The captaincy
 Nash
was something of a surprise selection for the First Test against
India in Dunedin, which was to have commenced on December
18, just a month or so after he resumed bowling in domestic
competition. As it happened, the Test was rained out without
a ball bowled, but nonetheless it marked the start of the
period of Nash’s career in which he played his best cricket.
Nash more than justified his Test selection with his superb
all-round performance in the Second Test at Wellington. Nash
took four wickets in the Test, three of them coming from 15
overs for just 20 runs. Meanwhile, Nash played a significant
role with the bat. In the first innings, he posted his career-best
Test score of 89 not out in a partnership of 138 with Daniel
Vettori which broke the (then) New Zealand record for the
eighth-wicket. Nash’s second innings contribution was
one well-struck four which, fittingly, sealed the win for
New Zealand. Nash played similarly well in the drawn Third
Test, scoring 63 in the second innings before he was dismissed
for the first time in the series. The Indian bowlers had been
unable to break through Nash’s defence, and even then
his wicket fell only due to run-out for which Chris Cairns
later claimed fault.
Nash’s somewhat unexpected form in the Test series guaranteed
his selection for the One-Day series which followed. When
Stephen Fleming left the field with a groin injury during
the series opener in Taupo, it was Nash who took over the
captaincy in the 33rd over. That was the game when
the new Owen Delaney Park lights failed during their first
day/night match, resulting in a shortened run chase under
the recently introduced Duckworth-Lewis rules. When Nash walked
to the crease following the break in play, he seemed more
nervous than usual and his anxiety, perhaps, had deeper roots
than the runs that remained to be scored. The Taupo match
was played on January 9, a year to the day after Nash could
not score the winning boundary in the infamous ‘Gabba
Match’. As it happened on January 9, 1999, however, Nash
remained not out on one and New Zealand won comfortably by
five wickets. The personal achievement for Nash, however,
was arguably more significant: just a year after his return
to international cricket, he had successfully re-established
himself to the extent that he was now called upon to captain
his country.
Steve Rixon’s opinion may have been decisive in the
choice of Nash as stand-in captain. "He brings out the
competitive edge and the fight in our guys. It's something
we've lacked," Rixon said afterwards. "When Dion
first got into the side, I rubbed my hands together and said,
‘Hallelujah! At last here's someone from the same corner’."
Whatever the reason, Nash remained as caretaker captain while
Stephen Fleming's groin continued to trouble him. That turned
out to mean the remainder of the one-day series against India,
the first three one-day games and three-Test series against
South Africa. And Nash proved himself so successful over the
summer of 1998-1999 — at least in the eyes of public
and press — that there was talk of his instatement as
permanent one-day captain. As James McOnie wrote in The Sunday
News, Nash was the "flavour of the holiday season".
It is worth examining that phenomenon more closely.
The statistics suggest Nash performed well as captain, but
not outstandingly. He ended the summer with a one-day captaincy
record of four wins and three losses and a 0-1 loss to South
Africa in the three Tests. Nor did Nash's own batting and
bowling figures seem to justify such high praise and, despite
the hype, others asked if the pressure of captaincy was perhaps
too much for Nash. He performed very strongly in the Tests
against India, but his captaincy coincided with a down-turn
in his personal performances. Nash took only three wickets
in the seven one-day games while averaging just over 15 with
the bat. In the Tests he averaged 14 and took just two wickets.
In fact when Stephen Fleming returned to the captaincy for
the final three one-dayers against South Africa there was
some — albeit far-fetched — talk of dropping Nash
from the New Zealand team. However, Nash himself maintained
that his average performances with bat and ball were not the
product of the increased burden of captaincy, and should be
seen as a normal drop-off in form which may affect any player
at any time. Nor should one forget the occasions during Nash’s
time as captain when his pure talent as a cricketer did show
through, most memorable of which was the famous long, straight
six he struck off Allan Donald.
