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The Canterbury Rams on the charge (Photo: Richard Connelly/Supplied)
The Canterbury Rams on the charge (Photo: Richard Connelly/Supplied)

SportsJune 21, 2024

How the Canterbury Rams became the hottest – and loudest – ticket in town

The Canterbury Rams on the charge (Photo: Richard Connelly/Supplied)
The Canterbury Rams on the charge (Photo: Richard Connelly/Supplied)

Last year they won their first NZNBL title since 1992. This season they’re on the road to make it back-to-back. As Joseph Harper finds, the electric atmosphere inside Cowles Stadium is both the product of and secret to the Rams’ success.

Aranui has a bad reputation in Ōtautahi. It rears up whenever someone is thinking of moving to the Garden City and asks r/chch which suburbs to avoid. Inevitably someone makes vague references to particularly dodgy streets, anecdotal evidence of stolen Toyota Aquas, and then someone else brings up the House of Horror. Nobody ever mentions that the eastern suburb, just up the road from the Edmonds Factory Gardens, is also home to the most dynamic and vibrant sporting experience currently on offer in Canterbury.

Cowles Stadium is home to the Canterbury Rams men’s professional basketball team. It’s like a hangar. The building has a high arcing roof that heaves like a lung whenever a Rams player shows a bit of flash. With a capacity of around 1,500 – modest even by domestic basketball standards – the stadium is intimate and it’s very, very loud. “It’s right on top of you,” says Rams head coach Judd Flavell. “Most teams have, y’know, at least two or three thousand seat arenas, but they don’t necessarily fill them out. They’re also often separated from the court, whereas Cowles is right there. That experience is quite unique.”

Flavell cuts a charismatic figure in front of the Rams’ bench. The former Tall Black and long time Breakers assistant-coach is usually dressed in beige chinos and a tight V-neck merino. He looks to be in better shape than many of the players on the court. Last season, Flavell led the Rams to their first national championship in over 30 years. The NZNBL trophy actually sits unassumingly beside one of the stands. No security, no case or pageantry, it’s just there on a wooden table under a big banner that reads “THIS IS OUR HOUSE!” Sometimes kids take pictures pretending to hold it.

Right now, the team is rolling. Last weekend, the Rams emerged victorious in a tense battle against the Auckland Tuatara – the team they beat in last season’s final, and the other big gun in the NZNBL this season. That win cemented the Rams at the top of the table. On Saturday, the home team demolished the visiting Manawatu Jets by over 40 points. That performance was the jewel in the crown of a phenomenal 12-game winning streak. While their cross-town comrades the Crusaders put together their worst season in recent memory, the Canterbury Rams are looking to hang another banner in the rafters.

Cowles Stadium: Intimate and very, very loud (Photo: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Tony Whinwray has been volunteering at Rams games for almost a decade. Anyone who has been to a game will recognise his distinctive figure on the door – dreadlocks cascading down his back and a welcoming smile emerging from his long beard as he scans the QR code on your ticket. “We’re a pretty hardcore crew here”, he says.

For Whinray, the “pretty hardcore crew” of Rams fans represents something special. “I started helping out because I’d bring my kid here. I figure if you’re here, you might as well help,” he says. In his time following the team, he’s seen kids go from begging for signatures after the game to bringing their own children along. “They’ll make time for the kids and that,” he says. “That’s why the fans are loyal.”

After home games the Rams always form a line and diligently make their way around the perimeter of the court, thanking supporters, signing singlets and doling out high-fives. But that sense of support and loyalty is on show long before the game even begins. Most of the Rams starters sit courtside and vocally support their teammates who play valuable minutes for the Rams Rapid League team – a new development league that plays before NZNBL games.

Last weekend Rams forward Taki Farhensohn secured their victory with some clutch free throws. There was a palpable sense of whanaungatanga as he coyly made his way back to the bench where he was swallowed up in enthusiastic hugs from his teammates. American import KJ Buffen performatively slapped his forearm to signify the ice in Farhensohn’s veins. Taki was all smiles. 

