After the controversy during the tour of RSA in 1994-5 and the poor form during the home centenary season immediately following that, the administration of the New Zealand game at the top level fell apart. Part of the shake-up involved appointing a new coach (Glenn Turner) and this, in turn, led to a change of New Zealand captain. Turner wanted someone with proven leadership skills, who had the respect of the players, and who could maintain discipline both on and off the field by his own example. He had no hesitation in going for Lee Germon, a player with no previous Test experience, but who had been on the tour of South Africa and had proven leadership skills at provincial level. With Canterbury, he was required to take over an ailing team, many of whom were more experienced, and he did an excellent job of moulding them into the best provincial team in the country. He was a keeper who can bat in the lower-middle order, and a place was found for him in the team by converting Adam Parore into a specialist batsman. As a keeper he was a good, if inconsistent, player and he was better standing up. Much of his inconsistency as a keeper could be put down to that. As a batsman he loved to pepper the boundary square on the off side off the back foot, and his batting form as captain in India was ample proof of his ability to lead by example. At ODI level, with the side in desperate need of a No. 3, Germon was occasionally pressed into service in this role. Against Australia in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final he was outstandingly successful at No. 3, sharing in a huge partnership with Chris Harris. In 1997 his form fell away under new coach Steve Rixon and he started to lose some of the players' respect. With Turner not involved in either coaching or selection he lost his place in the side.
Cricinfo staff