Monchengladbach, Sept. 7: He is called the master of the ‘drag flick’. His rasping shots hit at more than 120 miles per hour leave many goalkeepers gasping for breath. But when New Zealand drag-flicker Hayden Shaw picks up a cricket ball, he is equally devastating. His searing yorkers put batsmen to shame who do their best to escape the 6 foot, 6 inch-tall hockey defender.
No, no confusion here. Shaw is the main thread in the Black Caps’ armory in Group A at the hockey World Cup here alongside Australia and Pakistan. The full-back is gearing up to guide his team to new heights.
But do not be surprised if you see Shaw rub shoulders with the likes of Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Chris Harris or Brendon McCullum too. For cricket is Shaw’s first love. Shaw is a first-class cricketer too and plays for Canterbury, a state side in New Zealand.
"Hockey or cricket, this has been my constant dilemma," said the ever-smiling Hayden as he settled down for a chat.
Just a year ago, Shaw had bid goodbye to the world of hockey. Reason: The Canterbury lad wished to break into the national cricket side, and take up cricket as a career.
"Yes, I left hockey after the Athens Olympics. I was plain tired of it. I went to the Canterbury club and began practice. I knew I was good and could bowl at a decent pace," said Shaw, who made his hockey debut at the Commonwealth Games 2002. "I was hopeful of making it to the national team."
Eleven of Shaw’s teammates at Canterbury are now part of the national team. "The one year that I spent in Canterbury at 2004-05, I hardly played any hockey. I was only focused on cricket.
"Eleven of my Canterbury teammates are playing in the national side now. Even I was keen to play cricket. But then I never got selected. The great Sir Richard Hadlee was the selector and he used to come and watch us play. But I don’t think he ever found me that impressive," Shaw said.
Then what prompted Shaw to return to hockey again? "I have a strong belief in life. You have to be the best at whatever you do. At cricket, I was not. In hockey, I was.
"The game was calling me. This is my bread and butter. I had to come back. And so the dilemma ended."
Shaw’s international hockey career couldn’t have got off to a better start as a member of the silver medal winning team in 2002.
"Being part of the team that took New Zealand hockey to sixth in the world, where they hadn’t been for 20 years, was amazing. I had to pinch myself at the Olympic opening ceremony (in 2004) to prove it was all real. It was such an adrenaline rush but it still hasn’t totally sunk in that I’ve competed in the Olympics."
Shaw’s return to hockey was equally interesting. The drag-flicker hit 19 goals in the domestic championship and finally decided to stick to the sport. "That was the end of my search... I scored 19 goals in that tournament. The second highest were four by another player. And this was the time I was playing cricket for my club.
"If you think I was discarded and disliked, you are wrong. My coach used to call me regularly. There was not a single phone call when he did not ask me to come back.
"My coach, my team mates... They respected my decision to quit, and they respected it when I decided to come back."
It took a while before Shaw finally got used to the game again. "After a year of cricket, it was a little tough to get back into rhythm. But everyone supported me. And here I am, back in the team and scoring goals too."
The results were evident when Shaw guided his team to a 3-0 victory over fancied Argentina on Tuesday, two of the goals coming from his deadly drag-flicks.
At only 26, he has now become the mainstay for his team.
And does he plan to return to cricket now? "No, never," says Shaw. "Not even if Sir Richard Hadlee calls me. I have to play good hockey," he winked, and returned to practice.
