BOWLING THRASHED

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30768, 4 June 1965, Page 15

BOWLING THRASHED

They were guilty of riotous living at Bradford yesterday when Yorkshire hammered, thrashed and snicked its way to 419 in six hours on the first day of its match against New Zealand.

On a stone and brick dirt ground which looks rather like an extensive prison exercise yard, the New Zealand bowling was hit in all sorts of obvious and unintended directions; it was all like a variety show into which some first-class concert artists occasionally strayed. There must have been misgivings among the clothcapped spectators as Yorkshire rollicked its way along at better than a run a minute but the younger generations enjoyed it all immensely. New Zealand had a chance of pushing its opponents offstage for the pitch in the morning favoured its principal bowlers. Too Much Bad Bowling

But with the weird mixture of good and bad batting there was an extraordinary range of levels in bowling, too, and far too much of it was bad

In all. the batting revelry produced 59 fours and nine sixes, for after Close was done Trueman. fresh from a committee meeting at which he had been severely reprimanded for his latest ’misdemeanour, clumped liis way to 80 in 50 minutes. Hutton also brightened the day with his 62 in 8S minutes.

There seemed little prospect of Yorkshire reaching such a

splendid score when its batsmen were struggling desperately in the first hour. The pitch was a peculiar one, rather mossy in texture and from it the ball lifted during the morning quite high although not quickly.

Missed The Bus But the bowlers’ principal ally was the atmosphere which allowed them to swing the ball late and before the match was properly under way Yorkshire had lost two for nine. But in the period before lunch New Zealand missed the bus rather badly. There were some magnificent deliveries from Taylor but even when he was troubling the batsman most he was anything but steady. At the other end Motz, who was not well, bowled too many at which the batsmen did not have to play.

A last minute change had been made in the team, Cameron being replaced by Yuile because the pitch may become a turner, but Cameron’s control was sadly missed. Midnight Revellers

Before lunch the New Zealand bowlers should have made the batsmen play every ball but loose stuff was mixed w’ith good and by lunch the county, at 115 for four, had emerged from trouble rather like midnight revellers picking their way through a minefield.

In the afternoon there was no swing, and the spin bowlers were hit with the greatest of ease and only Reid, who did not take a wicket, bowled well. But for the New Zealand bowlers it was a day as frustrating as it was unproductive. Classical Drives

Close drove square and straight with tremendous power and distinctive style but he mishit a dozen times, more usually off Reid who beat him repeatedly. All the others who added substantially to the score had several large s-lices of luck. Trueman has a flair for improvisation which permits him to flail vigorously without any real Liaison with his feet. Yet this same schizophrenic batsman sometimes brought off

cover drives of a beauty one might call classical had they been made by someone else. Hutton’s innings was perhaps the best of the day for he middled the ball regularly and his straight and on-driving of Motz was masterful. He played many other good strokes and so rather surprisingly did Binks. The stark figures of Yorkshire’s progress tell the tale of New Zealand's bowling collapse. Sharpe and Close scored 42 together in 35 minutes and other major partnerships were Close and Illingworth, 54 in 52 minutes; Close and Hutton, 113 in 88; Trueman and Binks, 76 in 50; Binks and Wilson, 62 in 27 minutes of applied violence. Disturbing Display Close took only three hours over his century and from the time New Zealand took the second new ball at 271 Yorkshire made 148 runs in 24 overs. The last wicket fell only two or three minutes before the close of play. But while the New Zealanders had their share of misfortune, and while credit must be given to Yorkshire for its recovery and the many great strokes played while the turning tide was converted into a flood of runs, it remained a disturbing performance by New Zealand.

To be hit for a score in excess of 400 in a day, no matter what the circumstances, was not in keeping with a touring team playing a county side—although Yorkshire which has never lacked confidence in its cricket will no doubt see it as perfectly just and proper.