Kuggeleijn selection divides opinions

Black Caps call- up for bowler recently acquitted of rape creates a quandary for some

The Black Caps had little alternative but to select Scott Kuggeleijn for the third test against South Africa.

Not after losing two front- line bowlers to injury and seeing a potential replacement ruled out. Not after the judicial process was complete and Kuggeleijn was adjudged a free man. And not after his domestic performances were good enough to warrant an international opportunity.

But that logic does nothing to alter the misgivings some will feel about his selection, coming a mere month after Kuggeleijn was acquitted of rape at Hamilton District Court, a 15- minute walk from the ground where today he could make his New Zealand debut.

His inclusion is far more complicated than the binary of guilty and not guilty, as it always is when athletes appear before the courts before being allowed to return to the field.

There are no easy answers and no shortage of diverse opinions.

On the morning Kuggeleijn was called up, for example, one fan on social media insisted the cricketer be able to enjoy his moment, while another told the Black Caps selectors to go f *** themselves.

Some supporters vowed to never cheer for the player and others disavowed the team, while many more said, accurately, Kuggeleijn had faced his day in court and should be free to resume his cricket career.

This all before he has even pulled on a black cap, let alone enjoyed any success in the team. It will only intensify if Kuggeleijn earns a start and plays a starring role against South Africa, and there’s no avoiding that quandary.

The following seemingly contradictory facts can all be true: Kuggeleijn was absolved of wrongdoing by a jury of his peers. A civil society dictates he should be allowed to pursue his passion without impediment. Some will be uneasy watching him celebrated on an international stage a few weeks after a verdict was rendered.

And for those who would argue it is unfair for a 25- year- old to continue to be tarred by such serious allegations when he’s playing cricket, well, imagine what it must be like for the person who made those allegations.

A woman who believed she was wronged, who sat through two trials and all the indignities those proceedings produced, who heard she was “provocatively dressed” and “looking for male attention”, must now reckon with the reality of Kuggeleijn’s absolutely true that you get at least two hours more sleep getting laid on the road today versus 15 years ago,” said one former All Star.

The equation is simple. Where once players would have spent the hours following an away game trawling local clubs, sinking alcohol and looking immediate elevation to the national team.

Or, even worse, must now hear the burgeoning narrative that the fast bowler has been the one to overcome adversity, as if his selection for New Zealand is the final page in a feel- good redemptive tale.

There are no simple solutions to prevent these dilemmas from arising, no way for Black Caps supporters to bypass these intricate questions when Kuggeleijn comes to the bowling crease.

Perhaps his selection could have been delayed until May, when the team fly halfway around the world to play a tri- series in Ireland. The spotlight, at least, would have been for some companionship, the new era allows much more convenience.

Using dating apps and Instagram, players can even arrange — with the assistance of the hotel — for their road romances to be waiting in their rooms before the team bus arrives.

That means no more late nights, no more booze and far more sleep, leading to a healthier and betterperforming player when away from home.

And the stats bear it out: in 1987- 88, road teams won only 32 per cent of games; in 2013- 14, the year after Tinder was launched, that number had risen to 42 per cent.

Factor in a few PB& J sandwiches from room service and, right now, it’s a good time to be an NBA player. The World Baseball Classic concluded on Thursday and, while New Zealand were again absent ( thanks a lot, softball), Puerto Rico was captivated.

The tournament, now in its fourth edition, is like baseball’s World Cup, only many of the best players stayed home to play instead in meaningless pre- season games. But despite Major League Baseball ruling the sport and pro teams encouraging their players less bright and the memory of Kuggeleijn’s acquittal would have been less vivid.

But such a strategic decision would have been successful only on a public relations front. Kuggeleijn would have still been playing cricket for his country and Kiwi fans would have still been asked to consider how that made them feel.

Again, no position is correct. It’s awkward for all involved. The rules do dictate a young man, cleared of a crime, can then excel at his chosen profession.

But that changes nothing about the plight of a young woman who would be forgiven for skipping the cricket for the foreseeable future. to remain in spring training rather than link up with their nation, the tournament still offers top- level baseball and is fully embraced in Central America, at least.

That was certainly clear in Puerto Rico’s run to the final, where they eventually lost the showpiece against the United States, who claimed their first title.

Unbeaten until the final, baseball fever swept through Puerto Rico, matched only by the rise of unseemly hairdos.

With the team deciding to dye their hair and beards blond for the tournament, the trend was followed to unsustainable proportions back home. So many Puerto Ricans opted to follow their heroes’ example that the nation suffered a severe hair dye shortage.

“Ever since they began winning, this has not stopped,” said Myrna Rios, a manager at a Sally Beauty Supply store in San Juan. “We have run out of the product in most of our stores.”

And uniting in awful hairstyles even had a positive civic effect on Puerto Rico, as third baseman Carlos Correa explained.

“There were no crimes, there were no assassinations back home while we were playing in this classic,” he said. “We had our whole nation behind us.” When Nicola Adams won the first of her two Olympic boxing gold medals in London, the Brit took little notice of the American standing beside her with bronze hanging around her neck. But, as Adams revealed this week, she and Marlen Esparza are now life partners and newly- minted professionals — with one vow. “We’ve decided we’ll never box each other,” Adams laughed. “I couldn’t dream of hitting her in the face.” Probably a wise move for the success of the relationship but do those who play together, stay together? The signs are promising based on these three other happy couples who also excel in the same sporting field. . . Britain’s king and queen of the velodrome, the Kennys combined to claim five gold medals at last year’s Olympics, taking their all- time tally to 10. The pair married a month after their exploits in Rio but no word on whether the wedding photos included all the bling. And with the couple’s first child on the way, the odds must be short of the Kenny cycling legacy extending another 20 or 30 years. A couple more Brits and a couple more gold medallists, only this couple won theirs alongside each other. The two hockey players began dating in 2008 and married in 2013, making the union even more successful three years later when, with Kate captain and Helen manning the midfield, the pair helped Great Britain claim their first gold in Olympic hockey. Who would marry a decathlete, someone crazy enough to attempt not one sport, but 10? Well, how about a heptathlete, who can at least understand seven- tenths of the struggle. Eaton, the American world record holder and reigning two- time Olympic champion in the decathlon, certainly met his match in Theisen- Eaton, who won heptathlon gold for Canada at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games before taking bronze in Rio.