CRICKET N.Z. TEAM LEAVES KARACHI

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27795, 21 October 1955, Page 14

CRICKET N.Z. TEAM LEAVES KARACHI

LONG JOURNEY TO BAHAWALPUR (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) KARACHI, October 19. The New Zealand cricket team left Karachi tonight on a 15-hour railway journey to Bahawalpur to play the Prime Minister’s XI. As the team received an issue of bedrolls yesterday, no-one is quite sure what the journey will be like. Since the end of the first test early on Monday afternoon, two solid practices have been held, both in the early morning. In addition, some of the team have attended practice under Abdul Aziz, a former All-India wicket-keeper, who is employed as a coach in Karachi. The Pakistan press has given a great deal of space to the first test, and Radio Pakistan broadcast a ball-by-ball description throughout except for the last 20 minutes each day. In the normal daily programme, only half an hour a day is allotted to the English-speaking programme. The commentaries were of high quality and, on the whole, press coverage has been accurate and fair. The “Times of Karachi,” describing the last day of the test, said: “Frankly no-one expected the visitors to fare so badly. Pakistan were in a very strong position, but the way the Kiwis fought in the first innings indicated that they could fight with their backs to the wall. But yesterday they looked so utterly demoralised that it seemed they had given up all hope and thrown up their hands. With the exception of Leggat and Harris, no other batsman in their team made it a life and death issue. The proverbial last-ditch fight seemed something foreign to them.” All the papers agree that New Zealand should give a better performance on turf and in the cooler weather of Lahore.