Andrew Strauss

Lest we forget, in Napier just 18 months ago, Strauss was poised to slink back to county cricket, never to return. It was, he relates in his forthcoming book, "the only time in my life I have struggled to sleep". The key to his subsequent 177 was a first-innings duck: "With only one innings left I felt it was too much to expect to pull it out of the bag, so I was just going to enjoy my last innings for England." In other words, he relaxed. Encouraged by Paul Collingwood, he also reclaimed the cut and the pull, the once-fruitful strokes his cautious, fretful self had sheathed. As Kris Kristofferson so deftly put it, freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

"More than anything, performing in those circumstances made me think that when the going gets tough, that is what motivates and brings out the best in me," reflects Strauss. "And, when you are armed with that knowledge, it gives you huge confidence for difficult times in the future." Nothing particularly earth-shattering, sure, but this realisation was no less valuable for its familiarity. Come The Oval last month - and yes, it does seem a sight longer than that - England were pulling the Ashes out of the bag. That they bounced back not once but twice in that series - from the near-disaster of Cardiff to victory at Lord's, from humiliation at Headingley to final triumph at The Oval - can be attributed to many factors, but none was more important, surely, than the tone set by Strauss, at the crease and in the field.

There is a bit of him in each of the other contenders. Like Gambhir, Strauss possesses the mental fibre and inner confidence to stare down adversity and drag a career from the precipice. Like Johnson, he can dominate opponents. Like Dhoni, he is a leader by vivid example. None of those rivals, though, has had quite as much to contend with this year as Strauss. Post-Stanford, post-Pietersen v Moores, he took the reins when English cricket was looking sicker than John Cleese's ex-parrot. That it is now widely perceived to be in polite if not rude health is no mean feat. Just don't mention the words "limited" or "overs" in close proximity.

Iron man

Twelve years into his international career, South Africa's wicketkeeper is still the epitome of fighting spirit and reliability under pressure

His critics believe he is finished, but does Mark Boucher care? He has dragged South Africa back from the brink on countless occasions, and yet several hacks prefer to focus on his batting average. He is the most accomplished wicketkeeper in Test history, but there are still people calling for a change.

Perhaps Boucher should care, but he doesn't. Perhaps he should feel the need to prove the naysayers wrong, but if he did, he would forego the very quality that makes him special. Boucher is the pressure man, the player for the big occasion. He won't average 50 or hit seven hundreds in a calendar year, but he'll win you games. He'll come across as arrogant in the post-match interview, the lemon-sucking expression accompanied by a curt response to a stupid question. But again, if he repressed this attitude, he'd lose all his clout.

"I first worked with Mark when I was coaching at the Warriors," recalls South Africa coach Mickey Arthur. "He captained the side and I always had faith in his cricketing brain. He was also the kind of leader who was never afraid to have his say, and as a player he was a true fighter.

"Mark's a tiger, and if I went to battle, there's no one I'd rather have beside me. He's fiercely loyal and will never turn down a challenge. He's an invaluable member of our team."

The stats may not reflect Boucher's value when he strolls to the crease, but Arthur admits there are other stat bars that tell a more accurate story, highlighting his game-winning ability.

Boucher's wicketkeeping virtues have never been in doubt. He has 475 scalps in Test cricket and 406 in ODIs - record figures that are set to rise as long as he's fit and favoured. But it's not just his work behind the stumps that has won him acclaim. His batting contributions played a significant part in his winning the South African Cricketer of the Year Award in 1998, 2000 and 2006. He was also named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 2009.

So what does he think about the criticism and the recent calls to step aside? The rise of AB de Villiers has prompted a fierce debate. De Villiers seems set to become one of the batting greats and has the ability to keep wicket. The ingrates reason that, closing in on 33, Boucher needs to make way for the future. But is comparing the two really comparing apples and apples?

