The architect of the incredible turnaround the Silver Ferns have enjoyed is now off-contract. So now that the World Cup has been won, how can Netball NZ keep Noeline Taurua on the books? Radio NZ’s Ravinder Hunia recounts the journey and analyses her options. The Silver Ferns winning a gold medal against their toughest rival … Read more
The Offspin podcast tries to make sense of the greatest cricket game of all time, at the same time as not seeing the Black Caps win it. Perhaps our guest Sam Flynn Scott has the right approach to this one – immediately upon arrival at the studio he decided to focus on how the Black … Read more
The Black Caps were a critical part of what is probably the greatest game of cricket ever played, writes Duncan Greive. Is that enough to get over having lost it? It’s hard to imagine a more hollow consolation than having played the crucial supporting role in the greatest game of cricket any of us will … Read more
It’s final time. The Offspin team are joined by actor, Lotto host and passionate cricket fan Sonia Gray – do we dare to believe in a Black Caps World Cup victory? It’s still hard to fathom, but we’re in the final again. And it’s against the English, who overcame the sandpaper canaries. Ahead of that … Read more
Twelve years since she last watched a Netball World Cup, Alice Webb-Liddall revisits her childhood passion to preview the 2019 competition before the Silver Ferns’ first game tonight. New Zealand has been in a bit of a slump when it comes to netball. What used to be a staple school sport is being closed in … Read more
The Hurricanes’ and All Blacks’ talismanic No 10 is heading north to Auckland in the biggest Super Rugby shift for a long time. Hurricanes true believer and NZ’s leading rugby fraternity authority Jamie Wall does his best to hold it together to analyse the move. They say the first stage of grief is denial. That’s … Read more
In today’s episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day and Alex Braae go absolutely berserk over the semi-final win that put the Black Caps into the Cricket World Cup final. It took 29 hours and two nights, but the Black Caps have somehow managed to beat the mighty India to advance to the Cricket World … Read more
Incredibly, the Black Caps have made the Cricket World Cup final. In a sleep-deprived daze, Alex Braae reflects on the mountain of pain that went into seeing them get there. We don’t watch cricket because we want to. We watch it because we must. Cricket is a sport with pain built into it. Not the … Read more
In the latest episode of The Offspin, cricketer, commentator, activist and aspiring local board rep Peter McGlashan joins the show to mix sport and politics. The game was utterly frustrating. It was slow, things went wrong at key moments, it made people at home angry and now requires confusing calculations to figure out who will … Read more
Radio NZ journalist Ravinder Hunia has a dilemma over who to support at the Cricket World Cup tonight. Will it be the birthplace of her father in Punjab, or the birthplace of her mother in Te Puke? My father Surjit Singh was born in an Indian village, Daroli Khurd, in Punjab 60 years ago while … Read more
Many moons ago, when the Cricket World Cup was just about to start, one of our resident cricket fanatics made a series of predictions. Have any of them come to pass? It took five weeks, more than 40 completed matches, and what seems like a thousand takes about who should open the batting for the … Read more
On this episode of The Offspin, legendary all-rounder Dion Nash joins the show after a Black Caps performance that felt like a throwback to New Zealand cricket’s dark days of teal. Once upon a time, the stereotype of New Zealand cricket was of freezing in the big games, fragile batting and despair, while still finding … Read more
Revered Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto has unveiled the jersey the All Blacks will wear when they compete in the Rugby World Cup this September. The result is… meh, writes Josie Steenhart. Not only is there no white collar on the new All Blacks jersey, released yesterday (if we don’t count the accidental sneak peek … Read more
For the latest episode of The Offspin podcast, we’re joined by writer, musician and cricket tragic Samuel Flynn Scott, to process the utterly insipid Black Caps loss against Australia. Well, that was rubbish. The Black Caps utterly failed to show any spine against Australia, leaving their Cricket World Cup campaign dangling precariously as we approach … Read more
In 1992 the New Zealand cricket team had an unlikely and romantic run at the World Cup. Simon Day retraces the tournament that changed his life forever. I went to the opening game with my grandma and fell in love with Martin Crowe. After every game I watched on TV I’d call her to debrief. … Read more
