N.Z. MAKES DISMAL START TO INNINGS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30066, 26 February 1963, Page 14

N.Z. MAKES DISMAL START TO INNINGS

Knight And Parfitt Had Added To Task

(From Our Own Reporter)

AUCKLAND, February 25.

To suggest that New Zealand had had its difficult moments in test cricket might be something of an understatement, but it had seldom been in such a depressing position as it was at Eden Park today when it lost three wickets for seven runs in reply to England’s score of 562 for seven wickets declared.

When play ended an hour early because of failing light, New Zealand had improved to the extent of having 66 runs for four wickets, but something startling will have to happen if another record—for the dimensions of defeat —is not to be added to those set today.

England's total is the highest ever made in a test against New Zealand, and the batsmen primarily responsible—B. R. Knight and P. H. Parfitt—shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 240 which is the best for that wicket in all England’s tests.

On Saturday, K. F. Barrington and M. C. Cowdrey bad scored 186 together, a record for the fourth wicket for England against New Zealand. It was a day out today for the statistician.

Calm assurance supported by a steady flow of attractive strokes gave Knight and Parfitt a steady stream of runs. Yet before play began, players on both sides were startled to find what had happened to the pitch in Sunday’s warm sunshine. On Saturday morning's soft turf, R. C. Motz end F. J. Cameron had dug very deep footholds and those made by Motz had dried out into a considerable area of hard, jagged ridges. One of New Zealand's greatest batsmen said he bad never seen such dangerous footmarks, for the broken

piece, about the size of a breakfast tray, began only a couple of inches outside the right-hander’s leg stump. The batsmen seemed very depressed about it all, but in fact it was hit only once all through the day. None of the New Zealand pace bowlers went round the wicket to bowl at the patch, and the leg-spinner, J. C. Alabaster, the man most likely to find it useful did not have an over to try to find it, evidently preferring to have the wind at his back.

The broken area was perhaps a little too far up for the bowlers’ liking, but a more persistent effort to use it might have been warranted. The teams are: England: E. R. Dexter (captain), M. C. Cowdrey, D. 8. Sheppard, R. Illingworth, K. F. Barrington, B. R. Knight, P. BL Parfitt, F. J. Titinns, J. T. Murray, L. J. Coldwen, F. D. Larter. New Zealand: J. R. Reid (captain), G. T. Dewttng. W. R. Playle, R. W. Sinclair, R. C. Mota, 3. T. Sparling. B. W. Yniie, J. C. Alabaster, F. J. Cameron, P. T. Barton, A. E. Dick. Bowlers Short Moot of the New Zealand bowlers were too often short of a length today, and with their inability to make any sort of use of the footmarks, they did not provide the England batsmen with a very severe test An exception was Mots, who bowled well Knight and Parfitt found the ban coming through nicely, and they gave a lovely

display of stroke-making and of running between the wickets, as Barrington and Cowdrey had done. Parfitt, less flamboyant than his partner, wears his cap like a jockey, and he looked a winner all day. He had the solidity expected of a regular county batsman, but with it more than a hint of the elegance of the best left-handers. He drove handsomely, cut easily, and placed the ball prettily on the on-side. Knight, who has a limited back-lift, nevertheless played some of the best-looking strokes of the thatch. The best of them were his straight drives, tremendously bard hits, but made most elegantly. They went on together, without a trace of hustle or anxiety, and the runs came' tumbling out of their cornucopia. The rhythm of their batting was seldom disturbed, and if there was never any scoring at break-neck speed, the runs flowed steadily at better than one a minute. By lunch, they had taken the score from 328 to 462, without giving the fieldsmen any respite or the bowlers any encouragement The figures help tell the story. The time for England’s hundreds were 150 minutes, then 100, then 97, then 87, then 88, with the last 62 runs being made in 38 minutes. The bowlers—always excepting Motz—looked helpless. Knight and Parfitt made 100 together in 85, their second hundred in 84, and they batted 215 minutes for their 240 runs. Knight, considerably the faster scorer for most of the time, was only 149 minutes in reaching his century. Credit to Motz Motz deserved much credit for his performance today. On an unresponsive pitch be bowled ouite fast and with far better direction than he did on Saturday morning. He was the only bowler able to contain the batsmen. Cameron lacked life and length, and even Reid was far below his usual high standard. The spinners looked Innocuous.

Reid again had difficulty with his bowling timetables. A new ball was available at 400. some 40 minutes before lunch, but he had no-one to take it. Motz had bowled for an hour and a quarter from the start and he had to be rested, so it was not until 10 minutes before the interval that he was able to come back.

But however deficient the New Zealand bowling looked, the fielding was again magnificent. with Sinclair making some incredible saves. The only two chances missed were hardly chances at all, and cost few runs.

When 117, Knight cut Cameron fiercely. Playle achieved a minor miracle in knocking

the ball up. but he could not retain It. Even more extraordinary was the effort Held made to catch Knight from a powerful wining drive. The ball was swerving away from Beid a little, and it was yards wide on his left, but he took off in an incredible horizontal dive with his left arm fully at the stretch. He gathered the bail In cleanly and with absurd ease, but as he fen his left elbow hit first and jogged the ball from his hand. New Zealand also deserved credit for Its contribution to the entertainment in its bowling rate. On Saturday It was a shade more than 20 overs to the hour, and today it was a little under.

Heavy Demands New Zeeland’s early loss of wickets could not be excused, but it can be understood. After chasing the ball about for the best part of two days, having such a huge score to meet, and going out. after 10 minutes, to face fresh and eager bowlers makes unusual demands on a batsman.

Playle pushed rather weakly at one from Larter and gave Dexter an easy catch at backward square. Barton started well enough, but was beaten by a slower one from Lai'er He tried to stop his shot, but succeeded only in pushing an easy catch to silly mid-on. Dowlinc rot a food one which hurried through and hit the off stump. At seven for three wickets. Dexter was probably looking at New Zealand’s record of 58. But Beid and Sinclair, in a partnership worth S 3 in under an hour batted sensibly and well.

Sinclair, cutting with expert grace, looked a form batsman until he mistimed a pull in Turn us’s first over and gave Coldwell. 30 yards away at square leg the easiest of catches. Held played only one indiscreet stroke, an attempted drive which missed. Otherwise he was tn wonderfid form, although he took two or throe hard knocks from Larter who. rather disturbinrfy, was able to make the ball get up from a length. There were two great sixes by Beid. ColdweS dropped only one ball short, and Reid was on to the hook in a flask The second six waa off a no-

baU from Larter, a magnificent high hit over mid-wicket, landing yarda beyond the boundary. Before Sinclair was out the light beneath the lowering skies was poor and Reid appealed successfully at 5 p.m. As the players left the field the rain came • sweeping in, an appropriate sort of curtain fall for the New Zealanders.