The legendary Kiwi and RCB batsman on what he’s learnt during his long cricketing career.

 

• When you come in at 20, and you’re 36, and you’re still operating, you learn to grow up a fair bit. I think cricket teaches you to take the good with the bad, and also accept and understand different cultures and ethnicities in different ways of doing things in life. It’s taught me to be very humble as well.

 

• I have been lucky enough to have a few personal and professional highs. At the start of the first IPL, the 158 in that game was something that changed my life. And then after that, scoring 300 – being the first New Zealander to do so. Captaining New Zealand through that World Cup campaign – these are all individual cricketing highlights. Off the field, three kids and being married for 15 years – I feel very blessed to stay in a relationship and a family life while still travelling the world. From a team point of view, I think seeing young guys mature into good men and start to build their lives. Being able to provide them an environment which gives them freedom to learn and develop and mature is probably the one thing I am most grateful for.

 

 

• The biggest decision I’ve made in life is that I got married pretty early, so that was probably the most important, because I had this support and it worked for my entire career. It wasn’t always just support. Sometimes, your wife pulls you into line as well. You need that feedback from someone, from those that love you, and I was lucky to start a family while still playing cricket.

 

• I believe in fate. I think everyone’s got their own beliefs and their own gods as well. I believe that things happen for a reason, and good things happen to good people. I like to treat others the way I like to be treated myself. Never ask someone to do something that you’re not prepared to do yourself. Whether that fits into religion, I’m not sure – but I think it’s certainly got a part to play.

 

• Money is important. Everyone needs it. It’s not what drives you, but it’s nice to be remunerated for your abilities and your impacts – you just want to be paid what you’re worth. It’s nice to have money, but even if you do, you can always want more. I’d much rather have my integrity and my loving family around me, and then find ways to make money if I need to.

 

• I don’t think I’d change anything about my life. I could say if you’re born in a different country, then things might have been even bigger than what it’s been for me, but in saying that, you’ve got to put up with other pressures and other distractions. To be honest, I am pretty content with how my life is. I just hope my kids are healthy and happy, and as a family, we’re able to grow old and prosper together.

 

• If I wasn’t a cricketer, I would have found something. For me, cricket has never really been a job. I just love playing the game.

 

• I try and deal with success and failure in a similar sort of vein. Not get too high when things are going good, and not get too low when things aren’t. Once you do that, you know you’re turning up. You’re trying your best, you’re well prepared, you’re well planned. But we’re playing a game where the opposition is trying to achieve what you are as well. So you’ve got to become pretty resilient with results. You move on, you turn the page.

 

• People I look up to include Allan Border, for what he did for Australian cricket. He is an absolute legend, and pretty influential around the time that I was growing up. Viv Richards as well, for his swagger and panache and the impact that he had on the game. The way he just played the game, he was so free. That’s something that I’ve wanted to do for my entire career. That’s what gives me the most satisfaction.

 

• Playing with AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli at the Royal Challengers has been awesome. I played the first few games, and it was great to play with those guys and see them go about their work, and be the geniuses that they are