It has been fourteen years since he last played an ODI match, but his enthusiasm for the game is no less than what it was during his playing days. Geoff Allott, whose claim to fame will always remain being the joint highest wicket-taker of the 1999 World Cup, is now happy to be a cricket administrator, a role which he says has been a “deeply fulfilling” experience.

“I have been a board member with New Zealand Cricket for the past 12 months. It’s a great place to be, more so because it gives me a chance to give something back to the game I love,” the Christchurch native said.

With the World Cup less than 100 days away, Allott is excited and emotional about Christchurch hosting the opening ceremony of the showpiece event on February 14. “Cricket will be returning to this part of the world after eight years. After the devastation caused by the earthquake, the public of Canterbury have bonded well and New Zealand’s newest international ground, the Hagley Oval, is now ready with the best facilities on offer,” he said.

However, after the city’s main stadium, the Lancaster Park, was devastated by the earthquake in 2011, New Zealand Cricket decided to revamp the Hagley Oval. The new-look stadium now has a capacity of 18,000 and has already been used for domestic games. It will also debut as New Zealand’s eighth Test venue when it hosts the Boxing Day Test match against Sri Lanka.

The 42-year-old has fond memories of playing as a youngster at the Hagley. “I was part of the High School Old Boy’s team that played club cricket here. My grandfather played in this ground as well, so the stadium is seeped in history.”

For the World Cup, Allott expects pitches in New Zealand to foster exciting cricket. “Traditionally, we have seen slow and green wickets here. But that will not be the case during the World Cup. Only Eden Park (Auckland) and West Pac Trust Stadium (Wellington) will have drop-in wickets. Apart from that all other stadiums will have good sporting wickets,” he said.

Allott believes that the current Kiwi side has the ideal blend of youth and experience. With captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson working in tandem, he expects New Zealand to put up a fight in their home Cup. “I don’t want to get far ahead of myself, but there is a nice competitive culture that is developing in this team,” he said. Quite like in 1992, when New Zealand reached the semifinals and had an entire nation forgetting all about rugby for a few weeks.

Galvanising a nation

“The success of the Martin Crowe-led side galvanised the entire nation in 1992. The team’s aggressive and unorthodox style of play had lifted the mood of the entire nation,” he reminisces.

When asked about his career, which ended abruptly in 2000, the former left-arm swing bowler said he played at a time (1996-2000) when New Zealand were beginning to assert themselves more on the international arena. “We won a lot of matches during that period. We beat England at Lord’s in 1999, we followed that up with ICC Knock-Out Trophy in Nairobi the following year. In between we also qualified for the semifinals of the 1999 World Cup in England. All these were significant milestones that I was privileged to be a part of,” Allott said.

The high point in his career was of course the 1999 World Cup, a tournament in which he took 20 wickets from nine matches at an average of 16. “The pitches there suited my style of bowling, so I really enjoyed myself. Of the 20 wickets I took, the wicket of Sourav (Ganguly) gave me utmost satisfaction as he was a player in form and was batting aggressively,” he said.

Looking back, Allott says he does not have any regrets and played cricket with passion and to the best of his abilities. “As a player, I had limited skills. When you give everything every ball, you are bound to break down and in the long run your longevity suffers. I guess that’s what happened to me.”

A series of stress fractures led to Allott’s premature retirement in 2000. “There was a time when I was playing after taking injections and painkillers due to my stress fracture. After a point, I could not take it any more,” he added.