TENSE, THRILLING FINISH Steady Riley And Ward Save Collapsing Side

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31880, 7 January 1969, Page 13

TENSE, THRILLING FINISH Steady Riley And Ward Save Collapsing Side

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

The records will show that Canterbury won its Plunket Shield match with Wellington by two wickets; and they will hold only the slightest hint of the stresses and tensions which kept the Lancaster Park crovyd iifsuspense for the last hour and three-quarters. s*

Canterbury appeared to have the game in fairly safe keeping when Wellington was dismissed for 154, and only 123 runs were needed for victory. After an hour, Canterbury was 57 for two, and well on the way to a comfortable win; then B. A„ Bolton, making the most of a pitch which yielded erratic bounce and considerable turn, took hold of the game and from the moment B. F. Hastings was dismissed, it was an agonising struggle.

Bolton took six wickets, one of the great achievements of his career and he gave a fascinating display of spin bowling. He is by no means a virtuoso, and he has one which goes through as his only variation from the leg-break. And he did bowl a very occasional loose one late in the innings; but his flight and direction were lures which brought Canterbury on to the rocks, and almost to shipwreck.

The score-sheet shows that the young Canterbury lefthander, J. D. Riley, scored 19 not out —by no means a startling total—yet he will play few more valuable innings j for his province. He was in an hour and a half and although frequently in difficulty, carried Canterbury through the crisis with courage and application. The win was vital to Canterbury’s shield chances, but in the hour of defeat, hearts went out to Wellington. Its two spinners, Bolton and J. F. M. Morrison, are little more than occasional bowlers, but the state of the wicket demanded that they shoulder !the burden. Once they had I made the break, they kept i Canterbury on the rack, with J the support of magnificent I fielding. Great Efforts Two of the great moments came with P. B. McGregor’s spectacular catch to dismiss B. R. Taylor, and M. J. Coles diving and skidding for yards into the fence in an effort to f cut off a boundary. >' The sharp variations in .bounce had J. M. Mclntyre on ! when Wellington’s second in-

nings was resumed, and kept him there until the innings ended. It seemed that A. E. Dick might contribute an important innings when he twice swept Mclntyre fiercely for fours, and had the Canterbury short-leg fieldsmen dropping like victims in a television fly-spray advertisement. But another essay at the stroke, and Dick was bowled round his legs. The Wellington captain, B. W. Sinclair, batted for 50 minutes with much difficulty, because of muscle injury and he departed moments after Bolton who, if seldom at ease, picked up valuable runs and finished with 41, to have top score to go with his bowling feat.

Too Late So the innings slowly disintegrated, with the aggressive H. A. Morgan a little too late, at No. 10, to do much damage. R. C. Motz was all business, bowling with life and line, and N. A. Huxford was also a problem, although he did not take another wicket. McIntyre kept the ball up, flighted it well, and had everyone in trouble with turn and bounce. P. B. McGregor, with swift footwork, hit him beautifully for six over midoff. a grand blow and in the same over was well held by Motz from a sweep—a shot, McGregor later confessed, he had not used for two years and did not propose to use again. ' When Canterbury went in after lunch, it was clear that G. T. Dowling had firm views on the necessity to get the I score moving: passive defence would certainly have put the bowlers’ tails up and made the task doubly difficult. P. G. Coman went straight away, caught from a ball, which reared viciously. But J. W. Burtt, as neat and composed as a screen lawyer reading the will, went to work with quiet efficiency, and Dowling brought off two i great shots—a four from he ! back foot off Morgan which [sent the ball thudding (through the covers, and a tremendous hook for a 4 off a bouncer by Coles.

Quick 50 At 29 Dick, who led Wellington well ip Sinclair’s absence, brought the slow lefthander Morrison on, and at 38 Dowling, still trying to assert the batsmen’s superiority, pulled him straight to G. P. Bilby. Burtt was then dropped by Murray at slip off Bolton, but Canterbury went to 30. in 55 minutes, with B. F. Hastings again in fine form.

Then Hastings was out, caught by Murray and there were some much closer than the audience who said the ball came from a boot. In the same over Bolton’s seductive flight had K. Thomson playing forward and offering a simple return catch; 59 for four, and Wellington thoroughly in the game. A tortuous half hour brought six runs, Bolton and Morrison dropping the ball on a lovely length, making it bounce awkwardly, turning it Morrison had six successive maidens, five to Burtt. He broke the spell with a cut for 2 and a drive for 4 off Morrison, but he too was beaten by Bolton's line, and bowled. Fine Footwork There was a delightful duel between Bolton and young Riley. Bolton bringing the batsman wider and wider: but Riley, with a footwork which spoke of more confidence than most young players would have possessed, covered nearly everything and picked up runs now and then with little

flicks to turn the ball with the spin. B. R. Taylor, typically, hit his first ball for 4, then swept Morrison for 4, and was brilliantly held by McGregor in the covers, from a very firm hit which had the ball only inches off the ground. That was 94 for six and R. C. Motz. drawn by Bolton's curve, tried a straight hit but the ball spun past the bat and bowled him. J. T. Ward has shown how fine a player he is in a crisis before, and he responded to the challenge again. There was spinsterish caution, but when Bolton dropped one short, a superb square cut for 4 and Canterbury reached 100. Ward drove Bolton for another 4, swept a third boundary from a loose ball, but then went, when playing a goodlooking defensive stroke: the ball lifted sharply and Murray at slip made the catch look easy. And all the while, Riley defeated every bowling wile, a tight-set field, and the tensions of the situation, but he must have aged several years. When Ward went, seven were

still needed, and two wickets remained.

It was anti-climax, perhaps, that the last six runs should come from byes, but the young 'keeper, Smith, could hardly be blamed for them, for Riley all but decapitated him with a vigorous attempt at a pull. Dick was the first to congratulate Riley who shared with Bolton chief credit in this tepse struggle, As the Duke of Wellington said of a rather betterknown battle, it was a near run thing.

Off To Fight.—The Australian feather - weight champion, Johnny Famechon, left Melbourne on Sunday for his attempt on the world title against Jose Legra in London on Janu ary 21.