"I know it sounds like I'm trying to protect my position, but I just don't think AB should play keeper," Boucher says. "He's too special a batter, and to put pressure on him from a keeping perspective is going to hamper his batting average.

"Most players' batting averages take a dip when they are asked to keep. Kumar Sangakkara wasn't doing well when he was keeping, and I see his average has gone up since he stopped. AB needs to be averaging around 55 at Test level, but he's not going to do that if he has to worry about keeping too."

Boucher's viewpoint is shared by Arthur. There's no plan to replace Boucher with de Villiers, and there's no long-term plan to groom de Villiers as a successor when Boucher eventually calls it a day. "You can't compare AB and Mark because their roles in the team are vastly different," affirms Arthur. "Mark's our best keeper, while AB is in the team as a top-order batsman.

"In an emergency, we would look to AB to keep wicket, but we don't view him as a successor to Mark. Ultimately AB will bat at No. 4 in both versions of the game. We really want AB to become the best batsman on the planet. It would be unfair to burden him with the keeping responsibilities, as that could cause him to average 10 less than he should. When you have a player of that talent, you don't want to hamper his ability to score.

"We have identified two potential successors in the Dolphins' Darren Smit and the Titans' Heino Kuhn. Both are good keepers and have the ability to chip in with the bat."

Boucher averages less than 30 in both forms of the game, but when he does get going you have to wonder how good he would have been had he given keeping a miss. He has scored five Test centuries and 29 fifties, and his value in the ODI arena is well documented: he has 26 fifties and a sparkling 147 not out to his name. But since his 1997 debut, where he replaced Dave Richardson, it has always been about keeping first. Batting has been important, but only in the team context.

"Mark is first and foremost a wicketkeeper," says Arthur. "I think he has averaged less than he would have had he not worn the gloves, but that's his role. That's not to say we've ever doubted his ability. I can't speak highly enough about what he has done for South African cricket.

"In the Test set-up we usually go with six specialist batters, four specialist bowlers and our best wicketkeeper. From a batting perspective, Mark's role is to marshal the tail.

"In the one-day game Mark has become one of the best finishers in the world. At the end of an innings he can be devastating, whether he's helping us set a formidable target or getting us past the opposition score. He's capable of the big shots, but his experience is so crucial during those knocks. When he's out in the middle, it helps other guys like Albie Morkel."

Boucher admits his personal goals are not that of a normal batter. When he walks down from the dressing room and onto the field, he's thinking about how he can help South Africa. "I never look at averages and stats because they don't really tell a story. Don't get me wrong, I love scoring hundreds, but there are other things you look to achieve when you perform my kind of role.

"I like to bat aggressively and take the bowling on, but I'm a team man. I'll do what the team requires. My average may be a bit lower because of my responsibilities in the team context, but I'm a wicketkeeper-batsman, not a specialist batsman. My goals are not the same as those of an all-out batter.

"There are some knocks I'll never forget, and those are the ones scored under pressure. In one of my first visits to India, we were in a difficult position and I came in and scored 27 not out to help win the game. That was like a century to me because of the conditions and context of the match.

"That Test innings I played at Edgbaston last year was also very special. The series was on the line and although I didn't score much [45 not out], I helped us towards that winning total."

If you are going to measure Boucher's worth, you may as well do it in kilopascals. He has the ability to hit a cricket ball into the stands, but what sets him apart is how calm he is under pressure. "Everyone remembers guys like AB, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs for that 438 victory[in 2006], but Mark was the guy who got us home," says Arthur. "The ODI win in Sydney this year was thanks to his batting performance, an important innings that allowed us to go to a defining 2-1 lead in the series. Mark's a player capable of hundreds, but he's also capable of playing those momentum-swinging knocks that sometimes prove [to be] the difference."

Fighting spirit is something that's become synonymous with South African cricket. Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Gary Kirsten are just three players who were renowned for it when Boucher first arrived on the scene, and Boucher credits them for contributing to his mental development. But deep steel, according to him, is something you cannot acquire. You either have it or you don't.

