Posted February 19

The second ODI with South Africa showed how quickly these matches can swing. Dion Nash, whose talents are greatly admired, did not have a memorable game and as one commentator remarked it doesn't always turn out they way you want. His reading of the pitch was hopeful although the Proteas said they too would have batted first. That was a con for they enjoyed the moisture and movement early on.

It remained a bouncy pitch throughout and there looked like an even contest when we had them 2 for 12. Then the three musketeers, Kirsten. Kallis and Cronje simply hammered us for half centuries. It was powerful and adventurous batting and we had no answer. The margin of seven wickets and seven overs was quite appropriate.

Our batting was disappointing but predictable. Only three starts and those were gutsy efforts by Twose, Parore and Harris. The batting order is crazy with Craig McMillan at three when he should be at five or six when the ball is softer. Parore and Twose should precede him. Harry was again too low at seven and again finished not out. Give him more time.

Eden Park will be different with Matt Hart coming back after a long gap. He has taken five in an innings against the West Indies in an ODI and five in a test against South Africa and he is a gritty player. He will not be fazed by the opposition.

Sad and Sick

I was appalled to hear the former captain Howarth say on radio on Monday night that he thought Cairns was avoiding playing the South Africans when he broke down in the first ODI. He claimed that it was strange how Cairns always got injured when really classy opposition showed up. At that stage it was not known that Cairns had ruptured his calf, not merely tearing it, but anyone watching saw how seriously he was affected.

Chris Cairns has had some horrific experiences in his young life including the loss of his sister in a train accident, his stepbrother on a cot death, and many serious injuries. The origin of Howarth's hurtful remarks is his vendetta with father Lance, who would not tolerate the captain's misbehaviour and said so publicly. Lance and his son Chris are 100% performers which everyone bar a couple of sad old disaffected ex-coaches know.

Appealing

Now it has happened! My proposal a few months back that umpires should have the right to summarily reject appeals on excess grounds has occurred, in a test match !! I was flacked by folk like "Peaches" Petrie but yesterday umpire Orchard gave out a Pakistani batsman and then reversed his appeal because of the excessive Indian behaviour. It just shows that if you are patient logic will prevail. More of it!

Back Troubles

Most fast bowlers, and many others besides, suffer serious back troubles owing to the need to twist or rotate the torso while also bending it severely to get the most leverage. I was privileged to attend a presentation at the Body Tech fitness centre in Mount Eden where two doctors demonstrated a machine that has been developed in Florida. The principle is to isolate and treat only the lower lumbar region, no matter how tight or locked up it is.

The patient is placed in an apparatus that allows him to bend only the back. The degree of bend and the amount of resistance are monitored by the operator who has to be fully trained and certified. In this case it is the well regarded physiotherapist Michelle James, who travelled to the University of Daytona to qualify. She was enormously impressed by the knowledge and proof of this technique. Over 10,000 have passed through the programme and 88% have reported zero back pain after the course.

This is tremendous news for all cricketers, including our present New Zealand attack. Nash, Cairns, Doull and Allott have all been forced out through bad backs periodically. Let's hope they take advantage of this technology, as should all trainers. Accident Compensation spends $360 million annually on "fixing" bad backs. Cricketers arise!

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