CLUE TO SHIELD CAPTAINCY? Dowling To Lead Canterbury XI

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31230, 30 November 1966, Page 19

CLUE TO SHIELD CAPTAINCY? Dowling To Lead Canterbury XI

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

A pointer to the leadership of Canterbury’s

Plunket Shield team this summer is given by the appointment of G. T. Dowling as captain of the side which will play Motueka on Sunday and Monday. Dowling, unavailable for representative cricket last season, was vice-captain of the 1965 New Zealand touring team overseas. A meeting of the emergency committee of the Canterbury Cricket Association made the appointment last evening.

Last season Canterbury was led by B. F. Hastings, captain of the West ChristchurchUniversity team. Dowling was Canterbury captain in the three seasons before that.

The Motueka match was expected to be a trial for a probable shield team, but for a variety of reasons, a considerable number of players from the representative training squad were not available Among the more notable absentees from the team chosen are K. Thomson, B.

Andrews. J. T. Ward, .1. W. Burtt, and M. L. Ryan. The match will be played on Sunday (starting at 12.30 p.m.) and Monday (starting at 10 a.m.). The Canterbury team is: G. T. Dowling (captain), C. L. Bull, B. F. Hastings, C. J. Stevens, B. G. Hadlee, B. R. Taylor, R. C. Motz, B. ]Sherwood, J. M. Mclntyre. B. C. Irving and D. G. Trist. Ward’s Understudy Isherwood is a promising left-hand batsman and wicketkeeper. He is possibly being groomed to be Ward’s understudy, as last season’s wicketkeeper, G. W. Henry, will be in Dunedin next year. Trist has done well in his first senior season for West Christchurch-University. He is a right-arm bowler of lively medium pace. Stevens, yet to win a Plunket Shield cap, is an aggressive right-hand batsman who has been in particularly convincing form. The selected team is a likely combination and if some of those included cannot be certain of Plunket Shield places, outstanding form against the well-per-formed Motueka team would make it difficult to leave them out.