New Zealand coach, John Wright, believes that
his team has the depth and talent to re-emerge, as more than a threat at
the international level following an impressive World Cup show.
The perennial ‘semi-finalists’ made it to the
last four of the recently concluded tournament against all odds. There
performance was great when put into perspective of the fact that they
had a wretched run leading up to the tournament
and that they were the only team besides the three Asian giants to make
it to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Wright, who had a successful stint at the helm
of the Indian team a few years ago, took charge of the Kiwis two months
before the World Cup, and oversaw Test and One Day International (ODI)
series losses against Pakistan.
The Kiwis were ranked outsiders for the
showpiece International Cricket Council (ICC) event, yet surprised
everyone by reaching the last four, brushing aside pre-tournament
favourites, South Africa, in a dramatic quarter-final in Bangladesh.
"Losing the semi-final was bitterly
disappointing but I hope the team has learnt", Wright said. "I think it
has grown. What's important is that we just played as hard as we could
with what we had, with the resources we had. Seeing
a team start to believe in themselves and in each other. The fight they
showed tells you the team can get better. We have the opportunities at
this stage to get better".
There has been another major appointment in New Zealand Cricket (NZC) set-up, as the Board has hired the services of former Australian coach, John Buchanan.
Speaking last week, before the appointment of
John Buchanan, as the Director of Cricket, Wright chose not to comment
on his role and whether he would have influence on matters pertaining to
the team that Wright would take to the field
in the months ahead.
The Kiwis have some top class cricket on their way. They are set to travel to Australia at the end of the years and follow that up by hosting South Africa next season.
Besides these two major assignments they are also set to encounter lowly ranked Zimbabwe and West Indies in early 2012.
Meanwhile, Wright is impressed with the talent
that is at his disposal in New Zealand he thinks that the future of the
game is bright with many youngsters knocking on the door of
international cricket.
The former captain and opening batsman has
signed a two-year stint as NZC's high performance manager and he thinks
that the next generation of New Zealand cricket have the talent, will,
and, determination to make it big when their
time comes.
"We have got maybe five or six kids that
really show a lot of potential", he said. "I have been really impressed
with some of the talent I have seen in the last couple of years in
under-17 and under-19 tournaments. I know that as long
as we can put a playing programme in place that challenges the guys
coming through and bridges the gap between first-class and international
cricket, the ones that really want to make it, we could hopefully hold
our own".
Besides Buchanan and Wright, New Zealand
Cricket, has also hired the services of legendary South African fast
bowler, Allan Donald. Donald was with the team at the World Cup and
started his stint at the beginning of the ODI series
against Pakistan earlier in the year.
These three stalwarts are expected to bring
improvement to New Zealand and make them a real force, which they have
threatened to be for a long time.
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