Common-sense has prevailed in the sorry Jimmy Cowan saga from where I see it.

Rather than biff out the troubled young Southland half-back and tag him as a rotten egg, beyond salvation, Graham Henry and co. have decided to find one last place at the Last Chance Saloon for Cowan.

The cynics amongst you will argue that the All Black selectors had no real option but to keep Cowan within the fold because with Brendan Leonard's forced absence, the half-back stocks are dangerously thin at the moment.

There may well be an element of truth in this theory but I'd like to think that Graham Henry has also learnt from casting Piri Weepu aside before the World Cup last year.

It is commonly acknowledged that astute man-management is as important a factor as any in coaching, especially at international level.

When 20 to 30 young men assemble as an All Blacks squad, it's guaranteed that there is going to be a diverse collection of strengths and weaknesses, good habits and bad habits also brought together.

That's where advanced man-management should come into its own, first identifying what makes each and every individual tick and then treating them accordingly.

When Piri Weepu was given his marching orders last year, there was the feeling that the selectors had let their impatience get the better of them, instead of continuing to work with Weepu to help him conquer his demons.

Sure, both Weepu and Cowan needed to directly feel the wrath of their team-mates and sure, a line in the sand needs to be drawn at some stage to let these young men know that patience is not an infinite resource.

But if there is a genuine belief that better human beings make for better All Blacks and vice versa, I reckon that there needs to be equal emphasis put on comprehensive man-management as there is on maintaining and improving skills.

Let's hope we've all moved on from those dark days when the likes of Keith Murdoch were simply banished into oblivion, as though they never really existed in the first place.

Is this how you see it?

Glass Half-full or half-empty?

At the end of what has been one of the most elongated, home and away series upon series against the Poms, the single most significant fact of our cricketing lives as Black Cap fans has yet again been confirmed.

And that is that John Bracewell invariably gets the best out of our one-day efforts but the reverse applies when it comes to our test match performances.

It has me baffled as to why there is such a distinct contrast. Is it simply a fact that a coach at this level can excel at one form of the game and not at another.

If so, please explain to me why. I genuinely want to know.