Bill Sutton (1944-2025) was a Napier poet and poetry
enthusiast. After a career as a politician (Labour MP 1984-1990) and scientist,
Sutton turned his hand to the craft of poetry with some success. He became known
as an organiser of events (National Poetry Conference, Havelock North 2013,
East-West Poetry Fests 2016, 2018 in Palmerston North).
Sutton started publishing his work in literary journals from
around 2007 and published three collections of his poetry. Notable was his
interest in sport, writing poems on tennis, netball, running, rugby and cricket.
His cricket poem ‘Spirit of Cricket’ was published in The
Cricket Society News Bulletin in 2019, the year that New Zealand played
their World Cup final with England – lost by the narrowest of margins with
scores being tied.
Sutton’s poem mentions the string of narrow losses by New
Zealand in 1992 under Martin Crowe, then the 2015 World Cup with Grant Elliott’s
six taking them all the way to the final, and finally the Lord’s final in 2019.
He interestingly brings in the changing history of free-to-air and pay-to-view
broadcasting of the period.
BILL SUTTON
Spirit of Cricket
I
was there for the 1992
World Cup, following the games
on free-to-air TV, back before
we sold our sports for money.
The best games were as exciting
as any cricket I’ve witnessed.
Martin Crowe, our batting master
and strategic genius, told Greatbatch
to blast boundaries from the first ball
then opened our bowling with Patel!
He took us right to the semi-final
and ready to win it. But Pakistan
had prepared to prove us fallible
and won that vital game. Waiting
23 years for our second chance
under Mike Hesson, our best coach
and Kane Williamson our captain
we made it back to the semi’s again
where a huge 6 beat South Africa
but we lost in the final to Australia.
This time we’d waited just 4 years
and had to pay to follow the games
so watching our cricket cost us, but
it seems the same excitement stirs us
whichever technology one chooses.
This time we took a crucial first step
forwards by facing down India’s team
backed by their thousands of Manchester
supporters, an Indian player’s dream –
but despite some confident assertions
and journalistic prognostications
our Black Caps won that tough semi
and got to play England in the final.
So how would that play out at Lord’s –
the home of English cricket? The few
predictions by players were cautious.
After hours of following the final
I watched it for free on TV again
as another twist in the media saga
returned us to where we’d all started,
but no matter which side won or lost
both had needed to do their best
and the England team knew it too.
I may not be back to see it through
next time our team makes the final
but I hope my children will follow it
and recall how much we all loved it –
blown away by the spirit of cricket.
Poem
© Bill Sutton
An obituary can be found at the Poetry Archive of New Zealand Aotearoa website:
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