"I've played squash since I was very young and I think it has shaped my mentality as a cricketer. Squash is the type of game where you're always fighting for the upper hand, and if you are down, you need to fight hard to come back. You need that fighting spirit to be a good squash player. You need to be a fighter if you're going to deal with that pressure and rise above it. That's what makes you a hardened sportsman, and I believe that's what gave me the base to perform under big pressure in cricket.

"Some people claim to enjoy the pressure. Some people ask me if I enjoy the pressure. Truth be told, I don't think anybody enjoys it. It's more about understanding it and understanding how to beat it. Some people will go into their shells when they're under pressure, while others respond with an aggressive approach."

Richardson was 38 when he retired from international cricket, and while Boucher isn't sure about matching that feat, he's determined to soldier on for as long as he's able. "I will never rest on my laurels and I will never voluntarily give my position away," he says. "That may be the wrong thing to say, but I'm very competitive and I have plenty more years in me. I only think about my goals two years at a time. I definitely have another World Cup in me and I'll decide where to after that.

"My body's still in good shape and I've never told anyone that I'm looking to retire. After the World Cup, I'll be 35, but if I've still got a lot to give, why can't I carry on for another few years?"

Boucher had a limited opportunity when South Africa toured Australia back in 1997, but was awarded a full-time position when they travelled to England in 1998. For over a decade South Africa came close to beating England in England, while the same period witnessed a string of failures Down Under. There was a breakthrough in 2008, with South Africa following up a Test series win in England with an unprecedented triumph in Australia. Boucher was at the heart of both victories, and as a seasoned campaigner drew the most satisfaction from the results.

"We'd come close before in England, but because Australia are our arch-rivals and so much is made of beating the best on their own track, the win against the Aussies meant the most. The Proteas have been referred to as a team that choke in big contests, so it was satisfying to prove to the world, and to the Aussies, who initially tagged us as chokers, that we can rise above the pressure."

Boucher has achieved more than most and is by no means finished. However, he's not so arrogant as to believe he'll play forever. A couple of goals remain before he eventually passes the baton. South Africa need to become the undisputed kings of Test cricket, and they need to atone for their past World Cup sins by capturing the crown in 2011.

"The past two years have witnessed a turning point in South African cricket," he says, as if the recent success is an appetiser for things to come. "In any winning team, the key to success is consistency over an extended period.

"Look at the Springbok team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They were together for four years before they won in France. It's not only about building a family, but also about being dynamic and ensuring things continue to develop. That's why Mickey's done extremely well to bring people like Jeremy Snape and Duncan Fletcher into the mix. There's no danger of stagnating.

"I'm very excited to be a part of something so special. We've achieved so much over the past two years, but we haven't fully reached our potential. We can get a lot better and as long as the leadership core remains intact, we will continue to achieve our goals in years to come."

Trashing Tendulkar isn't cricket

Many sportslovers have lost the capacity to look at the larger picture and understand events in a historical perspective, writes Nirmal Shekar

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MANY a connoisseur of cricket may have come to believe, on Sunday, that the unthinkable has happened when Sachin Tendulkar was booed all the way back to the pavilion at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by sections of the crowd. But, in truth, it was unimaginable only because we may have failed to scratch the surface of our fast-evolving cricketing culture, only because we have probably failed to see the fast-emerging darkness in the very soul of a once-great culture, which is dumbing down rather alarmingly.

Trashing Tendulkar for an uncharacteristic failure is much like attempting to dismantle the Taj because one of its walls has developed a minor crack over time. It is simply not done. And the shocking incident in Mumbai says more about where we — as a nation of cricket-obsessed people — are headed than about Tendulkar's own travails in the twilight of an unmatched career.

