Heads Over Tails

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30776, 14 June 1965, Page 1

Heads Over Tails

[From R. T. BRITTENDE.N. N.Z.P.A Special Correspondent 1

TAUNTON, June 13.

Throughout New Zealand's tour of England, the captain, J. R. Reid, has been calling heads whenever opposing captains have tossed the coin —except when a halfcrown is being used. Reid subscribes to a widely-held belief that the half-crown turns up tails more often than heads for reasons it would need a professor of ballistics to explain.

And New Zealand, for six matches on end, had lost the toss.

On Saturday, when C. R. M. Atkinson walked out with Reid to inspect the Taunton pitch they

talked of hours of play and other relevant matters.

Before Reid realised what had happened Atkinson had the coin in the air. Reid quickly asked him what it was and Atkinson said he had used a half-crown. In his haste Reid made the wrong call, naming heads. This was the one toss he won. And as Atkinson stopped to recover the coin they both discovered it was a florin. And, of course, subsequent events showed that it was a singularly unfortunate toss to win. On a very lively pitch New Zealand lost its first five wickets for 15.