![\"Danny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792089261_174_14200608ab3621357a740646c1e6f58c8cefb511.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
October 16, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Cricket cult hero Mark Greatbatch chuckles down the phone from New Zealand when asked to compare the speed and stamina of his Caulfield Cup runner Asterix with his own onfield heroics.<\/p>\n He gets the joke. He understands Australians have long associated his career with moments of going fast and going slow. Especially going slow.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to get abused a bit over there from memory,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cNo, it was all good banter. I have fond memories of Australia. You know, my sister lives in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n Many remember Greatbatch as the burly left-hander who put the Australian public to sleep with a defiant 146 not out during the 1989 Perth Test, a game-saving innings that soaked up 485 balls and 11 hours across two days.<\/p>\n Related Article But he is remembered for opening our eyes, too. He revolutionised one-day cricket three years later by sending scoring rates into overdrive during the 1992 World Cup as an aggressive \u201cpinch-hitting\u201d opener.<\/p>\n Not that the retired Greatbatch, who turns 63 in December, is too fussed about revisiting the past.<\/p>\n Twice he deflects references to the dour nature of his Perth innings because he\u2019s less interested in talking about himself and more interested in talking about his horse \u2013 a 50-1 Caulfield Cup chance, trained by Chris Waller.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough field, it\u2019s a pretty good opposition, but you never know with horse racing, I find,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Greatbatch is speaking from his car on the way to a charity golf day in Queenstown with his partner Deanie. It is Thursday morning, and \u201cpissing down\u201d.<\/p>\n He will fly into Melbourne on Friday morning and meet his sister, Fleur Dawkins, at Caulfield Racecourse. She\u2019ll be coming from her Glenmaggie winery in Gippsland.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a nervous watcher,\u201d the one-time nerveless batsman admits. \u201cIt\u2019s like watching your kids play sport, isn\u2019t it? You want them to have fun and enjoy and do well, so it\u2019s not dissimilar.\u201d<\/p>\n Greatbatch co-owns the eight-year-old gelding with a couple of mates \u2013 Sam Kelt and Andrew \u201cPud\u201d Scott. They knew each from Hawke\u2019s Bay on the North Island and Kelt was responsible for picking out the horse.<\/p>\n Related Article They outlaid $NZ400,000 for the then two-year-old at the 2021 ready-to-run sales and won the 2022 New Zealand Derby at his fourth start. He was trained by Lance O\u2019Sullivan and (a different) Andrew Scott.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, a-year-and-a-half ago, we decided to send him across the Tasman, and Chris Waller very kindly offered to take the horse. We\u2019re very lucky we\u2019ve got a very good trainer, and he\u2019s a Kiwi,\u201d Greatbatch says.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my partners thought he [Waller] was the under bidder back at the sales. So maybe that was where the connection was. He quite liked the horse and the breeding [by Tavistock out of Mourasana].\u201d<\/p>\n The Kiwis \u2013 trainer and cricketer \u2013 soon discovered they had common interests.<\/p>\n \u201cChris Waller is from Foxton, which is actually part of the central districts where I played my cricket, so I think he just generally followed cricket. I think he quite enjoys the game,\u201d Greatbatch says.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very keen sports follower, I know that. A couple of times I\u2019ve been over there [to Waller\u2019s stables]\u2013 he\u2019s very kindly hosted us, put on morning tea, and we tend to talk about other sports as much as we do about racehorses. Obviously, I want to talk about the horse racing industry, and he wants to talk about other sports.\u201d<\/p>\n As the proud owner of a Caulfield Cup runner and the president of New Zealand Cricket, Greatbatch has a busy three months ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also trying to get my horse into the Melbourne Cup, so I said [to NZ Cricket], \u2018If I\u2019m near that, that\u2019s where I\u2019ll be near\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got India coming next week, a tour that\u2019s pretty big for us. And then we come to you guys, which will be exciting \u2013 a four-Test series against Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m not coming over [to Australia] for the cricket. There\u2019s other stuff to do with cricket here as well. It\u2019s not just about the top end \u2013 the grassroots and community are pretty important.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I can watch it from afar, particularly if we\u2019re knocking a few of your batters over with our bowlers. They are not a bad bowling unit. They\u2019re up and coming, and we\u2019ve got a bit of experience now.<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys are hard to beat in Australia, but I think you\u2019d be the first one to admit, you\u2019re probably not as strong a side as you\u2019ve been.\u201d<\/p>\n While Greatbatch would also love to see New Zealand and Australia play off in the world Test championship final at Lord\u2019s next year, he is torn when asked about the sporting trophy he covets the most.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019ve got to have dreams, don\u2019t you?\u201d he said. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019d like to win a Caulfield or Melbourne Cup, and then you would like your country to beat another country, you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n But one senses that he is all-in on the Melbourne Cup. He says his son Charlie will fly in from Yorkshire, and his daughter Alice will come over from Queenstown if they make the cut.<\/p>\n So, what are the chances of Asterix channelling Greatbatch\u2019s swashbuckling side on Saturday afternoon?<\/p>\n \u201cHe needs to settle,\u201d the cricket great says. \u201cIf he gets settled early, you\u2019ll see him come home pretty good. He\u2019s got the breeding \u2013 he\u2019s won over 2400 metres four times.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s all about the jockey [Beau Mertens] settling him and making sure he has something left at the end. It\u2019s going to be exciting. I think if he\u2019s top six, coming home pretty good, he might be better in two weeks\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1fbfdf4ca2eb43601d975892b56cf1a3e8801ee4.jpeg\")
The Chris Waller-trained Caulfield Cup runners Asterix (front) and Valiant King parading before a trackwork session at Caulfield.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792089263_589_36095dcfa7e403b109fa702a25b9140df1ac7738.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e8cbb7bcd7a1ae1e340f03ae79ae4956ff937402.jpeg\")
Mark Greatbatch hits out during a Test between New Zealand and England in 1990.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/66029801ed6d4bbaeca0c78090491c7d83848a8e.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c749f12e57b5d6c14f2498a050601377ca4bce6c.jpeg\")
Mark Greatbatch is the New Zealand Cricket president.<\/p>\n![\"Caulfield](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/38d262bb9130e6fa7adec371989a8d1fcca6833f.jpeg\")
Caulfield Cup runner Asterix (in the red and green silks) wins the Gosford Cup in May.Getty Images<\/p>\n