I Want Us to Expect to Win
Interview by Shoaib Naveed
Tasman Jones popularly known as TJ discusses his new role as captain, his aims for the season coming up and what he thinks is the best strategy forward for a young North Shore outfit.
When did you get into Cricket? And how long has your love affair with North Shore Cricket lasted?
I basically lived up the road since I was four. Nobody in the family as far as I can remember played Cricket, but just watching it on the T.V and having the Club’s Cricket Ground as my back yard instilled a passion for the sport in me. I would come to junior practices and loved every bit of it, then went on to School and rejoined the club after to play for the seniors. So yes it was definitely a big honor and a very humbling experience to be made captain. Especially at just the age of 21, there are some very experienced guys in the side, but I aim to learn from their experience and lead as best as possible. I see it as a great honour and a challenge that I am relishing with the start of the season.
Do you look at yourself as a leader of the pack? What mold of captaincy do you bring to the table?
To be honest it was a bit of a shock when Bruce came up and had the chat with me. I was thinking more of a vice-captain role than outright skipper, but that’s not to say I love the role. Even though I don’t see myself as a natural leader, I have been put in charge and given responsible roles throughout my life. Being Head-Prefect at my high school of around two thousand boys I am not alien to leading from the front. I love doing it, helping the others reach their maximum potential. As a captain, I am not a big chatter but I do want to set the example my self for the team to follow. Do my job in the team to the best of my abilities and ask the others to do the same. It’s about getting the guys to consistently put in their best effort, week in and week out and as a captain there is nothing more you need really.
How do you see the team right now and what areas are you looking to improve on?
It’s quite a young side we have this year, but we definitely have the makings of a great one. There are some really exciting young players coming through as well so I think we have a very sound foundation laid to build up on this season. I want the team to develop a winning culture, as cliché as that sounds, it’s really important for the team to show up every week and expect to win; to see a loss as not only a disappointment but sort of as an upset where the other team has appropriated your right. I want us to step up and not just be content with a fourth or fifth finish, take our game to that next level where we are giving our 100% whenever we go out into the field and turn up like we mean business each time.
How is it playing with the previous captain in the side?
It’s really good actually; I look forward to his advice and picking his brains through out the season. He has been very supportive with the whole thing. It’s just part of the process where the players will take a bit of time to adjust to the way I run things but I expected that when I took up the role.
There is a sense that the club is a “fun” place to play Cricket and it lacks that killer instinct or competitive edge. Would you agree?
I would agree to that to a certain extent. Yes. Certainly there is a feeling that we tend to get a bit too “matey”. And that is all good but I definitely aim to create that killer instinct and competitive edge you talk about. It’s all well and good to have a few beers and a good laugh after the game and practice sessions, but when we are out there we are out there to do a job and we mean business. Finishing fourth and beating Takapuna last year (the current champions) we have always been knocking on the door never really managing to push through and that again comes back to having that winning culture.
The winning culture will only follow by getting mentally and physically tough and pushing ourselves to the limit consistently. The new tough fitness regime where the whole team works out together and can feel each other’s pain is aimed at creating that resilience that we have lacked. Where we as a team push each other to do well, and are accountable for each other. It will be a bit painful and tough at the start but will impart team unity and a 100 % commitment from every one individually and collectively which is key to any team’s success.
Being the team’s Ace batsman, how do you see your personal game getting affected?
I thrive on it really. When I am out batting, I am just the batsman trying to put up a score for my team. So I will carry on with my batting responsibilities in the normal fashion and hope to lead from the front by setting an example for the team to follow. If any thing I hope to better my game with the added pressure.
Do you realistically see the team wining the competition?
Definitely I see no reason why we shouldn’t. We have an excellent pool of cricketers who are hungry for the challenge and have been putting in the hard yards in pre-season training. We might not have many rock-stars but if we play as a team and give it our best shot I can definitely see us coming up trumps at the end of the season.
A Big Thanks to Our Member Sponsors of 2011/12
ROB McGUIGAN
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KEVIN AND DIANNE
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CRAIG BATTY
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DENNIS JONES
DILLWYN JONES
CLIVE KELLY
PAUL ORAM
JOHN PENBERTHY
ANDREW REEDER
BLAIR SHEEHY
BW SINCLAIR
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MATT SMITH
ARCH TAYLOR
