The final taonga (a Maori term for a highly prized or treasured possession) has an auburn wooden base that holds a sculpture made of two particular and special pieces of willow – the bat Martin Crowe used to score a century against England in 1994 and the one Graham Thorpe used to score two against New Zealand in 1997.
The Spin | ‘A spiritual journey’: the story behind cricket’s new Crowe-Thorpe Trophy Artist behind prize for winner of New Zealand v England series explains emotional process of fusing cricketers’ bats.
In the moments before the first Test started in Christchurch last week the television cameras alighted on the new Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, the prize that awaits the winners of the ongoing series between New Zealand and England.
“It’s a pinnacle, the highest mountain or the highest viewpoint, and then the very base of it is the foundation of them being able to get to the highest point,” Ngawati says.
“So that incorporates in particular their family members on each side, their clubs, their community, everyone who supported them is the foundation for them to be able to go up the mountain, walk the path towards the highest achievement.
