the grinders

Actually spun by Sportsfreak.

Forget Hadlee, forget Bond, and accept that Vettori does not really fit the bill either. Cricket in this country has always been based around those solid fast-medium seamers who toil away for their country taking the opposition by a mixture of surprise and graft. And with the recent advances in international scheduling at home, these players have all had more opportunity to excel. They are the bowlers who are Good, Reliable In the NZ Doctored Environment. The GRINDErs.

We look at 10 of the best.

10. Richard De Groen
For those who think De Groen should be at the top of this list, you haven’t quite got it yet. A list of mediocre New Zealand medium-pace bowlers clearly below test standard would be easier to compile (Mason, Kennedy, O’Brien, Robertson, Vaughan etc), but De Groen just squeezes onto this list on account of being the first medium-pace bowler to introduce anger into his repertoire in order to fool opposing batsmen into thinking he was something else.

9 Gavin Larsen
Although not of the pace or quality to grace this list properly, Larsen did have a surprisingly impressive test average below 30, and in his last test actually opened the bowling in what can only be viewed as one of the highlights in NZ Grinding history. He also deserves honourable mention for boring opposition batsmen into oblivion throughout his 121 ODIs.

8. Willie Watson
When Watson first burst onto the scene he was touted as the New Chatfield. Except he was not as good. He did, however, take a bag of 6 in a test in Pakistan in the days when they used to doctor their pitches to help Waqar and Wasim, so clearly knew how to work a green-top.

He was also a highly under-rated cog in the military medium machine in the 1992 World Cup campaign.

7. Jacob Oram
It is a shame about the test-class batting clouding the picture, because Oram has a few of the ingredients to be the text-book Grinder. For a start, he looks like he should be knocking heads off with ease, but instead plods along at a pace which only just makes him fit for this company.

Despite this, he managed to scare the life out of Ganguly and co on those lush pitches developed for him a few years back.

6. Chris Pringle
Pringle could potentially have been one of the great Grinders. The ability to bowl long spells with a truly awful action is the kind of attribute that is essential. But the fact his career highlight was achieved with the assistance of ball tampering prevents Pringle from rising higher in the list. Grinders should not really cheat.

" Once he finally accepts that he does not have the ability to nick batsmen out via pace and swing he should serve his station admirably "


5. Dion Nash
Nash is probably the only person on this list who genuinely thought he was a strike bowler. You knew that by the way he used to abuse Zimbabwean tail-end batsmen.

But in actual fact he was a Grinder; albeit a very good one. Another bowler with a not totally rhythmical action he knew how to pound it in on that length. Strangely, his finest moments were outside New Zealand. Perhaps this was due to the fact he thought he was Australian.

4. Garry Troup
Troup will always be remembered for 2 things; his fine series against Clive Lloyd’s West Indians and a really bad handlebar moustache. He also had a really awkward run-up which was basically on the 45 degree angle; presumably so the batsman screwed up his stance in order to see the bowler arrive at the crease. Bonus points for being markedly more effective at home than abroad.

3. Kyle Mills
Formerly a swing bowler who chucked it, Mills has now reinvented himself as a Grinder of real potential. Like so many on this list, he has the build of a genuine pace bowler, yet he prefers to play within limitations, drop it back a little, and concentrate on digging it in just short of a length. Once he finally accepts that he does not have the ability to nick batsmen out via pace and swing he should serve his station admirably.

2. Ewen Chatfield
Almost the complete Grinder package. A silly name, awkward action, the fact that he battled on after almost dying in his first test, the unerring accuracy, there was so much to admire about Chatfield. The only slight blemish on the record was the sneaky run-out of Derek Randall as he came in to bowl, while not as large as Pringle’s crime, it does tarnish the image a little.

When he retired, he would have thought he would never be surpassed as the Best Ever Grinder, but a former colleague would take the art to a new level.

1. Martin Snedden
Depending on your mood, Snedden’s action could look both graceful or faintly ridiculous. Quite what it was about the falling over windmill action that prompted DJ Cameron to announce that he was the New Hadlee after one first-class match is uncertain, but he did know how to make the most of his talents.

His finest hour in test cricket was in Christchurch in 1987 when the West Indians, following Viv Richards’ example, decided that they should not have to put up with this kind of bowling and proceeded to spend the afternoon trying to slog him out of the park. But Snedden was getting a bit of variable bounce from the pitch and the batsmen kept on holing out giving him his solitary 5 wicket bag in a memorable victory.

What really clinches the top spot however, is his subsequent stint as head of New Zealand Cricket where, amongst other initiatives, implemented the policy of mandating juicy grassy pitches in early summer when teams from the sub-continent were due to visit. A thinking man; Snedden looked after his fellow Grinders.www.cricketwithballs.com "the hooking & pulling specialists"