New Zealand Cricket on a perpetual decline : Is there a way out ?

Gone are the days when the likes of Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Dion Nash use to mesmerize us with their all-round ability in a cricket field, where each player in the New Zealand team had to offer a lot in more than one facet of the game. When I first started watching cricket in the 90s, the Kiwi team had this feel of dynamism and energy about them, with a team boasting of several talented all-rounders and which tasted a lot of success in the 80s and 90s, with winning the ICC Knock out in 2000 probably the pinnacle of their stint in international cricket. This was also accompanied by consistent performances in World Cups and decent ICC rankings. Unfortunately in the last 2-3 years it’s pretty evident that they have been on a decline, raising concerns over their ability to compete against the big guns of international cricket. This fact was reinstated when they struggled to get past Bangladesh on their tour of the sub-continent earlier this year, losing the one day series 3-0 and managing a tame 0-0 results in the tests. In fact, their performances in the whole of 2013 have nothing to ride home about. Of course a major problem with NZ cricket is the availability of funds to the board, for it to promote the game or to pay the players heavily. So, the incentive for cricketers to take up cricket as a career is not really high as it does not pay much higher than an average job in the country and in such a case it’s natural if the players give up the game and the rigors associated with it, and instead focus on an alternative form of employment, as has been seen in the case of Adam Parore, Chris Drum and Craig Mcmillan. This pursuit of money among the players has resulted in some of them joining rebel leagues or taking up a free-lance route, with IPL and other emerging T20 leagues around the world providing them ample opportunity. This increased focus on the shorter-formats has also resulted in their performances in test matches deteriorating rapidly, where they have looked absolutely mediocre over the last couple of years including the heavy drubbing at the hands of England and South Africa earlier this year where they barely managed to pose a threat.
A major factor that I believe the Black Caps have missed in the last few years is the presence of a leader in their ranks who can man-manage as well as provide them that inspiration, which Stephen Fleming did to great effect for more than ten years. He invariably got the best out of an average side and made them look competitive at the world stage through his leadership skills and building up an indomitable team spirit where every member felt accountable and gave his best. Without belittling the efforts of their recent captains, I would like to state that the Kiwis need a natural leader who can instill confidence in them and bail NZ cricket out of this drought. Having said that, they still boast of some world-class players like Ross Taylor, Brendon Mcullum and youngsters like Williamson and Bracewell, who are now finding their feet at the top level. In such a situation, the board, senior players and the team management need to get together and carve out ways to reverse this declining trend of performances, get a way around the financial issues and generate more interest for cricket in the country, may be through leagues of new formats which would not only bring in more revenue but also generate interest in the budding cricketers. Considering a short-term perspective, it can be said that although the decline in performances does not bode well for NZ cricket as well as world cricket, it might not be as alarming an issue as we might perceive it to be as each side goes through a rebuilding phase every few years. So let us hope that the Kiwis sort out the issues and take us back to their hay days through some exhilarating performances.