John Hood, author of the 1995 Hood Report which reshaped the sport's administration, was recently commissioned by the New Zealand Cricket board to review its activities and those of its six major associations.

While it was recommended that some administrative nuts and bolts be tightened to provide smoother progress, only ``the ongoing inconsistency of the Black Caps'' was identified as ``an area of major concern''.

The report recognised the successful introduction of sports science, bio-mechanics, and advanced player management, but suggested there was room for further improvement in the preparation of players and teams and in planning for tours.

One recommendation was capturing the ``special resources'' of former players and sharing their ``wisdom and experience'' with the New Zealand team.

``Above all, New Zealand teams must have an over-all objective of winning and never sway or dilute this objective. New Zealand Cricket must constantly challenge and develop its players to make them world class.''

At grassroots level, the Hood review called for a ``radical re-think'' in recruiting and retaining players at school and club levels, and recommended greater efforts in attracting more women, Maoris, and Pacific Islanders to the game.

In contrast to the Black Caps, the successes of New Zealand age-group and women's teams were included among the items in which progress had been made since the Hood Report, three years ago.

Other ticks on the ``warrant of fitness'' form were given to revenue generation, re-allocation of surplus revenue to associations, the establishment of the high-performance centre at Lincoln, nationwide coaching, design of a national development plan, revision of competition formats, innovative sponsorship packages, and even the introduction of the much-maligned Super Max among ``new formats to improve participation''.