Some of the Cowles Stadium faithful (Photo: Richard Connelly/Supplied)

Most of all, Rams games are fun. The crowd is mostly made up of families, very vocal and very engaged. During timeouts and breaks, the Rams’ small but enthusiastic entertainment team don’t let up for a second. The University of Canterbury cheer squad sheepishly perform aerial stunts and hand-stands. At a recent game, a small team of teenage hip-hop dancers refused to yield the floor before finishing their routine – in spite of the players and referees who patiently waited on court while the squad got their bows in. They even have celebrity fans – local crooner Marlon Williams can occasionally be spotted among the Rams faithful in red and black.

Apart from when the crowd is celebrating a bit of on-court razzle dazzle, Cowles is at its loudest and most desperate when young fans bay for basketballs and Sal’s Pizza promotional T-shirts, which are hurled out to the masses two or three times a game. “He’s got balls! He’s got balls!” screamed a young fan who spotted Rambo, the team’s mascot waiting for break in play to chuck out some tat. The crowd also fires up when the opposition is at the free-throw line. Putting off the visiting players is paramount – yes it helps but Rams’ scoreline, but if a player misses two consecutive free-throws, the entire crowd earns themselves a free slice of pizza.

Local intermediate student Ryder Walsh estimates he’s been to “quite a few” Rams games. “The music is so loud and you can get good seats real easy.” To Ryder and his mates Manu and Shae, the Rams are cool and “the vibe is good”. For a city whose sporting fandom is most famous for the “CAAAA-NA-BREEEEE” dirge, it must feel refreshing to be in a sporting crowd that is genuinely losing their shit.

It also helps that the on-court product is electrifying. Captain Taylor Britt, a Tall Black and a local boy who grew up watching Rams legends like Dave Langrell, leads from the front. Britt seems to play most games running downhill – cutting to the hoop at pace before switching hands to finish or dishing the ball out to a teammate for an open three. Some games, the diminutive guard in the hot pink sneakers feels unstoppable. Britt gives some credit for the team’s performance to the fans at Cowles. “You feel it while you’re out there,” he says. “You can hear everything.” He feels that the experience at a Rams home game is unique in the NZNBL. “It’s such a small, enclosed space and the noise just echoes around a lot. It definitely feels like the loudest place. The fans really get behind us when we’re rolling.”

Coach Flavell hopes that Aranui stays loud. “It’s a great place to call home. When we’re out there playing, we get up for the noise. Just knowing we have that support behind us and we’ve got a great community behind us.” Undoubtedly the Rams faithful at Cowles Stadium will continue to fill their house. They’ll be hoping the Rams can provide another championship win,  and perhaps a few more slices of complimentary pizza. 

‘Become a member to help us deliver news and features that matter most to Aotearoa.’
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith
— Politics reporter
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Kane Williamson and Trent Boult at the T20 World Cup (Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
Kane Williamson and Trent Boult at the T20 World Cup (Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

SportsJune 19, 2024

Kane Williamson latest Black Cap to turn down NZ Cricket contract

Kane Williamson and Trent Boult at the T20 World Cup (Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
Kane Williamson and Trent Boult at the T20 World Cup (Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

The Black Caps icon will relinquish the captaincy in all forms of the game as he moves to a casual playing contract.

An exclusive from The Bounce, a Substack newsletter by Dylan Cleaver.

Kane Williamson has turned down a New Zealand Cricket central contract in a seismic move that both sides believe will prolong his international career.

Williamson, 33, will take up a casual playing contract that will afford him the opportunity to play in overseas T20 franchise leagues over the coming year.

It sees him relinquish captaincy of the Black Caps’ white-ball sides, meaning it will be the first time since Brendon McCullum retired in 2016 that he will not have the (c) next to his name in any format.

It is understood Williamson is close to signing a deal to play in South Africa’s SA20, which runs from January 10 to February 10. The Black Caps do not have any international cricket in their home summer scheduled for January, but Williamson will not be available for the Northern Knights in the Super Smash.

In transit from the Caribbean to New Zealand following a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, Williamson was not available for comment but through a team spokesman confirmed the crux of the story.

“From our point of view this is a positive development,” said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink. “He is committing to New Zealand for the long term, but with the schedules the way they are this summer he is looking to take up an opportunity in a franchise league and will take his family with him.”

