Crowe calls for axed Edgar to be reinstated

Martin Crowe has called for Bruce Edgar to be reinstated as Black Caps selector.

A frustrated Edgar left the organisation earlier this month after his job description was changed.

The acrimonious and bizarre split came in the wake of Edgar helping New Zealand to a World Cup final and No 3 rankings in both the test and one-day arenas.

A personality clash between Edgar and New Zealand Cricket’s second-in-charge Lindsay Crocker is also understood to have led to the former test opener declining a reduced role.

Edgar’s unexpected departure has clearly frustrated Crowe, the Black Caps legend who was a team mate of Edgar’s and clearly had huge respect for his talent-spotting work.

Crowe voiced his concerns in his latest ESPNcricinfo.

‘‘New Zealand have been to hell and back in two years. They were so bad in late 2012 that everything had to be rehabbed. Everyone in the cricket community pulled their head in and pushed in the scrum. We all forgave and believed in the now. The rise to third place in the world in tests, and a breakthrough final appearance in a World Cup final, spoke of a restored soul. Last week, however, one of the best

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for men you could ever wish to have work for you, Bruce Edgar, the national selection manager, was waved off in inexplicable circumstances. He must be reinstated,’’ Crowe wrote in his column.

Crowe issued a warning to the game’s hierarchy: ‘‘Having filled up their fruit bowl recently, New Zealand Cricket have to watch that no apples are starting to rot.’’

Crowe’s thoughts follow former international John Parker calling for a review of the New Zealand game’s governance in the wake of Edgar’s demise.

Crowe’s reference to Edgar and the New Zealand situation was part of a deeper concern he had for the sport globally, fearing that ‘‘the cricket world is in a precarious state, and unless the warnings are heeded, the consequences could be catastrophic’’.

He felt ‘‘the hate that abounds in the game is extraordinary’’.

He cited the infighting in the English game.