In the fullness of time, we will know whether the great man's nightmare-run with the bat is a temporary slump in form or, perhaps, the beginning of a much more serious career crisis. But, right now, this issue is less relevant than the fact that people who may have never had the good fortune to let their spirits soar to exalted levels with each Tendulkar symphony chose to greet his first innings departure with catcalls and booes to leave a scar on the not-so-pretty face of the game in India.

If the poignancy of that dark moment on Sunday afternoon went way beyond sport, then it was also a quick reminder that as sportslovers quite a few of us have now become ``here and now'' people in the worst possible connotation that term can take on.

For, if the ones that booed the little maestro had had the good sense to look beyond the man's momentary struggles at the crease to the grand monument he has left behind, his dismissal might have brought a sort of heaviness to their hearts and tied up their tongues in sheer disbelief.

Then again, for many sportslovers, that is precisely the problem today — they have lost the capacity to appreciate history, to look at the larger picture, to go beyond the most recent stimuli and understand events in a historical perspective.

Worshippers of instant celebrity

Many of us, thanks to the influences of the age in which we live, have become worshippers of instant celebrity. The non-stop dross coming at us from all directions has forced us to wilfully conclude that today's success is the greatest success ever achieved, that today's seat-edge thriller is the greatest game ever played, that today's superstar is the greatest megastar of all times.

When our sporting culture has suffered this sort of corruption, when its essential core has been eroded by these giant new waves, it is hardly surprising that a great icon such as Tendulkar should himself become a victim in his own backyard.

The point is, Tendulkar never promised any of us a masterly century in every innings that he might get to play. We were the ones who set that impossible goal for the little man. That he has failed to meet that unrealistic goal is no sheen off his greatness; it merely throws light on our own foolishness.

At no point in his remarkable career did Tendulkar tell us that he was immortal; we turned him into a sort of superhuman phenomenon — where none exists in the known world — because we were perhaps ashamed of our own all too human limitations and wanted someone not-quite-like-us to look up to.

Never in the last 16 years that he has been dominating our sporting consciousness has Tendulkar ever hinted that he was invincible; we turned him into an invincible champion because we felt the need to bolster our own sense of everyday reality with something supernatural.

Harsh reality

The harsh reality of the capricious business of sport is this: every champion that has ever drawn breath, every champion as yet unborn, can be sure of one thing — some day, he will fail. The world of sport is yet to toast a truly invincible athlete.

But, then, in dealing with Tendulkar's failure — or any issue of this sort — it is very easy to find the answer we want; much, much more difficult to find the answer that matches the truth.

Of course, as passionate followers of the game, we are entitled to our own opinions. If some of us believe that the great man may not deserve a place in the team if he continues to fail, that's fair enough. Nobody owns a place in the Indian cricket team — not even Tendulkar.

But what is not fair — and will never be — is to stoop down to the sort of mindless pettiness that triggered the Mumbai booing on Sunday.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS ARE THE ULTIMATE CHAMPIONS

It couldn't be the more perfect. And it had to be Shane Warne. The final over 8 runs. It went down the wire. The last ball. After conceding a dot ball at the crucial moment, they didn't lose hope. And God helps those who are brave. There was a wide and a single off the same ball. Then a couple of the second last ball was important. Single of the last ball was a formality. But the turning point was the boundary in Ntini's last ball that Warne hit. That really reduced the pressure. Not to forget Yusuf Pathan's half century. And the way he hammered Chennai's bowlers was just awesome. The first innings was okay. I got upset whenever Royals were hit but I felt 163 was chase-able. The Royals started badly. Missed Graeme Smith a lot and Ntini made full use of Royals missing his country man. Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan then brought the chase on track and countinued Asnodkar's good work. Pathan's onslaught was just great. My man of the match - Yusuf Pathan. Man of the tournament - Shane Warne and Shane Watson (yeah, shared).

