Where I once again resist the urge to switch loyalties

It was great to see the Aussies humbled yesterday for a paltry score, something that certainly doesn't happen much on their own turf. The fact that it was India who inflicted the damage made it even better. As the tour progresses, India have been getting better and have shown they can match the Aussies, who would anyway point to the test series scoreline in their defence. So, for the umpteenth occasion, surely the time is right for me to finally return to my roots and pledge allegiance to the team representing the country to which I belong? Not happening, never will.

Unsurprisingly, the issue of continuing to choose New Zealand over India raises questions about me being a traitor and all that. All I can say is that yes, this is more than just a game, but for me it's more matter of personal alliance than national pride. New Zealand was the team which endeared itself to me in 1992 and that's that. The other, bigger, question is why I would rather support a bunch of allegedly unappealing mediocre pretenders when I have other options. I mean, I've had friends (Indian, obviously) who openly align themselves with Australia or South Africa or the West Indies (of yesteryear) which is a done thing as they're more popular, flamboyant teams. More importantly, they're winners. I've always come to regard such support with suspicion, maybe because I take the uniquness of my loyalties too seriously. Nevertheless, I can understand where that comes from. After all, who wouldn't want to be identified with a high profile side. But the kiwis? No takers among the cricket observers of the age groups I've been associated with. OK, I've known women who were bowled over by DL Vettori, SP Fleming and SB O'Connor and thus became Black Caps converts - but that observation belongs to the realm of convenient stereotyping of male and female fans, and is a topic for a different discussion in another post.

Being a kiwi loyalist was a contributing factor in landing my first job, as the interviewer was happy to indulge me in a discussion on Mark Greatbatch, Dipak Patel, the 1992 world cup and its effect on me. Which was nice, maybe it all served a worldly purpose after all. Should I expect anything more? This is starting to cut deep. All I know is I'm still stuck with the team I chose to root for when I was too young to know any better.