Bennett set for Black Caps recall
Doping didn’t help
Moving north for the summer has paid off for fast bowler Hamish Bennett.
Wellington’s cricketer of the year is expected to return to the Black Caps fold when the New Zealand squad to face Ireland in the build-up to the Champions Trophy is named this week.
It comes after a strong debut season in new colours, having shifted from the red of Canterbury to black and yellow of Wellington for the 2016-17 season.
Bennett tormented opposition batsmen throughout the season, taking 50 wickets across all formats. It was in limited overs cricket where he excelled the most, his pace, slower ball variations and general game awareness putting him into the national selection mix.
In the Mcdonald’s Super Smash, Bennett took nine wickets at an average of 19, with a miserly economy rate of 6.9, as the Firebirds took out the Twenty20 title. In the Ford Trophy, Bennett was the second-highest wicket taker with 16 at an average of just 20.
The move has clearly paid off for Bennett, who was looking to revitalise his cricketing career, realising he may well fizzle out and fail to achieve his international ambitions should he stay in Canterbury.
Bennett last played for New Zealand in January, 2014, against India in Hamilton. That was in a series in which he gave the likes of Virat Kohli a thorough interrogation, and has seen him take 23 ODI wickets at just 23.6.
As Bennett tells it, the way the move to Wellington came about was interesting, to say the least.
‘‘In May of last year, [Bruce Edgar] was doing the Rail Trail, biking all around the South Island and that,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘He sent me an email, and I replied saying, ‘yeah, give me a call’. But every time he rung me he Horowhenua-kapiti cricketer Adam King has been suspended from playing for two years for possession and use of banned substances.
The Sports Tribunal of New Zealand released its ruling yesterday after a lengthy investigation that found King, who played for the Paraparaumu club where he was was also a development officer, had offended over a 10-month period in 2014 and 2015.
Drug Free Sport NZ (DFSNZ) received information from Medsafe that King, described as a medium-fast bowler and useful batsman in the Central Districts Furlong Cup/hawke Cup competition, had ordered online two anabolic steroids in 2014 and two hormones in 2015.
They took the case to the Sports Tribunal.
King’s online exchange before the purchase said he was ‘‘looking to put on lean and athletic muscle to improve explosive performance in sport, and prevent injury’’.
In his explanation of completing the course of drugs, King said: ‘‘ ... I liked looking bigger and more muscular. However, overall, the excessive weight gain leading to a loss of agility and flexibility and tendonitis in my knees was detrimental to my cricket.’’
King’s two-year ban was backdated to start on May 1, 2016.
had bad reception. It took about two weeks to get a 20 minute phone call out of the way.
‘‘It was quite humorous looking back at it.
‘‘If he could have promised me everything that has happened this season, I’d have definitely come up. So I’m stoked with the move.’’