O'Brien heading right way for county contract

Iain O'Brien wants a spell of county cricket and is going the right way about it.

His career best 6-75 in the West Indies' first innings was fine reward for a friendly man who has good days and bad days with the ball but never falls to pieces.

Ordinarily, counties wouldn't take a second look at a bloke like O'Brien because to watch him bowl does not stir sudden excitement.

He's 32 years of age, doesn't bowl at record speeds, curl the ball with a classical side-on action or make it leap off the pitch like a scalded cat.

His success is based upon bowling all day and all night with undimmed hope.

Glenn McGrath and Ewen Chatfield spring to mind when he bowls, two tall, thin men who relied on precise application for their success.

O'Brien is not in the Chatfield class, yet but he attacks the crease, hits the deck hard and takes his job seriously.

If he feels stressed, he takes a deep breath at the top of his mark and, if his control is lacking, as it was for periods in Dunedin last week, he reminds himself of the importance of having a strong back shoulder.

To watch O'Brien in Napier was quite revealing. He bowls with optimism and an occasional smile, in contrast to his pace colleagues James Franklin and Kyle Mills, who were deadpan and tense, respectively.

O'Brien is his own man and does things different from the rest. His wife lives in England, he writes a daily blog during test matches, enjoys press conferences and doesn't need directions to find his local cricket club.

His six-wicket haul came in typical fashion. He has spent his first-class career with Wellington taking wickets with both good and bad deliveries, and it was moreof the same on the flattest of surfaces.

The ball that squared up Chris Gayle on the first morning was the best of the test to date, and the slower delivery that accounted for Fidel Edwards was confirmation of a man with many more good days ahead.

O'Brien's success is reflected in the constant praise heaped on him by captain Daniel Vettori, and in statistics.

Halfway through his 10th test in 2008, O'Brien has taken 37 wickets at an average of 19.72.

It leaves him 11th on the list of the world's leading wicket-takers this year, admittedly some way behind South African Dale Steyn (64 wickets at 20.73 in 12 tests) and the second-best Kiwi behind Vettori's 52 at 25.30.

However, O'Brien's average is the best of all those in the top 10.

The record for wickets in a calendar year belongs to the incomparable Shane Warne, with 96 from 15 tests in 2005, while the best by a New Zealand bowler was predictably by Richard Hadlee with 64 from 10 tests in 1985.

Such success by O'Brien has to bring him into consideration for the New Zealand one-day team.

Together with Chris Martin, he is the country's top pace bowler and the mere fact that his captain can set a field to his bowling warrants more than a passing thought.

BOUNCING BOMBS:

Iain O'Brien has made a name for himself with his colourful blog. Here are some of the highlights: November 22 v Australia in Brisbane: "You get called anything and everything. Embarrassing for these guys really, as a lot of the others around them are cringeing. "I don't know how many times I was called a `faggot' this afternoon!"

November 24 v Australia in Brisbane: "So, I'm in, Mitchell Johnson with the ball in hand.

"I lasted one quick ball from him in the first innings. First ball, quick, full, and I defend it. Next ball, bouncer, oh shit, I hate bouncers ... "I start to get out of the way of it, it hits me, takes a little of the numerous pieces of protection I've got on, my chest guard, and takes quite a bit of chest. My left tit, to be precise."

November 29 v Australia in Adelaide: "He [Jamie How] had his `sexy block' going and was looking well in control. `Sexy block,' you ask? Well, have a look at it, the way he blocks the ball is as sexy as a cricket shot can be."

December 5: "After some consideration I have decided to take this blog to a cricket-specific website [Cricinfo]. This is exciting for me. A chance to really push my skills as a blogger. The chance to take this to a wider audience is something I can't say no to."

December 15: v West Indies in Dunedin: On dropping a catch. "The brain is a crazy organ! It plays so many silly games with you."

 December 19: v West Indies in Napier: "The physio wanted a look at the toe, she wanted to pierce the nail and release the blood bruise underneath.

"I've never had this done before but it involves a lighter, a paper clip and someone to hold my foot down ... So I now have a burnt hole in my big toe nail and a lot less pressure under it.

"The paper clip was straightened out, heated up till red hot and then poked through the toenail so that the blood underneath it can, well, squirt out. It wasn't pretty; it didn't smell too good; and I can tell you, it hurt. Oh, geez it hurt."

December 20 v West Indies in Napier: On taking 6-75. "A day I will never forget. A day I don't want to forget. I have never felt like that in a test match before."

Website: blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien

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