I love Wellington, but, on days like today, I really hate the place. You see, Wellington is known for its wind. And when travelling between cities we fly. Wind, flying and me don't mix too well. Today is no exception. Leaving Dunedin with slightly overcast but still skies was nice, however, the descent in to Wellington was terrible. I get motion sickness and the bump, drop, bump, drop motion does nothing for me, well actually it does, and it makes me feel very, very bad! And here I sit in the lounge, writing this with an ice water sitting next to me and a motion sickness pill to take before we board our next flight to Napier. I should have had it before leaving Dunedin this morning!
Anyway, onto the cricket. Alas, nothing to report on for yesterday. We left the hotel for the ground at normal time. A small drift of drizzle was about but nothing of note. Not much had changed by the time we got to the ground, apart from the cloud build up which was a little greater. Ten minutes later and that had changed quite a bit. It was now proper drizzling; not quite raining, but more than just a wisp of rain. Another 10 minutes after that it was raining.
We knew, as players, that with this rain, play today probably wouldn't happen. The outfield still wasn't great from the rain earlier in the match and it really didn't need a top up of water. The thing was too, that with the amount of time we had already lost in the match a result was going to be a hard one to work. And losing more time today did nothing for that cause.
So, in all honesty, going out to play once things had dried up was of no consequence to the result. And when play was called off, just after an early lunch at 1.30pm, it was actually the best weather there had been in Dunedin for the whole match. Irony!
So, pack up time it was. I had spent the morning in and out of the changing rooms, including a real surprise visit by a dog. I have a couple of very good friends who work for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind in Wellington. And through those friends I have had the honour of having a 'Guide Dog' puppy named after me. So there is a 11-month-old black Labrador called Iain. Yup, a silly name for a dog, but I like it and he responds to it which was cool to see. And he turned up to the ground yesterday to see me, with its 'walker', of course. I'm not a massive animal fan, but this dog might just have changed me; just a great little dog with such a great temperament. They reckon he'll be a great guide dog too. I had my photo taken with him and had a real enjoyable time talking to the 'walker', as they're called, and hanging with Iain. That was the highlight of the day really.
I grabbed Daren Powell aside for a chat during the morning too. He had played some League cricket at a club that's not far from where I live in England (when I'm there) so we knew some people in common. Spent about half an hour just chatting about 'stuff'. Good chat, funny guy!
That was the ‘cricket’ for the day. Cricket gear on the van, back to the hotel and straight to the gym for a weights session. A good full work out and the walk back to the hotel was a little wobbly, legs a touch rubbery and arms not wanting to work properly. Shower, pack, luggage down stairs ready to be trucked to Napier and down to the bar for a couple of quiets with the guys.
Here I sit, in wet and windy Wellington (I really DO love the place, just hate flying into it!) waiting for our connecting flight to Napier. Feeling a whole lot better too! And I'll leave it here as Dan [Vettori] wants a chat, a bit of a debrief for the match just gone and to cover off some stuff for this next Test starting Friday.
Cool blog Iain...keep it up and plz let it keep coming. Everyone likes it!
Posted by: Aaron at December 16, 2008 10:02 AM
Gidday, Here's hoping Napier will be fine for the five days. Its great to see some good line & length from ya Ian . I think you have improved a lot in thr last 12 months & are a huge part of the nz attack. Wish ya all th best & many wickets to come this season- let it rip!
Posted by: leeds at December 17, 2008 7:04 PM
Lets hope Napier is not like Hopton Mills ! How big was them sixs off you into the tree . Have a good one .
Posted by: Kiran at December 18, 2008 6:38 AM
Iain, you need a lot of help in your bowling. Watching the NZ bowl (Vettori apart), it is quite embarrassing. It is a huge drop off from Cairns, Bond, Vettori --- to watching you, Martin, Gillespie, and Patel. The problem is that NZ play with around 4-5 guys --> Ross Taylor, McCullum, Oram, and Vettori. The rest of the guys would not be able to win the Sheffield Shield Competition in Australia. I am sorry, but you definitely need to improve your bowling. You would not be able to get into most state teams/clubs/franchises in Australi, South Africa, or England.
Posted by: Michael at December 18, 2008 8:36 AM
Kiran - what have you been smoking?
In his last 10 matches Iain has averaged about 22. Compare that to most other players in the world, and you'll find it stacks up quite well. Especially against the likes of Stuart Clark, and to go with that, Iain hasn't had the advantage of being able to bowl at the New Zealand top order batsmen...
Watch the game properly before posting stupid comments.
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Iain O'Brien
must type as fast as he bowls. After stumps most days he adds to his popular personal blog, covering his take on the play, dressing room snippets and personal insights (he really doesn’t like bouncers). A fast-medium bowler, O’Brien has become a regular member of the New Zealand Test side over the past year and is enjoying his time at the top.
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