I have a theory about the recent marketing strategy followed by Australia’s Channel 9 in selling cricketing memorabilia. The only value in the limited editions is the fact that they are limited. But that’s not the theory: it is hardly groundbreaking news to say this has become an exercise in brazen profit taking. Yet I know a few pubs buy them and raffle them off and so everybody wins. The pub turns a bit of fundraising and some lucky punter gets the print for $5 – about what it is worth.

I do not see The Battle for the Tasman being first prize in a pub raffle as it is neither limited nor worth $5. Showcasing six of the best one day international cricket matches between Australia and New Zealand, it is in fact another part of the commodification rife in sports marketing that by virtue of flooding the market with purpose built memorabilia, is in fact eating itself. It is then easy to accept with such a low standard to aspire to, the producers of The battle for the Tasman saw little need in achieving quality. It is an after thought aimed to take advantage of the interest created by New Zealand’s current tour, of which there is none bar ‘how far Australia?’. The rivalry between these two nations on the rugby pitch is the stuff of legend but the recent drubbing of the Kiwis on the cricket pitch is a stark reminder of how shallow the relationship becomes when the All-Blacks don all white (or brown) and get pummelled. These were good games but were they really great? Maybe the current Kiwi team should take this trip down memory lane to get inspired before taking on the Aussies in the current series.

Released in conjunction with the inaugural Chappell – Hadlee one day series trophy, the truth is that not a lot of effort has gone into this DVD. A quickly thrown together script for Ian Chappell and extended highlight reels of the six matches contained within. As far as I can tell, the highlights are more or less the same packages that used to be run late on the same night as the match. The original commentary is included and there is a bit of editing to sharpen up the presentation but not nearly enough to capture the excitement of the games themselves. After all, we have already been introduced to the result and despite there being some great cricket on display, how many times can you sit through the same highlights? Some more build up and ongoing reflections on the game may have put the action into some kind of context. Although featuring two games from the eighties, most games are within the last decade and may in time seem like classics too.

I did enjoy seeing all the faces I watched in awe as a boy and of those long forgotten. Watching Lance Cairns and the rampant Dean Jones did take me back to a time when professionalism in one day cricket was fledgling but the game had more character, more drama and the heroes seemed bigger to me. It also made me realise that the plethora of statistics and special effects introduced over the years have not necessarily improved the spectacle of the pyjama game but at least we have a constant scorecard now.

The 4:3 picture and Dolby stereo sound are typical for television sports presentation – serviceable and reliable. The vision and sound from the eighties suffers for its lack of technology and can be a little grainy at times. Re-mastering this footage was obviously not cost effective.

There is no denying the friendly, passion charged rivalry between Australians and New Zealanders, mostly on the water or the rugby pitch but arguably never more intense than the infamous underarm delivery back in the third final of the 80-81 series. The final over is replayed but again the excitement is not recaptured so I ask why would you want to see what is already an icon of Trans-Tasman relations replayed over again? It would have been more interesting to have approached the opposing parties for some kind of reflection but that would have required more effort and less profit. The best part of the whole DVD is reserved for Richie Benaud’s comments immediately after the game’s conclusion. I do not imagine Greg Chappell and Richie spending too much time catching up over a cheese platter at the Australian captains' black tie reunion dinner as I have never seen the voice of cricket so animated. More animated in fact than the DVD menu of pure function.

The other extras include a collection very short trailers of some other cricketing titles from the group. Too short to enjoy, long enough to be an advertisement.

The most thoughtless and frustrating extra of all is the full scorecards of the six games. It is not possible to skip between cards so each one must be sat through at a slow and boring pace. Great patience will be needed if one wishes to check out the stats from game six.

Overall I did not enjoy this one. It feels like the thrown together piece that it is, relying on a quick sell marketing ploy tied in with what history may remember as one of the least significant, most one sided tours between the two nations ever. Which is just as well, as such a cheap ploy does not deserve success and I hope they take a bath on this one, just to teach them to be more thoughtful in creating a record of the game and the characters that made it. So when Tony Greig babbles his way through another shameless product presentation, ignore him. It certainly will not be the presenter Ian Chappell trying to sell it to you: haven’t they dumped him already? Now if that don’t tell you something about this DVD, get back to the sports page and wait for the Pakistanis to arrive.