OTAGO PLODS ON TO IST INNINGS LEAD

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31256, 31 December 1966, Page 13

OTAGO PLODS ON TO IST INNINGS LEAD

(New Zealand Press Association)

DUNEDIN.

A dreary six hours and a half of cricket, followed by a tense 15 minutes during which the home team struggled to take the lead on the first innings while wickets were tumbling quickly, marked the second day’s play between Wellington and Otago at Carisbrook.

Otago, none for 21 overnight, passed Wellington’s first innings total of 235 only 20 minutes before 6 p.m. and with two wickets in hand.

At the close it was 253 for nine wickets.

Altogether, it was a dry day’s cricket in the middle of the festive season—dry batting, dry bowling and dry field placings. The Otago batsmen did not make the slightest attempt to force the pace against an attack which seemed to bowl

more in hope than with aggression.

In the seven hours’ play Wellington’s six bowlers sent down no fewer than 155 overs while Otago scored 232 runs. The only batsman to produce real sparkle was S. N. McGregor, who continued on from the brilliant form he showed in his second innings against Canterbury, with a sparkling 56 yesterday, with five fours. He reached his 50 in 112 minutes.

The leg-spinner, B. A. Bolton, who flighted the ball well throughout his long spells of bowling without pushing it through the air quickly or being able to extract any particularly sharp turn, was Wellington’s most successful bowler.

Yesterday he bowled 46 overs to add to the five he sent down on Thursday, and has six wickets for 67 runs.

Later in the day, G. D. Alabaster batted with fine concentration, hit the loose delivery hard when he was settled in, and at the close was 62 not out. His innings was a major factor in Otago gaining a first inning’s lead. In between McGregor’s

sparkle and Alabaster’s solid performance, was an innings of monumental patience for 64 by G. M. Turner. His 50 came up in 258 minutes, and he was at the wickets for more than five hours. WELLINGTON First Innings ... ... 235

OTAGO First Innings K. Ibadulla, b Hopkins 14 G. D. Beer, c Neely, b Bolton 30 G. M. Turner, c Neely, b Morgan 64 S. N. McGregor, c and b Bolton 56 R. Hendry, lbw, b Bolton 0 G. D. Alabaster, not out .. 62 R. W. Hutchison, b Bolton 4 J. C. Alabaster, b Bolton .. 8 R. V. Webster, run out .. 3 F. J. Cameron, lbw, b. Bolton 2 B. D. Milburn, not out .. 1 Extras (byes • 3, leg-byes 4, no-ball 1, wide 1) .. .. 9 Total (for 9 wickets) 253 Fall of wickets: one for 36, two for 54, three for 138, four for 140, five for 200, six for 215, seven for 223, eight for 227, nine for 239. Bowling 0. M. R. W Huxford ... 29 11 51 0 Hopkins ..26 13 38 1 Redmond .. 30 17 31 0 Murray 21 12 20 0 Bolton ... 51 23 67 6 Morgan . 25 12 37 1