And even as the television airs advertisements before the presentation ceremony, I am speechless. The match was simply great. I was shivering with excitement (though it was due to the high air con in the office) the whole of second innings (I was swearing at the bowlers when they were being hit, during the first innings). Live update: Yusuf Pathan is the man of the match. And he is speechless too!!! The under-19 award, orange cap, purple cap awards are being announced. Wait for the man of the series award goes to Shane Watson... well I think without Warne he wouldn't have been able to do it. The losing team comes up to collect their prize. Dhoni was graceful in defeat (not like pakistani captains). Nice to listen him talk. The guy's got a cool head. The winning team collecting their medals. And now Shane comes up to talk. And he ROCKS. Speaks of Jaipur's misery and that they won it for them. For the whole of Rajasthan. Memories that he will take back to Australia? The people who supported him. The staff. The public who would playfully bang the bus wherever they went. The crowds. And I think he deserves it. He has been the best and it was he who got the Royals up on their feet and managed to bring out the best in his team. Hats off. When asked what do you think about Shane Warne, the young members of the team replied - Legend.

And now the office looks lonely. I had to take a half an hour foot journey to the office to watch the final and it hasn't gone unrewarded. Perfect way to end a colorful tournament (though I feel it should be shorter so that it doesn't harm the players). While Warne was batting the commentator mentioned that Warne had taken a good look at the trophy before the match. He had seen it from all angles. Seen it, Admired it and I feel it was his will to win it, lay hands on it that he could ultimately achieve it. While I decide whether to take the long journey back or spend the night here, I would like to ask Warne one thing - come back again, we'll be waiting for you.

A royal fairytale

Boosted by the inspired, top-notch captaincy of Shane Warne, the Rajasthan side have been the romantic success story of the IPL

We often see gestures like it on the field, but only occasionally get to hear the tales behind them. Here is one. When Yusuf Pathan tempted Adam Gilchrist out of his crease and had him stranded in only the third over of Rajasthan Royals' match against the Deccan Chargers, no one was more animated than Shane Warne. While his team-mates were still celebrating, he turned towards the Rajasthan dugout and made a little gesture that said: "I told you so."

"We knew it was coming," said Jeremy Snape, who is part of Rajasthan's support staff as performance coach. It had been Warne's idea to throw in Pathan's offspin early against Gilchrist and he had been certain Pathan would get Gilchrist out. "It took us a long time to discuss the machinations of this strategy," Snape said. "When something like that happens, it's brilliant."

With Warne orchestrating the moves as captain-coach, such things have happened again and again with the Rajasthan Royals. Batsmen and bowlers are known to have golden streaks, but for nearly two weeks we have seen a captain in the zone. After a disastrous opening match, the most unfancied team of the competition has won five in row, and everything Warne has touched has turned to gold. The importance of luck in captaincy cannot be overstated, but to repeat a hoary phrase, fortune favours the brave. Warne has backed his instincts and gambled away.

In their second match, against Punjab, he had two legspinners - himself and the unheralded Dinesh Salunkhe, who came into the spotlight through a TV talent-hunt show and is yet to play a first-class match - bowling together after six overs, and they claimed three wickets in as many overs. Salunkhe got Mahela Jayawerdene stumped.

Chasing 217 against the Deccan Chargers, Warne promoted Yusuf Pathan to No. 3 and Pathan blasted a 21-ball half century.

Against the Royal Challengers, the customary deep fine-leg was done away with and a man was posted at the square-leg boundary instead. Rahul Dravid pulled the first ball he faced straight to him, and three more wickets fell to the short-ball trap.

In the next match, against Kolkata, Warne pulled out little-known Swapnil Asnodkar, a frail-looking opening batsman from Goa with a strike-rate of 41.23 in List A limited-overs cricket, and Asnodkar blazed away to 60 off 34 balls.

Against Chennai, Warne handed the new ball to Sohail Tanvir and told him to look for wickets: in the first over, Tanvir took two.

Outrageous luck or flashes of genius? A bit of both perhaps, but it is worth nothing that the outcomes wouldn't have been possible without either.

