ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that a strong sense of imperial and intercolonial symbolism was associated with the middle—class stratum that dominated New Zealand cricket. Indeed, it is a theme that gained greater clarity because it was never subsumed by the expressions of assertive colonialism and, later, emergent nationalism that characterised Australian cricket. Indeed, quite the reverse was the case. Over time New Zealand's cricketing idyll became more firmly identified with that of distant England than neighbouring Australia. Despite the expense and logistical difficulties, the NZCC and the provincial cricket associations took every opportunity to entice English touring teams and players to New Zealand. Within this conception of the game, notions of victory or defeat became quite superfluous to concerns with 'form’ and 'style’—and the truest form of cricket was deemed to be that pursued by Oxbridge and public school amateurs.
