New Zealand Diary

Hardy Hadlee

Christchurch is home to the great Sir Richard Hadlee as well as former India coach John Wright. Either Hadlee has mellowed or—to quote Groucho Marx—my watch has stopped. Now 63, Hadlee still looks fit enough to play in the World Cup. More startlingly, he came across as one of the boys, and spending half a day with him was an unalloyed delight. It began at the Hagley Oval, venue of the inaugural match of the World Cup, and continued on the Avon river, where a punter was overjoyed to have the cricketing legend in his boat.

“This is the first time I am punting,” said Hadlee. Later, speaking of Bollywood, he threw out his arms in a fair imitation of Shahrukh Khan about to break into a song. That Hadlee has a sense of humour was clear when he was knighted. “I believe the last bowler to be knighted was Sir Francis Drake,” he said, a reference to the 16th century vice admiral, who is known to have been playing a game of bowls when he was warned of the approaching Spanish fleet. Drake remarked there was plenty of time to finish the game and still beat the Spaniards.

John Wright picked me up at the George Hotel and drove me to his home on 50 acres of farmland. “Let me show you how much Christchurch suffered,” he said, going past the central areas devastated by the earthquake three years ago. The death toll was 185; the losses over 40 billion dollars. He spoke of his good fortune in coaching India. “I began by asking players what sort of a side they would like to be,” he said. When he left, the team gave him three boxes of custom-made hand-cut crystal. “The presentation left me fee­ling fragile as a crystal,” he said.

Did Greg Chappell consult him before he took on the job? Wright’s ‘No’ was eloquent.

Gee, bungee

Years ago, when bungee jumping was the rage in New Zealand, I left for a cricket tour there with sage words of advice from friends. Well, actually, one word: Don’t. They need not have worried. I did not have the guts to do it then, and I have not become any braver since. I always was the great indoors type.

Why do people want to throw themselves off a platform tied by their ankles to a long rope and accelerate at the rate of 9.8 metres per second squared when they could be reading a book instead? In New Zealand, I once watched people with Velcro on their chests run and throw themselves against a pre-Velcroed wall. The winner was one who got stuck at the highest level. There was something delightfully absurd about this—if life itself is meaningless, why not Velcro yourself to the wall? It is as meaningful as anything else.

Perhaps that is the philosophy. Bungee jumping reminds us of the essential absurdity of life. So does honking in a traffic jam—and I much prefer to get my philosophy at a traffic signal than hanging upside down over a lake.

God, the New Zealander

God (if he exists) must be a New Zealander. Perhaps he lives in Napier, one of the prettiest cities in the world, the entire population of which can fit into one of our cricket stadiums. Humans came to New Zealand only around 800 years ago; till then, as the historian Michael King put it, “a land without people waited for a people without land.”

Perhaps that explains the pristine natural wonders—as well as the gentle, warm nature of the people. Who would have thought that walking through the stalactites and stalagmites in the Waitomo caves surrounded by glow worms could be such fun? The acoustics is astounding. Rod Stewart has held a concert there. The adventure sports­—bungee jumping, skydiving, canyoning, ballooning, rafting, jetboating and more—display a national trait: the obsession with safety.

New Zealand is preparing for tourists who come for the cricket and to experience the adventure sports, wineries, and the Hobbiton movie set—the only permanent movie set in the world. The 12-acre picturesque shire was the home of the hobbits in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Not being a fan of either the books or the movies, I wasn’t unhappy when rain forced the walk to be cut short. Sitting before a fire in a pub was, for me, the more attractive alternative.

All black

Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke was once greeted by a New Zealand flag while travelling. But that is not why the country is thinking of changing it. A referendum in 2016 will decide whe­­ther the Union Jack on the flag goes and if a silver fern design on a black background will replace it. Prime minister John Key is pushing for change.

Last Week

I learnt there are few experiences to rival floating over the Canterbury Plains in a hot-air balloon as the sun is rising.

Bangalore-based Suresh Menon is editor, Wisden India Almanack; E-mail your diarist: talmenon [AT] yahoo [DOT] com