Both parties investigated the possibility of Williamson remaining on one of NZC’s 20 central contracts, but it would have undermined a system that has worked well for the national body and players’ association for more than 20 years. It would also create potential friction around broadcast and sponsor commitments if a contracted player was unavailable for chunks of the home summer.

Williamson will instead be offered a casual playing contract, Weenink said, which will see him paid a retainer while in camp with New Zealand, on top of the standard match fees for tests, one-day internationals and T20s.

“Kane is basically going to be available to play every test, injury permitting,” Weenink said, “with the possible exception of the Afghanistan test, and is available for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan early next year.”

New Zealand will play Afghanistan, who humbled them in the T20 opener in Guyana last week, at a neutral venue in September. The one-off test, likely to be played in India, does not carry World Test Championship points.

Kane Williamson lifts the World Test Championship mace in 2021. (Photo: Getty Images)

New Zealand then tours Sri Lanka for two tests in September-October, followed by three tests in India, six white-ball games against Sri Lanka (which Williamson is likely to miss), before the first home test against England at Hagley Oval on November 28.

Williamson is thought to be keen to play through to the 2027-28 season at least, and Weenink says enabling some flexibility in the contracting system makes it easier to keep the very best in the game for longer.

It is a similar arrangement to what Trent Boult has played on for the past couple of years, although his situation was slightly different in that he was looking to dial back on his international commitments. He has not played a game of red-ball cricket since the Headingley test against England in 2022.

Weenink insisted the casual playing contracts would not become commonplace, and were reserved only for those who have provided exceptional service, such as Boult and Williamson. Tim Southee is another who would be granted one, but he has made it clear he wants to stay on a central contract and as incumbent test skipper remains focused on restoring the fortunes of the Black Caps.

Boult has indicated that the World T20 would be his last tournament for his country. Weenink did not know what the left-arm swing bowler’s future plans were but labelled him an “incredible servant” of the game here.

Trent Boult in flight at Eden Park in 2018 (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images).

It is understood that Lockie Ferguson, who this morning took the stunning figures of three wickets for no runs off four maidens in a dead-rubber win against Papua New Guinea in Trinidad, has also indicated he will not be taking up an NZC contract as he pursues more T20 opportunities. Any future involvement for the Black Caps would likely be on a match-fee basis.

“It is still massively advantageous for players to remain on our contract list,” Weenink said. “There is absolutely no guarantee you will be offered a casual contract if you turned down a [central] contract.

“Kane and Trent have earned it,” Weenink said, through close to a decade-and-a-half of world-class performances across all formats.

Weenink said the playing without a contract was a “risky option” as you fell down the ranking list, you didn’t receive a retainer and would lose priority access to medical facilities and personnel.

“In the past we have given selection preference to contracted players,” Weenink said. “Most of all, guys are still really keen to play for New Zealand because international cricket remains the best shop window for the sport.”

While the news that Williamson remains committed to the Black Caps for the next ODI World Cup cycle at least, there is no getting around the fact it is a blow to the Super Smash, which has been starved of star power. Along with the likes of Williamson, Boult, Ferguson and James Neesham, there is a chance some players offered domestic contracts, such as Central Districts’ Tom Bruce, will also turn them down, though they will still be encouraged to play Super Smash above the Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy.

Williamson’s move throws cricket’s increasingly squeezed calendar into sharp relief. The global men’s game is hurtling towards a tipping point as privately owned teams look to increase their footprint, while national boards also look to maximise their content churn to satisfy broadcast demands in between a suite of ICC tournaments, such as the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the WTC.

Of more immediate concern is the leadership vacuum it leaves in New Zealand’s white-ball operations.

“You can’t be captain if you’re not centrally contracted,” Weenink said. “That’s a non-negotiable.”

Some obvious candidates would be Mitchell Santner and Daryl Mitchell, who occupy either ends of the laidback-to-intense spectrum.

There is also a possibility that Williamson will return to the contracts list in future seasons, though that could depend on his attractiveness on the global T20 market. He was used sparingly by the Gujarat Titans in the IPL this season, following an injury-hit 2023.

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