McCullum deserves top gong
There’s been furious discussion about whether Lydia Ko or Valerie Adams should be the 2014 Halberg Award winner.
I wouldn’t go for either of them. The fact that only Adams and Ko seem to be in the frame shows the shallowness of the debate.
Adams was fantastic in 2014, again being unbeaten in the shot put. She was named world female athlete of the year, quite some honour.
And Ko, only 17, had a wonderful debut season as a professional golfer, earning a world No 3 ranking. She won three tournaments, including the Tour championship in a dramatic fourhole play-off, and never missed a cut. But she had five chances to win a Major in 2014 and never managed it. Majors are the litmus test in her sport.
Anyway, what about Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins, who won the world championship cycling team sprint, Emma Twigg, who was unbeaten as a single sculler in 2014 and won the world title, Lisa Carrington, who retained her world 200m kayak title and added a silver in the 500m event for good measure, or the fabulous Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, who won not one but two world rowing titles, both by stupendous margins?
Or, my preference, New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum? There is less chance of a repeat of what McCullum did in 2014 than the feats of the other contenders, which is why I’d go for him.
He scored two test double centuries and a triple, joining Don Bradman and Michael Clarke as the only two batsmen to have done that in one year.
He played a heroic back-to-thewall innings of 302 at the Basin Reserve in March to save the test and therefore win the series against India, and became New Zealand’s first test triple centurion.
As New Zealand captain, McCullum energised New Zealand, leading them to test series wins over India and the West Indies and a creditable drawn series away against Pakistan.
His batting and leadership were inspiring and he deserves to be recognised by the Halberg judges.
Here’s how I see the major categories:
Sportsman: McCullum a clear winner from rugby league sensation Shaun Johnson and veteran All Black captain Richie McCaw.
Sportswoman:
Adams, Car- rington and Twigg were unbeaten in their specialist events and Carrington and Twigg won world titles. Because she introduced the 500m into her repertoire with such success, I’d favour Carrington. Ko gets an honourable mention. Ironically, she won the Halberg Award in 2013 after doing far less, a sentimental vote that reflected poorly on the judges.
Team: It’s the Kiwis for their Four Nations triumph, including twin victories over Australia, Bond and Murray or the sprint cyclists. I’d go with Bond and Murray because they didn’t just win, but were so far ahead of their opposition all year.
Coach: Steven Hansen (rugby) and Mike Hesson (cricket) have claims, but surely it has to be Stephen Kearney for getting the Kiwis to such a sharp peak when it really counted.
Sports moment of the year: When McCullum finally reached his 300 at the Basin Reserve, to the relief of cricket fans throughout the country, who’d been on tenterhooks for half an hour on that fifth morning.