Before he came to Jaipur, Warne, who retired from one-day cricket in 2003, had played only a couple of Twenty20 games for Hampshire, who he led for couple of seasons, but it didn't take him to long to grasp the dynamics of the shortest format. "Twenty20 is all about surprises," he said. "It's about doing something that the opposition doesn't really expect." And with every match, Warne's propensity for the unexpected has merely grown.

More inspirational has been the way Warne and he support staff have moulded a team of bravehearts out of relative lightweights. Their only major current international player is Graeme Smith. The batting is thin on paper; and the franchise gambled on appointing Warne - whose antipathy towards professional coaches is only too well known - head of the coaching team. It could have all gone hopelessly wrong, as it did for the ICL, which appointed Brian Lara, another mercurial genius, captain of their Mumbai team. Lara hardly scored a run in the first season, and didn't play in the second tournament, and his team disintegrated around his obvious lack of interest.

But Warne evidently still has a fire raging within him. Denied the captaincy by a conservative Australian cricket board, which feared a public-relations disaster if he was given the job, Warne led Hampshire with passion. In Jaipur he has plunged himself into mentoring a young team with sense of a mission. Every Rajasthan player you meet speaks about Warne's ability to inspire and visualise, his positive thinking, and his human touch. Warne hasn't so much imposed himself on the team as he has lifted it. In every match Rajasthan have found a new hero.

Salunkhe was the one in the game against Punjab. "Mahela [Jayawardene] and Yuvraj [Singh] were batting when Warne asked me to bowl," Salunkhe said. "I was afraid - Mahela is such a good player of spin. Warne marched up to me and said, 'Put your chest out, stand tall, be confident. I believe you can get him. Tell me you can do it.'

"In the world there can be only one Taj Mahal. Similarly, there can only be one Shane Warne."

Given Warne's position on professional coaches, Snape, who has a masters in sports psychology, was initially wary of taking up a role under him. Those apprehensions have since melted away and been replaced by admiration. "You can study psychology for as long as you want, but he has lived it," Snape says of Warne.

"Warnie would never use the p word, "psychology", but he lives it. He's a great motivator. He's very passionate, he thinks very clearly. One of my big points for the boys is to choose the strategy carefully with a cool head and then commit wholeheartedly to it. Warnie exemplifies that in the way he plays his cricket.

He's got careers outside, in journalism and poker. This is a six-week tournament that's very exciting for him. He's got a chance to leave a legacy. That comes down to the personality again. Stockbrokers in London earn millions - but they all want to feel part of something that's bigger than them. Want to feel like they've created something. We all feel like that at Rajasthan. There's no heritage, there's no black and white pictures on the wall. It's a start-up. For someone like Warnie, who's done so much in cricket, it's exciting to be able to say, 'We were part of that tournament. And these are the stars that came up from it.' And he's shared his knowledge, which is one of his great skills."

Rajasthan Royals are the most no-frills franchise in the IPL. They have no Bollywood starts in their entourage, but they do possess a well-knit support team. Apart from Snape, who contributes to planning and strategy, there is Darren Berry, the assistant coach, who, in Warne's words, brings "a structured approach to training".

Warne says that they have tried to be "the smartest, the cleverest team in the competition". Snape says they want to the clearest-thinking team. "Technically, the players aren't going to change over the six weeks, but it's the ones who are going to have the clearest decision-making under pressure who are going to do really well. That's the theme of our discussions. Of course, we'd like our plans to work, but that's when the real cricket starts - when your plan doesn't work and you've got to adapt."

Above all, Warne has been there to provide the bits of magic that only he can. The Royals' dressing room is still heady with the 16 runs he blasted off three balls from Andrew Symonds' final over against the Deccan Chargers, but it is the dismissal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the game against Chennai that will have made fans' eyes moist with nostalgia.

