Mark Keown

Dear Black Caps. For years I have been a supporter and lover of NZ cricket. What I witnessed yesterday has tested that more than any other performance I have seen in recent times. Against a reasonable Pakistani bowling attack, you capitulated pathetically. This, the day after a number of you were snapped up for good money by Indian T20 teams. You should be ashamed of yourselves. This season you have been trounced by the world's second worst side Bangladesh, smashed in the one-dayers in India, and out of character, performed well in two tests in India. Why should I bother watching you again? There are basics cricket is based on. Here are some you might like to consider: 1. When the ball is on the stumps, you defend. If it is short, you go onto the back foot and defend it. When it is pitched up, you step forward. 2. When you step forward, you lead with your head. MacIntosh, you need to go and get someone to throw a million balls to you and teach yourself this. 3. When the ball ...

So 2010 is over. It was a big year. There were a few eruptions notably the Icelandic Volcano eruption which messed up European travel, surely they could have started flying earlier? The best thing about it was the name of the mountain, Eyjafjallajokull… yeah baby, pronounce that! Avatar was released, smashing all records and setting the scene for 3D movies big time. There were disasters like the Haiti earthquake which was horrific in January, with 230,000 killed in the event, and who knows how many since, the place is still a disaster. Later in the year our own Christchurch was hit with the same sized quake, and no one died. Such is the difference between the poor in the third world and the rich in the first world. In China in April a smaller quake of 6.9 saw 2,689 killed; kind of proves the point. A huge one hit Chile, 8.8, with 521 killed. The Pakistan flood which killed 1,700 people. There was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which messed up the ecosystem, have we stopped buying...