Opportunities For Young In Shield Squad

Press, Volume C, Issue 29680, 25 November 1961, Page 9

Opportunities For Young In Shield Squad

TF the Canterbury Plunket x Shield team is to be selected on December 10, to allow those chosen for the Brabin tournament sufficient time to make holiday arrangements, the shield training squad may be announced this week-end. With M. E. Chapple, J. T Ward, G. T. Dowling, P. G. Z. Harris, and R. C. Metz in South Africa, there are unusual opportunities for young players to win first-class representation. But selecting the team will be a difficult task, if the leading candidates continue to show the inconsistent form of the early rounds of club matches. For the batting positions, those with the best claims are I. R. Hartland, K. Thomson, P. Truscott. B. F, Hastings, D. HUI. B. G. Hadlee, and B. A. Bolton. All these players are likely to be in the squad. But Hartland has done little since his first innings, Thomson and Hastings have been completely out of form, and Bolton’s batting has not been at its most convincing. At the start of the season J. W. Grocott and J. D. Capstick were among those who had an excellent chance of advancing their status, but neither has done enough so far to demand close attention. Another batsman who may win a place in the squad is D. G. Poulton, who is most aggressive but who needs a shade more restraint and a little more success. On figures alone, Thomson and Hastings would not be given a second thought, but fortunately provincial selectors do not work arithmetically. Both of them have considerable talents, and their failures must end soon.

There is an embarrassing number of bowlers for selection in the training squad. Some of them have excep-

tlonal results this season; others have reputations and past performances to support them. There are four lefthanders of medium pace and above who must be considered—C. R. Nicholson, W. M. Duncan, J. W. Kiddey, N. F. Curtis. Nicholson is perhaps the fastest of them, and Curtis has had only one senior match, although he made an extremely good impression in it Kiddey has bowled most ably for Canterbury for several seasons, and Duncan has shown every Saturday what accuracy allied to ability to move the ball either way can do. Of the right-hand medium-pace bowlers, C. K. Smart and A. R. Taylor have the best prospects. Both have been very successful this summer. D. J. McKendry is a slow lefthander who • may perhaps lack a little bite, but who is very steady. One of the bowling places belongs to A

R. Mac Gibbon, who has already been appointed captain of the shield team. There are at least four off-spinners who must be considered —A. G. Duckmanton, A F. Rapley (West Coast), M. Ryan, and K. R. Hignett. Duckmanton probably has the best chance, on the strength of his successes last season, but Rapdey, in his occasional appearances for Canterbury has also done well. Hignett and Ryan are both young, but both are taking Wickerts readily. However, the fact that there is a Brabin tournament and the new Rothman's under-23 tournament may resolve the selectors’ difHculties with candidates whose claims are so akin.

The only player other than Mac Gibbon to earn cotjsideration as an all-rounder is D.