Story-Book Ending For Vivian

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30675, 15 February 1965, Page 7

Story-Book Ending For Vivian

Graham Vivian, who will become 19 years of age during the first test at Madras, must today be the envy of every cricketing youngster in New Zealand. Like his father, Mr H. G. Vivian, he was chosen for a New Zealand touring team when only 18 years of age.

His dramatic flight to Christchurch for an eleventhhour net practice before the selectors and his inclusion in the team are story-book stuff; but young Vivian has had a practical education in cricket from his father who, soon after war. put down a firstclass pitch at his home in Epsom, Auckland.

There he coached some promising young players and at about the age of five his son, with pads up to about his chest, came out to learn.

Vivian is not the first player to tour with New Zealand without previous firstclass experience. J. C. Alabaster was chosen almost from obscurity for the 195556 tour of Pakistan and India. But Vivian is not even playing senior ccirket, or senior B; he is in his club's second grade A side. Graham Vivian is also like his father in his enthusiasm for golf, but here he has already left his parent behind. He has a handicap of six, two better than his father. If the choice of Vivian was a surprise, so too was the selection of Taylor. He has had only three first-class matdies so far, and when a Tirnaru friend telephoned him yesterday, a few minutes after

file team had been announced, he reported that Taylor had been quite incapable of producing a coherent syllable. Taylor said last night things had happened so quickly, he still didn't know where he was. “It just came out of the blue,” he said. Taylor said he owed “a terrific lot to John Ward,” his South Canterbury captain, who is also in the New Zealand team. “He pointed out little things, both in my bowling and batting, and I’ve found these a tremendous help in the last two or three seasons,” said Taylor. The number of comparative newcomers is startling. Apart from Vivian and Taylor, there is Pollard, in his first representative season: Jarvis, also in his first; and Collinge, in his second. It means that the selection panel, which has striven so hard to maintain a team basically experienced, has had to start again. But it is unlikely that the experiments will be as unsuccessful as those of 1958: and it is good to think that in this touring team, there are a dozen players who should give New Zealand cricket good service for a considerable number of years.