New Zealand Cricket call in high-performance guru

Auckland, Mar 21 : New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has called in high-performance guru Don Tricker in a bid to lift the national team’s performance against Australia.

Tricker, who also works with the New Zealand Rugby Union, Bike NZ, Swimming New Zealand and Netball New Zealand, is considered an expert on high performance in sport.

“Don works with key sports and ultimately provides those sports with recommendations. He looks at the high-performance environment of a team or sport, the systems, structures and the way the players are prepared,” Stuff.co.nz quoted a Sparc spokesman, as saying.

“The first question he asks is: what do these athletes want? He looks to challenge the traditional model for sports. He examines a sport to see whether what it''s doing will produce the desired results. His job is to observe and then he will ultimately make a recommendation to NZC,” the spokesman added.

NZC Chief Executive Justin Vaughan said his organization had used Tricker in the past and on this occasion he was being asked to provide an independent assessment of the Black Caps environment.

“Don''s had an association with cricket for some time, certainly since the last World Cup in 2007. On and off, he pops in to see the unit to check on how they are going and to provide an independent view,” Vaughan said.

“He''s also been helping to work and develop our coaching staff. I know he''s spent some time with [coach] Mark Greatbatch and the other Black Caps coaches in terms of trying to develop them and figure out plans for their development. It''s a service that Sparc and Don offer, which is great,” he added.