N.Z. TEAM OUT FOR 240

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27210, 30 November 1953, Page 12

N.Z. TEAM OUT FOR 240

CRICKET

Rhodesia Eight Runs Behind MATCH MAY END IN DRAW [From the Special N.Z.P.A. Correspondent with the team] , (Rec. 9 p.m.) BULAWAYO, Nov. 28. » A stubborn sixth-wicket partnership of 61 and the successful application of . “strongarm” tactics by batsmen with ‘ modest claims to ability took Rhodesia • to within eight runs of the New ZeaLland total of 240 on the second day .of the match at the Queen’s Club > ground today before a colourful crowd 'of 3000. | Play was restricted to about four L hours because of rain in the middle i of the afternoon, and although the pitch ’ was still helpful to pace bowlers, there • seems little likelihood of a definite f result being reached on Monday, when ' f the match will end. During the morning, the New Zealanders bowled and fielded splendidly ' and appeared to have a tight grip on the | match when half the Rhodesians were iout for 89; but Davies and Carew put the side back in the game with a partnership as plucky as it was lucky. ’ With the fall of the seventh wicket at 189, the New Zealanders still had a

chance of establishing a useful lead. . but Partridge in particular, and Harris. * Buchanan, and Slaven contributed in i varying measure to a display of hitting I which brought runs rapidly at the end of the day. * Enterprise was the main theme in * the New Zealand team’s batting yesterday. The side achieved aggression at the expense of soundness. Five catches and a stumping chance were missed. Beck, who was top-scorer with 63, was dropped at six and 10; Suil cliffe was missed twice in making 47; L Chapple, who made 51, had a life at ”18; and Poore was also dropped one i run befpre he was dismissed. The most encouraging feature of the . New Zealand batting was undoubtedly Lthe showing of 19-year-old Beck, who, ft after early lives, hit vigorously and I showed a spirit which some more r senior colleagues have lacked so far. He was, of course, lucky to be { allowed a third innings in the after- » noon but he demonstrated quite clearly J that there is real cricket in him He tmade his runs in a little over an hour, ; and his running between the wickets * also showed up some of the others ’ badly. Sutcliffe Begins Well >. At the start of the day, Sutcliffe r began brilliantly, scoring rapidly with L perfect safety, but when the ball began Jto move about and get above stump * height he fell from grace and again ‘looked as vulnerable as he has done in most innings of the tour so far. Rabone was as solid as ever, and the * opening partnership of 65 gave New . Zealand a fine start The loss of both opening batsmen at ■ the same score did not deter Reid, r who hit a six off the second ball, and - until lunch was in the same superb •. form he showed at Newlands and Chapple has seldom looked so dependable. He waited patiently for the loose ones, and when they came he * dispatched them without fuss or ceremony to the boundary. Miller played quietly and soundly, and Chapple went only through a freak delivery from the left-hander, Buchanan. The ball was pitched a trifle short, and scurried through with indecent haste about an inch off the ground to hit the leg stump. Poore and Beck then added 60 welcome runs for the sixth wicket, but Poore was again disappointing. He was trying very hard, but his batting still lacks touches of the boldness which would allow his fine array of strokes to get him on top of the bowlers. Beck, at the start of- his innings, vfras almost doubled up with indecision, but once properly started, he pulled and drove vigorously, and the total reached 4 200 in three hours. Beck achieved his first 50 in representative cricket from the first ball after tea, which he sent skimming through the covers for four, but his entertaining innings ended soon afterwards. The tail again looked long and lifeless. This morning Mansell was not allowed to exploit the punishing strokes which had brought him quick runs last evening. He needs to have the ball well up to him, for he is a handsome and strong driver, but Blair and Overton consistently forced him to play back, and although he batted nearly an hour he was able to add only eight more runs. His dismissal meant that half the side was out for 87, and during the 90 minutes before lunch only 49 runs were scored for the loss of two wickets, a fair reflection on the purposeful New ■ Zealand bowling and the vastly improved performance in the field. There - was an eagerness and snap, lacking earlier, and the throwing was also of a better standard. Stubborn Partnership A complete break-through by the faster bowlers seemed imminent, but Davies, a left-hander, and Carew in a partnership which lasted an hour and a half, scored 61 and deprived the New Zealanders of an excellent chance, r Carew's innings often seemed to hang ► by a slender thread and he made only > 11, but it Was a very useful contribution, Davies’s innings was a good one, and without it Rhodesia might well have been in a losing position at the end of the day, for the pitch, which has shown considerable life in the first two days, is unlikely to lose it tomorrow. He was never really in charge and persistently encouraged the belief that he would not last much longer with his , unlovely snicks; but he punished loose bowling just as persistently. Harris played a useful innings, and more than ' Davies or Carew, taunted the bowlers with unpremeditated strokes which unfailingly caught the fieldsmen on the Davies, whose 76 was the highest score of his career, was out to au extraordinary catch by Beck at deep mld-off The ball was hit very high and Beck moved in too far, but held the catch with his hands high above his head and in the act of falling over backwards. Soon after this, Qempster misjudged a high hit by Partridge off Bell, and dropped a catch made difficult by the strong sun. It was a costly miss, for Partridge powerfully swung two successive balls from Bell over the mid-wicket boundary. Buchanan and Slaven also took part in a final assault which all but gave Rhodesia the distinction of a first innings lead. NZ. Bowling The New Zealand bowling today varied in quality from very good to . mediocre. The pitch took spin, but Bell, the only genuine spinner, was unable to turn the ball quickly enough to be very effective, and the faster gbowlers obtained much more assistance. Blair had to bowl with the old 1 'ball, and could do little in the air or 1 off the pitch, but he kept firing the j ball into the pitch, and even from a 1 good length made it lift satisfactorily, s Overton also was quite lively. ' Dempster, bowling into the wind, 1 was accurate, and Bell’s bowling was , not nearly as inaccurate as his figures i might suggest. 1 It was again left to Reid to do most . of the effective work. After he had ’ kept wicket competently, he was re- , placed behind the stumps by Sutcliffe i when play was resumed after the rain had stopped in the mid-afternoon. He immediately took a wicket which broke the longest partnership of the innings. In a later spell he took another, and he finished the innings with the first ball after ’the new ball had been taken. The ball which dismissed Carew might have bowled anyone. It , pitched about middle and leg and 1 fairly flashed through to take the off { field Beck was outstanding ! far eagerness, speed and a long accur- f •te throw. Fifteen minutes before the : end, however, he pulled a muscle and . fatf to leave the field. Sutcliffe, too, ; •Id. well as wicket-keeper. He has - one previous similar apjgfafaema match between Otago 1