 The
praise for Nash from press and public was not unfounded panegyric,
even if it is hard to pin down the "something we've lacked"
that Nash added to the team. New Zealand had tied the one-day
series with India and took the lead in the first three ODIs
against South Africa, something few would have expected at
the beginning of the season. And, as Joseph Romanos wrote
in the Listener magazine’s cover story on ‘One
Day Wonder’ Dion Nash, "if we are searching for
the x-factor, it was Nash". Numerous attempts have been
made to define that "x-factor". Romanos explained
that "... the ingredient that has really made the difference
and has clearly lifted the side a full level, is the permanent
presence of Dion Nash, the charismatic all-rounder with the
penchant for performing best when the going is toughest."
Yvonne Martin put it down to Nash’s "killer instinct
on field" ... and "rugged good looks". Stephen
Fleming commented that "the fighting quality" was
"the most satisfying aspect" to emerge and that
"Dion has excelled in this area". The verdict? The
strongest quality of Nash’s leadership was his intense
competitive attitude that pervades every aspect of his game.
There was more to Nash’s success than the will to win,
however. Several commentators praised the excellent communication
between Nash as captain and his team-mates. Nash himself emphasised
communication with his bowlers, an area where Fleming’s
leadership had, at that time, sometimes been weak. "I
tend to think the bowlers know better than me where they want
their fielders," he commented. To a greater extent than
Fleming, Nash saw the captaincy as a bilateral, or communal
process. "It’s brilliant having heaps of experienced
guys to turn to for advice," Nash said. Using the combined
wisdom of the team didn’t mean a lack of leadership from
Nash, however. He consistently tried to lead from the front,
which included promoting himself above Harris and Parore in
the batting line-up, and taking on the task of bowling at
the death. Viewed from another perspective, Nash could be
criticised on both these counts — particularly when,
more than once, the winning runs were plundered from his final
over — but such a view would be little more than scape-goating.
"Spirit and fielding" were two further areas Nash
emphasised, and two areas in which he did unquestionably lead
from the front.
Overall, Nash came out of his stint as captain as a success
story. When Fleming returned, Nash continued as unofficial
vice-captain, a recognition once again of the impact he could
make on the team. Nash’s captaincy skills would be called
on again during tour matches in England and for a day when
Fleming was ill during the Tests against the West Indies at
the end of the year. Later, in 2001, Nash would be called
upon to captain his provincial side, Auckland, and a Selection
XI team which beat the touring Sri Lankans when the national
side could not. In 1999, Nash certainly enjoyed his role in
the ODIs and as New Zealand’s 25th Test captain, despite
the disappointing result of the latter series. But, as he
said repeatedly, he never wished to replace Stephen Fleming
on a permanent basis. It was a great experience, but all along
Nash really saw himself as filling Fleming’s shoes.
"I’m thrilled to be doing it and it’s a real
honour. But I see it as just a caretaker role because Flem
is confident of being back pretty soon. I just want to keep
the ship going on the successful course that he has been steering,"
Nash told The Press the day after he took over from
Fleming. He was still expressing the same, humble sentiment
when he evaluated his time as captain at the end of the season.
"I feel really privileged to have been entrusted with
the national captaincy in Steve’s absence over the last
couple of months," Nash wrote in his ‘Captain’s
Log’ column on the series sponsor’s website. "It’s
been a great experience, though a tough one at times, for
sure. Not everything has gone my way, and I’ve found
out first hand how demanding it really is to captain your
country both on and off field. It’s much easier letting
someone else do the job! But I know I’m the richer for
it as a cricketer and will always value the opportunity the
selectors offered me. The support I’ve had from the team,
from Flem and from the public has been awesome as well —
thank you all!"
Nash stepped down and the Black Caps, led once again by Fleming,
went on to lose the one-day series to South Africa 2-3. Looking
back, Nash had made his mark on the 1998-1999 home season,
but the Black Caps were now looking ahead to bigger things:
England and the 1999 World Cup.
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