Almanack continues to hit the mark

Earlier as New Zealand's cricket season may be getting, especially on the international front, some things remain the same and at the forefront is the New Zealand Cricket Almanack.

The inestimable diary of New Zealand's summers, whether in the southern or northern hemisphere, is in its 68^th year and it remains as invaluable as ever in all its chronicling of the men's and women's games.

Editors Francis Payne and Ian Smith have built the Almanack to the point where it is difficult to imagine, especially as newspapers further retrench, a more ready reckoner of the game.

Websites may be fashionable but there is something to be said for picking up an almanack, consulting the contents page and going straight to the required information.

It also has the advantage of acknowledging significant milestones in the game, especially at the less resourced first-class level, while also ensuring that in most instances the deaths of players unknown to many of a younger generation are suitably acknowledged.

In a changing media world it is difficult to imagine how the game could survive without this outstanding ready reference for New Zealand.

It also acknowledges key performers in games with Trent Boult and Brendon McCullum named as players of the year while the promising players were Jacob Duffy, Will Young and Henry Nicholls, who was most recently named in New Zealand's one-day squad to play Sri Lanka.

New Zealand's World Cup performance is captured and it bears repeating again that the side produced the highest run scorer in the tournament (Martin Guptill – 547 runs) and the best bowling performance (Tim Southee – 7-33 v England).

Among some of the statistical points were noting during the year was Peter Fulton's breaking Jeremy Coney's record of 18 catches in a season for a province. Fulton took 20 for Canterbury.

It was a big year for Fulton who achieved 100 first-class appearances for Canterbury while also becoming the first player to score 7000 runs for the province. Only Bert Sutcliffe (five) and Matthew Bell (three) and Fulton (three) have passed 200 runs as many times for their provinces.

When Tom Latham scored a Test century against Pakistan it was the third occurrence of a father-son century in New Zealand Test history. Rod Latham scored a century against Zimbabwe. Walter and Richard Hadlee and Ken and Hamish Rutherford are the other combinations to have achieved the feat.

The gems continue and it is difficult to imagine how the breadth of New Zealand's involvement in cricket around the world nowadays could be better captured than in this 'must-have' tool for serious cricket fans.

Fulton and Southee take NZ Almanack honours for 2012-13

Batsman Peter Fulton and bowler Tim Southee were named the players of the year by the New Zealand Cricket Almanack.

Editors Francis Payne and Ian Smith described Fulton’s efforts in 2012-13 as ‘the best form of his career’. He totalled 1249 runs, capped by a century in each innings of the drawn third Test with England at Eden Park, a feat only surpassed by Martin Crowe.

The 66th New Zealand Cricket Almanack of 2013. Edited by Francis Payne and Ian Smith. Published by Hodder Moa. Price $55.00

Southee had achieved the best bowling performance by a New Zealander in India at the start of the season when taking 7-64 and he finished with 10 wickets in the Lord’s Test against England. At the start of the season he had been 33rd on the list of New Zealand’s wicket-takers but his 38 wickets during the summer saw him shoot to 17th with his total at 83 Test wickets.

The promising players of the year selected by the editors were left-arm fast bowler Mitch McClenaghan, Daryl Mitchell and Craig Munro.

One of the most interesting features of the Almanack every year is its Happenings section and just some of the details are listed below:

+ It is difficult to believe but leg-spinner Todd Astle was the 25th player to be on a winning side in his maiden Test. What is even more interesting is that the first player to achieve the feat was double international Keith Thomson, he played hockey for New Zealand, in 1968 which means that in 34 years, nearly one player a year has featured in a maiden Test win.

+ At the moment Astle shares a distinction with two others on the list, Gary Robertson and Andre Adams, of that being the only Test they played. However, Astle does have time on his side.

+ Given all the events in New Zealand cricket, it was somewhat incredible that the fact that New Zealand fielded the same XI in four successive Tests this year was the first time it had been achieved.

+ Central Districts and former New Zealand batsman Jamie How holds a unique record in the game. He is the only player to have taken part in a 400-run stand in first-class cricket, a triple-century stand in one-day cricket and a double-century stand in Twenty20 cricket.

+ Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin’s feat in playing 115 first-class games before making his Test debut is a New Zealand record.

As always, the Almanack is a fund of detail on the New Zealand season and a must-have for genuine cricket fans. There’s much more inside this 66th edition.