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Action stations for techno-team Kiwi

Technical Advisor Ashley Ross started travelling with the New Zealand cricket team 15 months ago. Roughly the same time frame applies to computer analyst Peter Mayell and players' analyst Gilbert Enkola.

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And within these 15 months, the Kiwis stunned the cricketing world by a historic Test series win over England on the latter's own home ground, reached the semi-finals of World Cup '99 and Dion Nash made a spectacular comeback after an injury that had all but ended his career.

Could there be an correlation?

"Of course," answers manager Jeff Crowe, while explaining that "With the level of international competition that we face today, traditional methods are no longer sufficient. We have to learn to understand each cricketer as an individual, and that can only be done with development of technology and supporting infrastructures."

It was to this end that the country took a leaf from the neighbouring Australian Cricket Academy (ACA) and South Africa's laptop coach Bob Woolmer, and then "went at least five steps beyond that," in the process giving the ICC and the other cricket playing countries a lot of food for thought.

It all started with the establishment of the High Performance Centre (under the National Development Programme) in December 1995, which apart from hosting the BIL Cricket Academy -- a kind of first cousin of the ACA -- spreads further outwards to the development of volunteers, coaches, school and club administrators, scorers, officials and umpires.

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One of the most revolutionary ideas of the Centre has been the application of bio-mechanics to cricket, a concept which, thanks to Australian expert Ashley Ross, has gone a long way in reducing the injuries that are the bane of most cricket teams worldwide.

"Most injuries are caused by improper playing techniques that put harmful strain on the body. I believe that cricketers use their bodies in the same way as ballet dancers. And we all know how important it is for each ballet dancer to understand the unique strengths and weaknesses of their individual physique," explains Ross. "This is what I do with cricketers. We make detailed video recordings during play, and then these images are fed into the computer and analysed through digital split screen technology. After that I sit with the coach, and together we work out what a player is doing wrong, what might lead to injury, and what changes are necessary," he explains.

Though Ross would rather concentrate on prevention than on rehabilitation, the success of the concept is most evident through all-rounder Dion Nash, who has reclaimed his career after being out for two years with a severe back injury that traditional wisdom had written off as incurable. Allot and Cairns are some of the others who have been recommended changes in technique by Ross.

The Centre has also made immense headway in pitch technology and ground maintenance, through extensive work done in conjunction with the Turf Institute, and the portable pitch that they have developed is being tested by the ICC as a possible answer to the increased pressure of lengthening cricket seasons at shared venues.

Another initiative of the NZCA that is being seriously considered by the ICC is the employment of the third umpire for domestic cricket, because the Kiwis firmly believe that "without proper attention and professionalism at the grassroots, the sport will die away very soon."

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And talking about the need for professionalism, coupled with the fact that cricketers become role-models, the NZCA has evolved a Code of Conduct that its players are expected to adhere to very strictly, unless, as Crowe puts it, "they want to end up either paying monetary fines or putting in compensatory hours of community service."

"The Code-of-Conduct details instructions on areas like what sort of clothing is acceptable during tours, on punctuality and so on," explains Crowe, adding that, "Cricket is a team game and to be a good cricketer you have to learn to respect your team-mates. If you are late in coming to practise, it means that you have unfairly made others waste their time waiting for you. And such infractions should be penalised."

It is probably the result of this Code of Conduct that the popularity of cricketers has drastically gone up in the rugby-dominated country, with New Zealand cricketers being regarded as the most "approachable" and "good role models" in the cricketing world.

"The results of all this are becoming tangible now," admits a much-satisfied Ross. "I don't claim that by next year we will be world beaters, but the message that we are broadcasting is clear: Watch out for the New Zealanders!"

Is the world out there listening?