and Central Districts a few years ago. He then did not concede a single bye in an innings of 399 and took four catches. Today he once allowed a bye, but his stumping of Harris was as quick and efficient as could be. Scores were:

NEW ZEALAND First Innings G. O. Rabone, b Slaven .. ..18 B. Sutcliffe, c Harris, b Partridge .. 47 M. E. Chapple, b Buchanan .. .. 51 J. R. Reid, c Harris, b Mansel .. 20 L S. M. Miller, lbw, b Mansell .. 10 M. B. Poore, c Coventry, b Partridge 21 J. R. F. Beck, lbw, b Partridge .. 53 E. W. Dempster, c Harris, b Slaven .. 0 R. W. Blair, not out .. .. .. 11 W. Bell, lbw, b Slaven .. ♦. 4 G. W. Overton, c Harris, b Slaven .. 0 Extras (byes 4, no-ball 1) «. 5 Total .. .. 240 Fall of wickets: one for 65, two for 65, three for 107, four for 136, five for 156, six for 216, seven for 219, eight for 225, nine for 236. Bowling: Partridge, 22 overs, 2 maidens. 56 runs, 3 wickets; Coventry, 3, 0. 10, 0; Slaven, 2, 97, 4; Mansell, 12, 2, 42, 2; Buchanan, 6,2, 21, 1. RHODESIA First Innings A. J. Pithey, c Reid, b Blair .. 0 J. Coventry, b Blair .. .. ..1 J. H. Wallace, c Blair, b Overton .. 12 D. J. Lewis, b Blair 26 P. F. Mansell, c Reid, b Overton .. 41 M. W. Davies, c Beck, b Bell ~ 76 B. J. Carew, b Reid .. .. ..11 C. Harris, st Sutcliffe, b Dempster .. 20 J. Partridge, b Reid .. .. ..25 J. Buchanan, not out .. ..7 R. Slaven, b Reid .. .. ..3 Extras (byes 2, leg-byes 5, no-balls 3) .. .. .. .. 10 Total .. . . .. 232

Fan of wickets: one for 1, two for 8, three for 18, four for 83, five for 87, six for 148, seven for 189, eight for 203, nine for 226, ten for 232. Bownng: Blair, 20 overs, s.maidens, 53 runs, 3 wickets; Overton, 20, 6, 52, 2; Bell, 9,1, 63, 1; Rabone, 6,0, 20, 0; Dempster, 11, 4, 18, 1;; Reid, 6.1, 2,16, 3; Sutcliffe, L 0,2, 0.

COVERING OF PITCHES “ HANDING ADVANTAGE TO AUSTRALIA ” (NZ. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, November 27. Herbert Sutcliffe, former Yorkshire and England batsman, speaking at the annual dinner of the Leeds and District Cricket League, expressed concern about the M.C.C. decision to agree to the proposal to cover pitches in Australia for test matches in 1954-55. “I feel the M.C.C. decision to agree to the covering the pitches is tantamount to handing the advantage to Australia on a plate. “Our spin bowlers and our batsmen are far superior to the Australians when batting on a wicket where the ball either swings appreciably outwards or inwards or where the ball turns from the off or from the leg,” he said. Sutcliffe said he thought the Australians on the last tour missed Bradman's prolific run-getting and wonderful capHe agreed with Hassett that the Australian batting had been without solidity and that if the matches had been played on fast wickets the results would have been entirely different. SHEFFIELD SHIELD MATCH (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 11 pan.) ADELAIDE. N0v.:28. The Newcastle spin bowler, Rob Roxby, put South Australia In a bad position in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales yesterday when he took their first three wickets at a cost to him ot South Australia WM replying to New South Wales first innings score of 482 (Briggs 58, Morris 126, Craig S 3, Miller 72; Donate four for 53). At stumps. South Australis bsd lost three wickets for 121 (L. FaveU ft).