In this episode of The Offspin podcast, we’re joined by writer and broadcaster Ali Ikram, and his dad Hamid Ikram, to discuss their role in Pakistan’s success at the 1992 Cricket World Cup and their team’s potential in 2019. The parallels are becoming harder and harder to ignore. A round-robin World Cup, with Pakistan needing … Read more
In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day takes a walk around Eden Park with one of the most unlikely legends of New Zealand sporting history. He probably shouldn’t have even been there. In the year before the 2015 Cricket World Cup, South African born Grant Elliott was a relatively obscure figure, in … Read more
In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Labour’s Kieran McAnulty and National’s Chris Bishop join the show to talk about the Parliamentary World Cup, and attempt to prove their cricket fanatic credentials. To coincide with the business end of the Cricket World Cup, MPs from all over the world will be flying to England … Read more
In episode nine of The Offspin, we’re joined by Black Caps test spinner Mark Craig to explore the crueller side of cricket in the wake of the Black Caps victory over the West Indies in both thrilling and devastating circumstances. There are few things in life more cruel than being blessed with spin bowling talent, … Read more
In episode eight of The Offspin, we break down the best game of the tournament so far, and talk about the shattered dreams of South African cricket. Writer and journalist James Borrowdale grew up with dreams of South African cricket running through his brain, but they’re long gone now, traded in for a Black Caps … Read more
In episode seven of The Offspin, with more bad weather in England and not a lot of cricket being played, we took the opportunity to reminisce on our personal journeys in the sport. And spend some quality time dissing Australian cricketers. We are joined in the studio by a passionate cricketer who had little choice … Read more
White Ferns superstar Suzie Bates joins The Offspin to discuss the development of the women’s game, pay inequality, and provide her expert tips for the Black Caps on English playing conditions. Suzie Bates is one of the greatest cricketers New Zealand has ever produced. She’s scored more than 4300 runs in 121 ODIs at an … Read more
One of the best T20 bowlers in the world is currently without a cricketing gig. What does the future hold for Mitchell McClenaghan? It’s telling that out of all of the many shirts worn by cricketer Mitchell McClenaghan, his favourite one is still the black shirt of New Zealand. But he’s been forced to watch … Read more
The Football Ferns are about to play their first game at the Women’s Football World Cup in France. How deep into the tournament could they go? Alex Braae has a cheat sheet. What’s all this then? The beautiful game, the world’s game, poetry on grass, and so on. It’s football, it’s a World Cup, and … Read more
In the fifth episode of The Offspin, we’re joined by Basir Safi and Ismail Wardak, two Kiwi-Afghan cricket lovers who talk about learning the game in refugee camps, the incredible story of Afghanistan’s ascent and the high expectations the world now holds for them. Another day, another win at the Cricket World Cup for the Black Caps. … Read more
Cricinfo’s Mohammad Isam was touring with the Bangladeshi team when they headed toward Al Noor mosque on March 15 to pray. He recalls that fateful day, and how it stayed with him. The last time I saw Black Caps media managers Willy Nicholls and James Bennett was half an hour before my world came crashing … Read more
In the third episode of The Offspin, globetrotting freelance cricketer and muscleman Mitchell McClenaghan joins the podcast to discuss winning the IPL, the changing patterns of cricketing analytics and a nervy Black Caps win over Bangladesh. You’d better believe it – the Black Caps are at the top of the Cricket World Cup table after a nervy … Read more
In 1981, New Zealand runner Anne Audain accepted prize money for winning a race. In doing so, she changed the status of professional sports all around the world. Anne Audain always led from the front. In middle distance running, more so than the shorter races, strategy will often beat raw speed. Drafting behind the leader, … Read more
From tennis champions to dance craze inventors, Scratched celebrates New Zealand sporting heroes who never got their due – but whose legacies deserve to be in lights. This month, the world’s winningest road runner, Anne Audain. Anne Audain has won more races than she’s lost. In fact, of the 112 road races that Audain ran … Read more