies, beating the latter by a resounding 107 runs in the final. Daniel Vettori was named Man of the Match for his career-best bowling effort (5 for 30) and Stephen Fleming Man of the Series for his consistently brilliant batting and unshakeable captaincy. The win was the Black Caps’ 13th out of 15 one-day international matches this year, and 9th in a row. The side now enjoys its highest ever ODI ranking – second equal with South Africa on 113 points, behind Australia on 136.
(11 July 2004)
   

Craig puts Middlesex to the spear
Ex-Black Cap Craig Spearman broke W.G Grace's record for the best ever innings in an English county cricket match, hitting a staggering 341 runs for Gloucester against Middlesex. The legendary Grace made 318 not out for Gloucester against Yorkshire in 1876. Spearman followed with a match-winning 143 not-out against Yorkshire in the C&G Trophy semi-final, sparking rumours that he may soon be playing for England.
(13 June 2004)
   

Two-ton Fleming squashes records  
A testament to leading by example, Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming hit a career-best 274 not out in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Fleming's total is the second highest test score ever made by a NZer, beaten only by Martin Crowe's 299. His incredible performance, followed by an unbeaten 67 in the second innings of the drawn test was the 12th highest number of runs ever scored by an individual in a test. Earlier Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori won the inaugural World Double Wicket competition for NZ.
(26 April 2003)
       

Windies wiped out
Confirming their 3rd place ranking in the ICC World Test Cricket Championship the Black Caps achieved a remarkable milestone with their first ever test series victory against the West Indies on West Indian soil. NZ won the first test by a dominant 204 runs, Fleming and Styris performed, with Canterbrian Shane Bond being named player of the series after another impressive wicket haul and display of fast bowling.
(June 2002)
       

Cometh the hour
Nathan Astle comes to play with "a superb and dominating" unbeaten 122 for the Black Caps to help them take the series 3-2 over "plucky losers" England and deservedly finish the summer with a trophy. Hitting the winning runs with a six and passing 5000 runs in one-day cricket Astle showed "why he is regarded as one of the world's most complete one-day batsman". Astle has scored 12 one-day centuries placing him 7th on the all-timers list overtaking Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Aravinda de Silva.
(26 February 2002)
         

Runs in the family
"I might have more than 5,000 test runs - but he makes 40million bucks a movie!", proclaims Kiwi cricket legend Martin Crowe about cousin Russell. 
(22 March 2002)
           

Most valuable Harry
"Chris Harris is the bald bloke who must have been in the New Zealand team since they started playing cricket. He hangs around at backward point taking spectacular catches, bats irritatingly in the lower middle order and needles batsmen with a brand of medium to slow bowling which could be a working model for the one-day art of taking the pace off and on its day takes something else altogether". 
(13 February 2002)
             

Bert Sutcliffe retires
Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand left-handed batsman "of the highest class", joins the "Gentlemen of Heaven XI" - a player fit to share a wicket with the late Don Bradman. Sutcliffe  was "a superlative cricketer and a very nice human being"; "one of the outstanding batsmen in world cricket".
(21 April 2001)