I ASKED FOR A WETA BUT ALL I GOT WERE GECKOS

I haven’t updated my blog for a while. Not because I have been too busy, mainly because if I have time to write, I feel that I should be reading or writing something related to my PhD proposal. My topic is about weta, the giant insects of New Zealand. My species of interest is known as Hemideina maori, the alpine weta and for the last two months, I went from knowing as much as you do to become a semi-expert. Saying that, I’ve never actually seen one in the flesh. But that day will come. I will have a lot of adventures, scurrying about the high regions of the central South Island, searching for my gargantuan insect quarry. I have been corresponding with some amateur naturalists, who told me of a population found at a reasonably accessible spot. I say reasonably as the spot is an island in the middle of Lake Wanaka.

The beasties I will be studying for the next three years.

After I received encouragement from the family, I decided to check out Ruby Island. Encouragement only goes so far though and this was to be a solo trip (not even my dear wife would consent to come with me). Nonetheless, it was one of the those beautiful crisp days where the lake surface looks just like a mirror, the newly-dusted mountains capping off the postcard appearance. It must be nice to live in a postcard. Ruby Island is only about a ten-minute paddle from the mainland. The waters in this part of the country are cold, the lakes carved out by recent glacial action filled by rivers comprised of snow melt, so this was no time to be practicing the Eskimo rolls (should that be Inuit rolls) I learnt to do at high school.  On reaching Ruby Island, I pulled the kayak up on the gravelly beach by Ruby Island’s one small pier and took off, more confident than hopeful on my weta quest.

Looking out over Lake Wanaka with Ruby Island in the background.

I spied some likely weta habitat-a bank of schist with inviting looking crevices. However, my futile first search would unfortunately set the standard. Hoping to glance a weta, if I came across anything living at all, I was eyeballed by a surprised spider or a scared looking gecko but never a weta. I looked all over this bank of schist, under likely looking rocks and in rotting logs. I looked all over this small island, only a 10-minute walk in diameter. Remembering the words of one of my sources, I searched in cabbage trees, the hardy palm tree lookalikes so iconic in Southern New Zealand. Turning my gaze upwards had no change on the outcome. I found only geckos (which on another day, I would have been more excited to find) and no sign of wetas. For the most part, the only noise apart from my muttered curses on the island came from birds, most commonly finches but also ducks and on one occasion, from an Australasian harrier hawk which I startled from its resting place on the biggest tree on the island, a pine.

One of the many geckos I found.

Later on, four yoofs turned up on a small powerboat. I can hear them joking about casting my kayak off into the deep blue. They weren’t there to just enjoy the scenery as much as get loaded; they had already polished off a few bottles of ready mixed bourbon and cokes. When I walked past them, greeting them as I passed by, my sudden presence pushed them into hysterics. A younger me would have questioned what they were laughing at but the older version let their laughter go. Following the words of Jay-Z, I brushed my shoulders off, their laughter flowing over me but not bothering me (at least, not too much). For a heart-stopping and maddening moment, I thought that they had hid my ride but I was a bit too hasty in my prognosis and it was lying where I had left it. I pushed my kayak off, getting my shoes wet for the third time that day, without even giving the troublesome teenagers the satisfaction of a backwards glance. Nonetheless, I could still hear them laughing at me as I set off across the lake. Luckily, the scenery serves as such a spectacular backdrop that it does a great job at quickly putting things into perspective. I lingered a bit, halfway back to the shore, just sitting in the kayak, enjoying the solitude, soaking in the tranquility (not something that was easy to find during our time in Korea).

So, my first field trip was a fail in the sense that I couldn’t even find any weta. If they were there or not, I can only find out through further inquires. But as a way to spend an afternoon, my expedition was a success. But it showed me that if nothing else, my project will give me the excuse to check out some of the more beautiful and untouched parts of the country.

