The comeback trail
By mid-1997, Nash’s mind was made up. "I want to
get back playing, that's the most important thing in my life,"
he told the Waikato Times. That realisation gave Nash
the determination he needed to make a comeback. Physically,
the first step was rest. Once Nash had taken a break from
cricket, however, a family friend introduced him to Pilates,
which he credits with his recovery. Pilates is a system of
exercise using machines which works to train particular muscle
groups. The exercises are slow, controlled, and focus on strengthening
the body trunk and abdominal muscles, the precise region where
Nash’s training had been lacking. When Nash started Pilates
in April 1997, the technique was still relatively obscure
aside from its use by ballet-dancers, an association which,
Nash found, attracted a fair amount of teasing. But, as Nash
proved, Pilates had much to offer other sports as well, and
he was part of a movement whereby Pilates is now used by rugby
players and cricketers in Australia and New Zealand and, meanwhile,
Pilates studios have proliferated in the wider community.
Working with physiotherapist Graham Nuttridge and sports
psychologist Gilbert Enoka, Nash spent the winter of 1997
gradually building towards a return to the bowling crease.
After doing two-hour Pilates sessions four times a week for
five months, Nash was bowling again, albeit only at half-pace,
and modifying his bowling technique under the guidance of
John Bracewell. That meant working on retaining his balance
through the delivery stride to minimise wear-and-tear on his
body and reduce the injury risk. Nash also lost some pace
as a result of his back injury, and a few yards off his long,
gliding run-up.
What mattered for Nash, however, was that his goal —
to play for New Zealand again — now looked attainable.
He was on-track for the first stage, bowling for Northern
Districts in the forthcoming domestic season, but his ambitions
didn’t stop there. Throughout the comeback process, Nash
had his sights fixed on the New Zealand team. "To be
honest, the international level is the only level I can see
myself being happy playing at," he said in November.
"I'm pretty fired up to get back and get amongst it."
And, as he saw it, "there’s no point in not being
confident." The attitude implicit in that statement sums
up Dion Nash and, arguably, that ‘never say die’
spirit had more to do with his eventual comeback than even
the Pilates regime.
Having played only a limited role the previous season as
a specialist batsman, for 1997-1998 Nash returned to the Northern
Districts team in all-round capacity. He gradually increased
his bowling workload and intensity over November and December.
Nash also revealed how much his batting had improved with
the hard work he’d put in during his enforced 18-month
break from the bowling crease. All in all, Nash domestic form
was outstanding. He performed strongly in the early season
Cricket max competition and only improved in the following
competitions. He topped the Northern Districts batting averages
in the Shell Cup and also scored prolifically in the Shell
Trophy and Conference Cricket, with centuries in both competitions.
Meanwhile, Nash’s comeback campaign received an extra
vote of confidence when he was selected to captain the Northern
side in Conference Cricket. "Obviously I was very happy,
but not too surprised," said Nash, who had previous captaincy
experience at Dargaville High School and with the Northland
team. "I think about the game fair bit," he added.
"It’s the ultimate feeling to play for your country
and perform well for your country, and that hasn’t changed
at all, but I’m not trying to run before I can walk,"
Nash said in November 1997. At that stage, he was aiming to
be bowling at full-pace for Northern Districts after Christmas,
but did not state when he hoped he might return to the national
side. In fact, Nash’s international recall was almost
immediate. On December 30, on the back of ‘irresistible’
domestic form, Nash was named in the New Zealand squad for
the second half of the one-day tri-series which resumed in
Australia in January 1998. "He's produced the goods right
through Conference Cricket and into Shell Cup," said
Ross Dykes, then New Zealand convenor of selectors. "His
form with both bat and ball is very high and he is satisfied,
as are his medical advisers, that he's now capable of giving
what's required at the top level."
Although Nash was almost back to full pace, his international
comeback was to be carefully managed. He arrived in Australia
with restrictions on the number of overs he could bowl and
stipulated rest games, which signalled a significant new approach
within New Zealand Cricket. Nash also wanted "short and
sharp" net sessions, rather than the gruelling task of
playing bowling machine to his batting team-mates. It was
important to remember, Nash explained to the media, that his
injury — the bulging disc in his back — was not
going to go away. "It’s just a matter of managing
it," he said. Nash was one of the first New Zealand cricketers
to be placed on the so-called "managed plan" developed
by New Zealand Cricket’s sports science panel. Nash’s
story, and others like it, made it clear that rigorous top-down
action was required in the prevention and better management
of cricket injuries.
In cooperation with the New Zealand Accident Compensation
Corporation and the International Captain’s Committee,
New Zealand Cricket responded over the next few years with
initiatives such as guidelines for school and club coaches
limiting the workload of young players, and – eventually
– a standard two-day break between consecutive One-Day
Internationals. Of course, the number of injuries to New Zealand's
cricketers over the last few seasons shows that these developments
have not been entirely successful, but it is a start. Nash,
meanwhile, has always been outspoken on the topic of injury
management and prevention and, even in retirement, he has
continued input on the issue through the New Zealand Players
Association of which he became a founding representative in
2001.
Next Page >>
[Retirement Feature]
|
