Iain O'Brien's Cricket Blog

This article appeared in the Hutt News on the 10th November.  I wasn't to happy with it!

Hutt News Article

link for article:  http://ow.ly/i/72X

And this is my response that was printed in yesterday paper:

Nicolas

I was disappointed with the article that you wrote and printed in last week’s Hutt News (10^th Nov).  There were several reported quotes that were inaccurate and misleading.  I also feel because of this you have portrayed me indifferently.

In the article I was quoted as saying “I hung up on Mark Greatbatch.”  I did not hang up on Mark; I did not say this to you during the interview.  I said to you was that I was angry and disappointed during the phone call with Mark, yes it was a short call, but there is no way I’d hang up, on anyone!

The next couple of issues I have are that you’ve shortened a couple of quotes and I feel this has changed the actual meaning away from the point I was trying to make.   Where you’ve quoted me saying "if I miss out and that makes NZ stronger, then I am ok with that" what I then said during the interview was that "I felt with the form I had in SA I was performing better than some in this squad" How you have phrased and edited that quote make me sound very sour with no justification.

You have then dropped the ending off another quote, where I am quoted as saying that playing club cricket on ‘artificial pitches’ is “really rubbish” where what I said to you was that “in comparison to playing on grass, artificials are really rubbish.”

The whole tone of the article makes me sound bitter and spoilt.  I’m angry and disappointed on missing out on selections, but I’m a cricketer, that’s part of the job.  Not a spoilt boy who moans when things don’t go his way.

Still no apology, but I'm working on it.....