VETTORI-LOWER ORDER SAVIOR

Another day that began with promise ended in disappointment for that long-suffering breed, the New Zealand cricket fan. New Zealand cricket has never been a powerhouse but currently, the team is ranked 8th out on 10 teams, with only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe below them. They had just beaten Zimbabwe in a test but only just. Australia are far the team they were 5 years, when a team list read like the roll-call of all-time greats. Now they are seen as vulnerable and the possibility of New Zealand beating Australia in a test for the first time since 1993 had been written up in the New Zealand press, with even ex-players expressing that the game was New Zealand's to win. Such hyperbole ignored the fact that much like the All Blacks, there is never a bad Australian cricket team. Some just aren't as good as others.  It also ignored the fact that the New Zealand seam attack consisting of Chris Martin, Tim Southee and Doug Bracewell, while probably the best New Zealand has to offer, is still well short of being world class.  Martin, the aging but seemingly tireless spearhead averages over 80 in tests against Australia; Southee, while highly promising, still averages over 40 in tests and Bracewell has only played in one, the one in Zimbabwe that the New Zealanders only just won. True, Vettori is a class spin bowler but not the sort of bowler to run through Australia in Australia. Much of the optimism largely stemmed from the fact that in McCullum, Guptill, Williamson, Taylor and Ryder, New Zealand has an in-form top five that potentially could be world class, potentially the best that New Zealand has had ever. Of course, games aren’t played on potential or on paper and the now traditional collapse of the New Zealand top order losing 5-96 (repeated to worse effect in the second innings with 5-28) was followed by the traditional lower-order recovery. It almost goes without saying that the recovery in this first innings was led by Daniel Vettori, former captain and selector of the team and its number one all-rounder. In short, Daniel Vettori is New Zealand cricket. But is he New Zealand’s best batsmen, a statement that is almost always made on the cricketing website Cricinfo by commenters and fans whenever he comes out to bat, usually in a precarious position where his country needs some saving.

Daniel Vettori with the weight of a country and batting order on his shoulders.

Vettori is an unlikely batting hero. Bespectacled and gangly, he has an unlikely presence at the crease. It's not a presence that would suggest permanence that must frustrate the opposition. But he has admirable qualities of concentration, of being able to rise to the occasion when it is needed (and it's needed frequently). He bats within his means, using a home-baked technique that plays to his strengths. He plays late with little footwork, finding gaps in the field by placing the ball in unusual areas around the field. He is especially strong square on the off-side and  is effective at taking balls off his hip for well-placed runs on the on-side. 


Obviously, if you just take his average which hovers just above 30, he is some way from being the country’s best batsmen. However, he is a candidate for the world’s most improved batsmen. If you only look at his average from 2003, the year where he made his first test century until now, he averages 40 runs per innings with six centuries (before 2003, his average was 16.25 with no centuries). The batting averages of New Zealand players in the time period between 2003-2011 reveals a few interesting facts. Vettori has the third best average during this time, with only ex-captain Stephen Fleming and current captain Ross Taylor exceeding Vettori.

Name              Tests              Runs                      Average

Fleming             38                 2887                         47.95

Taylor               32                 2387                         41.87

Vettori               62                3448                         40.09

Oram                 31                1751                         37.25

McCullum         59                3448                         36.68

Astle                   24                1282                         34.64

Styris                  26                1380                         34.50

Qualification: 20 tests for New Zealand, 1000 runs in the period January 1^st 2003-December 2^nd 2011.

Ross Taylor: Vettori's successor as captain and one of a select few who average more than Vettori since 2003.

Of course, it goes without saying that he has been our most valuable all-round player. Bowling, he has played the role of both main attacking and main defensive bowler, often bowling himself into the ground. Chris Martin is the only other player to have captured over 100 wickets in this period. Shane Bond is his only challenger as the most important bowler and unfortunately Bond only managed to play 10 tests in this period due to chronic injury concerns.

Name              Tests              Wickets              Average

Vettori             63                     216                     33.54             

Martin             52                     171                     34.91             

Franklin          25                      73                      34.21

O’Brien           22                      73                      33.27

Bond                10                      49                      21.85

Oram               31                      49                      37.81

Mills                19                       44                      33.02

Patel                13                      40                       48.40

Qualification: 40 wickets in the period January 1^st 2003-December 2^nd 2011.

Shane Bond, the only New Zealand bowler who was more important to the team than Vettori.

Several players including Brendan McCullum, a player of rare talent but questionable shot selection, have a lower batting average than Vettori. This would suggest that McCullum, for one has definitely underperformed as a test player. So why doesn’t Vettori bat higher in the order, given that he is one of New Zealand’s best batsmen. He does seemingly have an unflappable character, capable of performing in situations under high pressure. Despite his ability and his results, there has been a reluctance to push him higher up the order, a reluctance shared by selectors, fans and presumably by Vettori himself. After all, over the last eight years, Vettori has averaged more than what Hussain, Atherton, Hooper, Atapattu, Wright, Kapil Dev, Ranatunga and Botham did over their whole careers. There still remains the feeling that he doesn’t belong in the top 6 of an international team.  When he has batted in the top six, his average is about 30 (this figure will be skewed from times when he batted as a night watchman in the earlier part of his career). In contrast, he averages about 40 batting at 8 (he is in fact the most successful no.8 batsmen in the history of test cricket). For the time being, Vettori will continue to serve as New Zealand’s lower order savior, trying to remedy the flaws inherent in the talented but inconsistent New Zealand top-order.

