Glenn Turner: cricket’s master of the mansion

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 32

Glenn Turner: cricket’s master of the mansion

Glenn Turner, cricketer of great'distinction, insists he f is i "a doer, not a dreamer; I’ve never, wasted time in bed dreaming of what I might achieve. I guess I’m a realist rather than a romantic.” ' Such statements ring even truer whenJheard ’ in 'the homely lounge, of. .Turner’s hew house. It is comfortably rather than lavishly furnished; .'there; are very few cricketing’trophies on

show, little evidence' that here lives New Zealand’s most successful cricketer. A handful of inscribed beer mugs. stand in a book- . shelf, alongside Mark Twain, Charles, - Dickens and Brer Rabbit. There’s a batch of discreetly boxed; . 1 silver arid gojd; medals for t,-English county titles,' a ■miniature of the 1973 New' Zealand “sportsman of, the year” trophy, an Indian painting that his : Indian

wife, Sukhi, insisted hie hang and that he has come to almost like, and a large stack of classical and new wave record albums.. The man is. not even sure of what cricketing records he holds. .He’s/‘not a big one-for showing things off.” .The reason some trophies.; are on display at all is because, so far, the Turners have not acquired enough books to fill the shelves. He tells the story of the previous owner of the . house/ who .suggestedTurner hang a cricket bat in the centre of the brass fireplace cowling to replace the family initials he had removed. Turner said to him: “No way, I’d go out of my bloody mind. That would remind me of work.” Is bricket purely a job of work, then, to Glenn Turner? Is there not still pure sporting enjoyment as well? • . • . 1 <' Yes, he says candidly, it is Work. He’s a businessman; if you like, with cricket his business. There • is little long-term, future, no subsidised superannua- ' tion scheme and -no retirement benefits. He-gets out. what he puts in . oyer a relatively short time. He’s been luckier than most cricketers, he acknowledges. Financially, he’s fared.extremely well from cricket and does not need to turn to other work to ensure his family’s future, though no doubt some ' other business avenue will / suggest itself for later life. “But,, of. course, there’s r enjoyment too,; though' not .so much at the actual time playing. I think you can /allow yourself a little bit " of /pleasure' immediately

following; either a good innings or the fact that your side has won and'you’re sitting in the dressing room ,with your pint of beer, your cigarette, your boots off and your mates around you. .‘.‘You enjoy, the moment for perhaps an hour or two, then you get back to square one again and the next match. During a game, there’s no time for reflect.ing on the pleasure of the moment. “As time goes on, though, I keep asking myself why the hell do I keep playing if I don’t allow myself more pleasure out of

what I’m' doing. But when Fm actually on the field, I still keep myself very much in check, pretty ice cold to situations, otherwise I know I’m not going to get the best of myself, perhaps make more mistakes, and at the end of the day not be able to look back on it with ariy deal of satisfaction.” Establishing the automatic discipline necessary to survive at the top was something Turner learned early. But he still has to work at it to stay there. He “zeroes in” his mind to cricket for the whole of an English summer, .thinking, playing and living the sport entirely. . ; •“You have to 'get,your line of thought right. I find that my biggest’;? asset. Because I do it often. I’ve got my mind trained a cer-

tain way. I? go - through a lot of different checks ■ — when the bowler’s coming in, I repeat to myself certain things I have to do; there are certain disciplines which, when you are playing every . day,. become automatic.” Turner likes to'take the pitch, especially in one-day, 40-over matches,' with a “bead of sweat” running down his face. “I always go out and have a net with a friend before any match, because to go into a Sunday League innings, you’re looking to hit the first ball, if it’s in

the right place, out of the ground. .\ “To achieve such a high level from the outset, without playing yourself in and working out conditions, which you have to do in such matches ,1 have to go into the nets and have 10 minutes or so. For the first five minutes I’ll line it up; for the next five I’ll whack everything over the top. I’m just getting my mind into a condition that as soon as the ball pitches in a certain place, I know I can hit it there, there or there. I must get myself up to a peak before I walk out on to the park.” . For that reason,, he prefers to go in as an opening batsman where he can time his preparation to the exact minute of batting. ■ “Halfthe game is working' ’ yourself- but; under-

standing what’s best for you. And that only comes with a lot of trial and error and a hell of a lot of experience.” , He is critical of the lack of practice facilities in New Zealand cricket grounds for this - sort of preparation, even at test - venues. “There’s nowhere here you can do that; even at Lancaster Park dr Eden Park.” Once at the crease, there’s a mini-routine Turner goes through when facing every ball, especially early in an innings. “You keep telling your mind not to anticipate, not

to move too soon, let the ball come, don’t think the ball is going to come in short and get ready for a hook, stand up and play in line, don’t play away from yourself, remember where your off stump is ... There are things you really have to bang into your subconscious, then when the ball pitches in a certain place, you automatically play the right shot “One of the big things to overcome as a batsman is to have preconceived ideas or to will a particular ball to come along. You cannot commit yourself. You must wait, see what comes, then react according to your ability. It’s a subconscious thing. You play the shot automatically to suit the ball and the conditions, but that comes with experience and ’ sustained play which

one gets in Britain, but not here.’’ He finds it difficult playing “part-time” cricket when he returns for a New Zealand summer. In between club matches here, he’s in the garden, on the golf course, running around, continually being distracted from establishing the necessary frame of mind to play consistently well in the type of stopstart games available. Often classed as the stormy petrel of New Zealand cricket — “I’ve even been told in pubs here, ‘Turner, you’re' a wanker,’ ” — he feels any obligation he had to his native country is well and truly repaid. “It’s the old story: they want you when you’re good and don’t when you’re not. I’ve done my bit 'for New Zealand and more.”. . ■ > The former New Zealand captain has had numerous running battles with the New Zealand > Cricket Council over the years and says that only now are the public and media beginning to come around to his original viewpoint'on Conditions for players and liaison with them. Although it “made no sense” for him to play in the recent test series against the West Indies — because of “certain attitudes” in New Zealand cricket, the need to devote the entire summer to preparation, a lack of form and the worry of further pressure on his wife from cricketing interests — he intends to represent his country in the future. Whether it will be in Australia later this year remains to be seen. Turner will. not commit. himself

on that. "I’ll let you know in good time,” was his only comment.

He freely admits he’s no “King and Country” man. “Very few players are. Those that still feel that way are a bit immature. That sort of stuff is for the spectators. For the players, it’s the quality of the match that counts.” Turner has now reached the stage where the needs of his family and his desire to meet them are becoming more important than continuation of the itinerant life as a double-hemisphere ' For the first time, they have managed to put down roots with their own home and Turner sees an end soon to years of rented accommodation in England and continual suitcase living. He’s still got some years left in cricket —• “less than five, though, I’d say,” and the closing innings may well be played out in Dunedih. It’s there that he intends to settle, in the city he has the closest affinity for, and near to the open spaces of Central Otago that he has missed while abroad. He’ll be putting and taking a lot more from cricket yet before he’s through, but on his own terms it willbe. Turner made this abundantly clear in the closing stages of our interview, as we admired the luxurious picture presented in the curving driveway of his home, the two Mercedes nestling close to his solid brick haven. “In the cricketing sense,” he stated, blue eyes flashing, 'T’ve done it myself, I owe nobody anything." '

Glenn Turner is the most successful player New Zealand cricket has known; hp is also now a young man of means. ROBIN CHARTERIS, of Dunedin, concludes an interview and analysis of . Turner, the first part of which appeared on Saturday.