New role in Zimbabwe for Larsen

Gavin Larsen adds a new feather to his cricketing cap on Saturday when he flies to Zimbabwe for New Zealand's Test and one-day series starting next week.

But he won't be running to the aid of the team's bowling attack. He'll be sending down deliveries of a different type than his world-famous dibbly-dobblers.

Television commentary deliveries will be his staple diet for the next month.

Larsen has been sent by Sky Television New Zealand to be its representative on the commentary team, which will be sending in live broadcasts of Test matches and One-Day Internationals in Zimbabwe.

Once the Zimbabwe leg of the tour is over, Larsen will return home to prepare for his domestic duties with the New Zealand series sponsor, the National Bank.

Ian Smith, who was unavailable for Zimbabwe, will then be part of the panel providing commentaries for television coverage from the mini-World Cup being played in Kenya and then the Test and one-day series in South Africa.

Larsen, who has toured Zimbabwe three times as a player, twice with New Zealand in 1992-93 and in 1997 and as a Young International in 1988, is looking forward to his new role where he will work with former Zimbabwe internationals David Houghton and Andy Pycroft and South African Mike Haysman.

"It is something a bit different for me," he said.

Putting his own experience to work, and looking at the advance of the New Zealand team in recent seasons, Larsen said he would be disappointed if New Zealand didn't win both the Test and one-day series'.

"Zimbabwe are not the worst team on Earth but they have lost a big part of their batting this year.

"New Zealand will have gone there expecting to win both series. It is a very realistic goal.

"Against that, they have just had five months off but it seems that some of the guys are hitting their straps," he said.

Larsen was especially keen for left-arm medium-fast bowler Shayne O'Connor to produce the goods in this series.

"I hope he gets the new ball. That's his forte, swinging the ball. He has got to be given the chance to knock the top off the batting.

"When he bowls his third and subsequent spells is the big test for Shayne. He needs to be coming back stronger. It's a big season for him."

Darryl Tuffey, who picked up five wickets in New Zealand's first match, was another player with a good chance.

"It will be interesting to see how he bowls in the African climate.

"I loved playing cricket in Zimbabwe. I do tend to sweat a lot, and in the more humid countries it was tiring work. But it is much drier at altitude, and while it is hot and dry I found that if you drank a lot it helped.

"The wickets were a little bit on the slower side and in 1997 they played two leg spinners against us, Paul Strang and Adam Huckle. And in 1992 Dipak Patel got a six-for to win a test in Harare," Larsen said.

"I enjoyed it over there, and the Harare Sports Club was a great atmosphere to play cricket in."