BITMEAD, DAVIES, FREEMAN SELECTED Aust. Makes 3 Changes To Strengthen Bowling

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31315, 10 March 1967, Page 15

BITMEAD, DAVIES, FREEMAN SELECTED Aust. Makes 3 Changes To Strengthen Bowling

"The Press" Special Service DUNEDIN. Australia has made three changes aimed at strengthening its bowling attack for the second test against New Zealand, which begins at Carisbrook today. They have chosen G. R. Davies and R. Bitmead, both spinners, and E. Freeman, the medium-pace bowler.

Australia has replaced, from the team which lost the first ;est at New Plymouth, A. P. Sheahan, A. Frost and P. I. Philpott.

Philpott has a cracked rib but will be available for the third test at Lancaster Park next week.

The selection o f Davies and Bitmead will strengthen Australia’s spin attack and Freeman will give some life to the new-ball bowling and the low-order batting. In a match for South Australia, Freeman scored 90, which included nine sixes ahd eight fours. The Australian team is: L. E. Favell (captain). B. C. Booth, N. C. O’Neill, P. J. Burge, K. G. Cunningham, Davies, B. N. Jarman, J. W. Gleeson, Freeman, A. Connolly, and Bitmead. Sheahan is twelfth man. Taylor Doubtful The composition of the New Zealand team will depend on a late fitness test to B. R. Taylor, the Canterbury med-ium-fast bowler and the batting hero of the first test. Taylor had the protective plaster removed from his bruised left forearm yesterday but it is still doubtful whether he will be fit enough to play.

Before the plaster was removed, Taylor’s only reaction to the injury was that his ann was “itchy.”

However, he received a painful jar when trying to bat and after the plaster was removed the arm showed a long bruise. He is to have concentrated treatment before undergoing his late fitness test.

Taylor injured his wrist in the first test at New Plymouth when he attempted to stop a powerful drive from N. C. O’Neill. Weaker Batting If the tall Canterbury man cannot play it will seriously weaken the New Zealand batting, because in four innings against the Australians so far on this tour Taylor has not failed. His 92 and 28 in the first test helped immeasurably in New Zealand’s win. The remaining 11 members of the New Zealand team reported fit and had a good work-out for three hours yesterday morning. The Australians had a busy net in the morning and, significantly, several of the legspin and faster bowlers tried their hand at off-spinning. Obviously, the Australians are developing a complex

about V. Pollard, the off-spin-ner who sliced through their second innings last Tuesday. However, their batting at the nets, looked more like a bighitting exhibition rather than a brushing up of their technique against off-spin. Low And Slow The Carisbrook pitch has been shaved of most of its grass and the Australians were very unhappy at the prospect that it would favour spin bowling. , At the worst, the pitch

might not favour positive cricket at all.

The bounce promises to be low and not fast enough to interest the quicker bowlers. Unless the pitch crumbles, the spinners may find that their turn is also low and slow. These conditions, coupled with the slow outfield, could make fast scoring difficult. Should New Zealand play the tall, left-arm bowler, R. O. Coliinge, another problem may arise. Last year there was a minor crisis during the England-New Zealand test at Carisbrook, at the inadequate width and height of the sightscreens, especially when the English left-arm fast bowler. L Jones, was in action. An inspection yesterday showed that the sightscreens might not be wide or high enough to give a good background to Collinge’s delivery or, perhaps, Taylor’s.