Speech
New Zealand and Australian Cricket Teams
I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.
Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign).
I specifically greet you: Hon John Key, Prime Minister; Hon Murray McCully, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for the World Rugby Cup, Hon Phil Goff, Leader of the Opposition, Ricky Ponting, Captain of the Australian Cricket Team; Daniel Vettori, Captain of the New Zealand Cricket Team; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting me and my wife Susan to attend this Parliamentary Reception honouring the Australian and New Zealand Men’s Cricket teams.
As Patron of New Zealand Cricket and Governor-General, I would first like to underline the warm welcome to our Australian visitors to New Zealand.
The shorter 20-20 and 50-50 versions of the game have produced the kind of competition people enjoy on both sides of the Tasman but I for one will be hugely interested to see how the teams square off in the full test match games ahead.
I am hoping to catch some of that match action when the two teams meet here in Wellington in a few days time. New Zealand has achieved some of its best scores in test cricket at the Basin Reserve, including a highest ever innings score of 671-4 against Sri Lanka in the drawn test match in January-February 1991.
The Blackcaps best score against Australia of 553-7 declared is held by the Brisbane Cricket Ground in the test match they won in November 1985. Maybe it is time for the Basin Reserve to claim this prize as well. I will make no further comment about New Zealand’s performance against Australia at the Basin Reserve in the test in March 1946, which for those who have some knowledge of past statistics, is a record at the other end of the scale.
As is quite plain from these comments, cricket, along with rugby union and rugby league, is a sport that brings out a special brand of healthy competition and rivalry between New Zealanders and Australians.
Cricket is a test of physical stamina and mental adroitness. It is a game of skill and strategy where, especially in the test match version, time at the crease can be just as important as runs on the board – weather permitting!
But cricket also celebrates important values such as fair play, team participation and leadership. The point was well made by my predecessor as Governor-General, another cricket lover and one time MCC President, Lord Cobham. In a speech to a cricket dinner in 1961 he said :
“Every side likes to win, and it is futile hypocrisy to deny it. One takes the field with the idea of outplaying one’s opponents. It is a game so terribly easily spoilt; people of mean spirit can make it wilt within half an hour, just as, conversely, a magnanimous gesture makes it flower in its full glory.”
And on that note, with expectations of epic competition in the days ahead, I will close in our country’s first language Māori, by offering greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours.
No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.