VETTORI'S FOURTH INNINGS STRUGGLES

Given Daniel Vettori’s long-standing role as saviour of New Zealand cricket, as a Black Caps fan, asking questions of him leaves a vaguely treacherous aftertaste in your mouth. For a while not so long ago, he acted as captain, selector and premier all-rounder, such was his standing in the game. With the bat, he has perhaps over-achieved with 6 test centuries, often made as a recovery from unpromising positions, including one in the recently completed test against Pakistan. And with ball in hand, he has been New Zealand’s premier spin bowler for over a decade. For much of that time, he has also been New Zealand’s best bowler of any category (only Cairns and Bond could be said to have performed better than him over this period). He’s acted as both an attacking weapon and as a stock bowler, often performing both roles at the same time, given that the New Zealand attack has often been mediocre. Bowling is his core skill, the one that he was picked for, the only New Zealand spinner of note since his debut. As a one-day bowler, his credentials are unquestionable. His change in pace, length and drift as well as a well-disguised arm ball make him a parsimonious and dangerous bowler in the shorter formats of the game, highlighted by his well deserved world #1 ranking in ODIs. In tests, it’s a different story. Without the need to try and attack him, the subtleties that are so effective in the one-day game prove ineffective in tests. Basically, Vettori is unable to get out top-order batsmen unless they attack him. Vettori himself has acknowledged that test match bowling is something that he needs to work on.  While he has taken over 340 test wickets to go with his 4000 odd runs, he has often failed in the primary role of the spinner, to win matches by running through a team on the fourth and fifth day. The latest example of this was the 2nd test between NZ and Pakistan. He bowled 34 overs in Pakistan’s second innings, on a wearing fifth day track that Pakistan’s part timers had managed to extract considerable turn from. While he went for fewer than 2 runs an over, he picked up only one victim, late in the day. This lack of success at being able to run through teams is what means Vettori is only merely a very good test cricketer, not a great one.

Above: A sight not seen enough in the fourth innings. Vettori celebrating a wicket.

If we look at his spin bowling contemporizes, there are five spinners with over 300 test wickets (Vettori, Warne, Muralitharan, Kumble and Harbhajan). All have a much greater success in the fourth innings than Vettori. There can be arguments made to defend him, like he plays for a weak team who seldom score enough runs to pressure the opposition, that his style of bowling is more based on drift and changes in pace than extravagant turn and he lacks quality bowlers who can help him (either another spinner like Kumble had with Harbhajan or a quality fast bowler like Warne had with McGrath or Gillespie). It can even be argued that his style of bowling is not well suited to New Zealand pitches (where he has played about half his tests) or for that matter pitches around the world which have generally been flat and batsmen friendly. They are all valid points but they still do not hide the fact that he has failed to win matches for New Zealand, even when all these factors are taken into account. The other four spinners mentioned above all have a better average in the fourth innings than their overall average. On the other hand, Vettori averages five runs a wicket more in the fourth innings than his overall average and has a strike-rate of 90 compared to a career strike rate of 78, which means he has to bowl 15 overs on average to pick up a wicket in the fourth innings. That he has maintained the mantle of New Zealand’s premier spinner for so long highlights the lack of real spin talent in this country. No challengers look likely and no-one competes with his first class record. While he may be less than potent at test level, he’s still remains New Zealand’s best option.

 Records in the fourth innings

 Vettori in 25 fourth innings has 33 wickets at an average of 39.03 and a strike rate of 90.3. (Overall average 33.98 at 77.8).

 Warne in 53 fourth innings captured 138 wickets at an average of 23.14 at a strike rate of 52.9. (Overall average 25.41 at 57.4).

 Muralitharan in 35 fourth innings captured 106 wickets at an average of 21.01 at a strike rate of 50. (Overall average 22.72 at 55).

 Kumble in 35 fourth innings captured 94 wickets at an average of 22.39 at a strike rate of 51.8. (Overall average 29.64 at 65.9).

 Harbhajan in 27 fourth innings captured 43 wickets at an average of 27.62 at a strike rate of 66.9. (Overall average 31.85 at 67.3).