Dion Nash (New Zealand)
 | This fiercely competitive all-rounder took 11 wickets and scored a 50 in his first test at Lords, and served as captain of New Zealand in 1998. He is a national selector. Fatherhood (his son was born in August, 2006) and business occupy much of his time. |
Interview with Dion Nash – NZ All-rounder
Tyler Foundation (TF): Dion, we’re looking forward to having you come over next week.
Dion Nash (DN): Looking forward to being part of it.
TF: In just your 4th test you took five wickets and scored 50 at Lord’s – what was that like?
DN: Obviously it was a highlight for me. It showed I had made my way on to the international scene and it gave me some confidence having come from a small town in NZ and match it on the international stage. And you never really feel like you belong (in the team) as a new player until you do something like this and then I could worry about the rest of my career.
TF: You even had a stint as New Zealand captain against South Africa – tell us about that.
DN: A great honor for me – being asked to captain your country is something special and at that stage in my career it was a challenge and a good way for me to develop as a cricketer because you have to start thinking about other players in the team rather than just yourself (laughs) and the outcome from a team perspective rather than a personal one.
TF: As an all-rounder you are in a good position to tell us both your most difficult bowlers to face and batsmen to bowl to – can you give us some names?
DN: As a bowler it would be Adam Gilchrist – I found him the hardest to bowl to. Lara and Tendulkar were pretty big challenges as well. We (Gilchrist and I) had some good battles and perhaps I had the better of our early tussles but later in my career he got the better of me I think. And I guess bowling, the two that stand out are Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. They were the best.
TF: Who will win the next World Cup?
DN: Of course the Black Caps!! Or are you talking the Rugby World Cup? Then it would be the All Blacks!! (laughs) I mean, the Aussies would have to go in as favorites but there are those top 5 or 6 teams that don’t have too much separating them and any one of those teams can beat the other on their day. And with the tournament being in the West Indies – who knows who the conditions will suit?
TF: You’re currently a NZ selector – Is it difficult to do seeing as you only recently retired and you have a lot of close relationships with the current team?
DN: Well I used to have close relationships!!! (laughs) Now I’m not so sure. Again, it was a little like the captaincy, the opportunity came along and I thought while I’m young and have a bit of energy to use rather than waiting until you are old and haggard but definitely the hardest part of the role is making calls on guys that you’ve played with. But you have to try and keep some objectivity to it and make the call on form and what’s best for the team.
TF: Here’s one to throw you- we have been contacted by a Mr. Richard Bowater (or Blacky Lawless) as you may better remember him, and he claims he had you out caught behind in the final of the inter-flat tournie on Castle St in 1992 – tell us definitively – did you touch it?
DN: Look mate, he was overexcited, and I flicked the inside of my pad. If I remember rightly even the keeper didn’t go up. So I am surprised he still claims it as a wicket. Castle St had no TV replays or Snick-o-meters back then so we can’t say conclusively either way. I felt it was pad and he felt it was the outside of the bat – but no, I wasn’t prepared to walk, especially for the dribbly little seamers he used to send down. He may have had the “Hadlee shuffle” but that was about where the similarity ended. (laughs)
TF: Fatherhood- how’s that going?
DN: Yeah it’s great. That for me will be the hardest part of the trip – being away from the little fella.
TF: I understand you’ve been to Japan before, but is there anything in particular you are looking forward to doing during your time here?
DN: Not in particular mate. It is great to be invited to participate in this event and by the sounds of it, it’ll be great. The previous times I have been to Japan were pretty whistle-stop type tours and I didn’t have any contacts there so I am looking forward to going out with some people that know their way around. Yeah, I am really looking forward to it.
TF: Great Dion, we’ll see you next week and thanks for your time today.
DN: Cheers mate.