The first ball landed on leg and middle and spun past Dhoni's tentative bat. Dhoni barely managed to keep out the next one, which pitched on nearly the same spot and straightened. The third was floated just a bit more to draw the batsman forward, and held back just a bit to ensure that it landed short enough to spin and catch the edge. Even if Dhoni had missed it, he would have been stumped. It was a sublime working-over, a piece of art.

Warne's and Rajasthan's unexpected success is both uplifting and reassuring. It is a reaffirmation that old-fashioned cricket values and skills have their place in the game's newest, and to many crassest, form.

Long may Warne continue to reign.

Mr Unpredictable

Craig McMillan was one of those players who always dominated the conversations of New Zealand cricket fans. Whether the discussion focused on his dismissal after attempting a reverse sweep or dancing down the wicket to hit his first delivery for six, he was never far from the action.

It's ironic that McMillan should now exit the game of his own accord, when so many people over the last ten years have called for his dropping on many occasions. His ability has never been in question, but his decision-making at the crease often frustrated New Zealand supporters.
But when that decision-making paid off, there were very few batsmen in international cricket that could entertain as well as McMillan. His unpredictability not only frustrated fans, but also opposition bowling attacks. At times it was impossible to predict what he would do. He may dance down the wicket, play a reverse sweep or even play a beautiful cricket shot that would please Martin Crowe or Glen Turner. This style of batting was never more evident than in March 2001 when he hit 26 off a Younis Khan over to break the record for the most runs scored in a Test over.

McMillan made his debut for New Zealand in the 1996-97 season, but he would not play a Test until the following summer. From those early days, he was never scared to take on his opposition. He had some interesting verbal exchanges with a few Australian players. He liked to dominate Shane Warne with the bat and the two had some great verbal battles over the years. They later became good friends, particularly after McMillan played for Hampshire in 2005 under the captaincy of Warne.

When he first entered the New Zealand team, there were high hopes that McMillan would become an international star. After a good start to his career, he never quite made it to the level some expected him to reach. Many argue that his shot selection was why he failed to score more runs. But McMillan liked to dominate bowling attacks. He would refuse to get bogged down, particularly in the one-day game. If he had to risk his wicket to keep on top of a bowler, that's what he would do.

He was also explosive at the bowling crease. Although he did not have the pace to scare opposition batsmen, his energy and determination gave him an uncanny ability to break up longstanding partnerships.

Scoring over 3000 Test runs at an average of 38.46, he has contributed a great deal to his national side in the longer form of the game, even if the record is not spectacular. His ODI statistics look less impressive, but they do not tell the whole story.

His overall batting average in the one-day game is just 28.18 and he has reached three figures on only three occasions in his 197-game career. But as a middle-order batsman, he often came in during the death overs and had to sacrifice his wicket. Despite the low average, he did play some useful innings for his country.

The other interesting thing about McMillan is his fighting spirit. It was never obvious to spectators or viewers that he had to regularly take his diabetic medication. He refused to let that affect his game. This fighting spirit was also evident on the field and through his determination to get back in the team when he was dropped. This first happened when he was dropped for the New Zealand tour to Sri Lanka in 2003. When he was re-selected for the tour to India later that year, he scored 83 not out to save his team in the first Test. He followed that up with a century in the second.

But the more remarkable comeback followed his failure to secure a contract with New Zealand Cricket in June 2006. After his re-selection later that year, he would dominate the Australian bowling attack in the 2006-07 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The highlight was the final game where he was instrumental in chasing down 346 to see his team win the series 3-0. His century came off 67 balls and he was later dismissed for 117. McMillan followed that performance up with 228 runs at 32.57 in the World Cup earlier this year, while he was New Zealand's highest run scorer in the recent ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

His explosive nature on the park and fighting spirit will be missed by his team-mates and New Zealand cricket fans. He may go down in history as someone who could have done more, but no-one can deny his determination and natural ability.