Hard Cricket Match Ahead After Heavy Test Defeat

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32053, 30 July 1969, Page 19

Hard Cricket Match Ahead After Heavy Test Defeat

(From R. T. BRITTENDEN. N.Z.P.A. special correspondent)

LONDON.

The New Zealand cricketers’ next match, against Minor Counties at Lincoln today, is likely to provide the tourists with more good opposition for it was basically the same team that led the West Indies by a substantial amount in June.

New Zealand was; beaten by 230 runs in the 1 first test against England, at Lord’s.

F. W. Millett, the Minor Counties captain, is a fine batsman who scored a century against the West Indies and this distinction was also achieved by G. J. Saville, a former Essex player. The most dangerous bowlers are likely to be S. H. Young, a tall right-hander of fast-medium pace, and R L Jefferson, another tall righthander, formerly of Cambridge and Surrey.

The Minor Counties team is: Millett, J. A. Sutton, Saville, P. A. Shippey, M. Masiin, R. Inglis, H. J. Bailey, Young, W. J. Lawry, Jefferson and D. C. Wing.

DIFFICULT PITCH In the best of conditions New Zealand would have had a desperate struggle to match England’s test side, mainly because the bowling and fielding of the home side are both first-class and, on the evidence of the first test and matches with the West Indies, England’s batsmen are considerably superior. At Lords, where New Zealand lost the test on Monday, the match was played on a pitch quite out of character! for this lovely ground. As' might be expected, such con-1

ditions inflated the differences between the teams.

The great value of lefthanded batsmen was demonstrated by J. H. Edrich in England’s second innings. STILL PUSHING England would have done far better than New Zealand on the last day had it been batting because it has the ability to kill the ball with a defensive stroke. Many New Zealand batsmen are still pushing the bat through at the ball when they are meaning to do no more than stop it

G. M. Turner showed the value of experience in England in his great defensive innings. His colleagues will have to learn.

Attendances at the match totalled nearly 50,000, which was satisfactory, but the crowds were not given much batting to admire, largely because of the pitch. GREAT BOWLING

The sharp skills of D. Underwood demolished New Zealand’s top and middle batting. Bowling superbly on a pitch which gave him turn and erratic bounce, he won the finest figures of his test career with seven wickets for 32.

But New Zealand had its hero, too. Turner battleu it out with England’s bowlers for four hours and a quarter

to become the first New Zealander to bat right through a test innings. He scored 43 not out of New Zealand’s 131.

The English cricketers believe Underwood to be perhaps the most dangerous bowler in test cricket when the pitch helps him as it did then—although it was by no means impossible. Turner’s effort and those of the last three New Zealanders pointed to the inadequacies of New Zealand’s chosen batsmen in this situation.

It was significant that those batsmen who were decisive in defence and went right forward or back did better than those caught halfway. It was a disappointing display by New Zealand but Underwood would certainly have tested the best in the world. Last summer be took seven wickets for 50 in an innings against Australia and he is extremely hard to combat when the conditions suit him.

LIGHT VARIED There can be no excuses for the New Zealand failure against Underwood, who was supported by splendid fielding. England did not drop a catch, but there was often difficulty with the light which varied from poor to bad. There were three umpire consultations and once play was suspended for nearly half an hour through a combination of bad light and rain. Still, New Zealand should have gone further than 131 and have the match over with a day and nearly half an hour to spare. Turner, at 22, is the youngest player to have batted right through a test innings, and

only the second player to have done it on his first test appearance at Lord’s.

R. C. Motz played soundly and safely for his 23 and hit some splendid strokes off A. Ward, including two leg glances and a back-foot cover drive, all for four. He was in for 42 minutes while 28 was added.

D. R. Hadlee also batted extremely well, being decisive and pure of line in defence and hitting boldly into the open spaces. He took 14 from Underwood by hitting straight and this was another important lesson.

H. J. Howarth, too, defended soundly for nearly half an hour before Ward came back in light which was still anything but good, and bowled him.

BOWLING CRITICAL The New Zealand captain, G. T. Dowling, after the test ended was clearly displeased with the pitch. Edrich, he said, was the only batsman in the match to master the bowling and Underwood would, he thought, like to take the pitch around with him, not so much because of the spin it offered, but because of its variable bounce.

“It was too bad to be true, especially at Lord's and for a test match,” said Dowling. “I hope we don’t see a repetition in other tests or at Lord’s again because the game will only suffer." Asked if he would classify the pitch as unsatisfactory in his match report, Dowling said it could be assumed he would. ENGLAND First Innings ... „o Second Innings . ~. 340 NEW ZEALAND First Innings .. k . ug Second Innings G. M. Turner not out 43 G - L O«wllna c Knott b Ward 4 B. E. Congdon c Fletcher b Underwood 17 B. F. Hastings c Knott b Underwood 0 V. Follard lbw b Underwood 0 M. G. Burgess lbw b Under-

wood* 4 8. R. Taylor b Underwood 0 K. J. Wadsworth b Underwood 5 R. C. Motz c Knott b Underwood 23 D. R. Hadlee c Sharps b D'Oliveira .. w H. J. Howarth b Ward .. 4 Extras (byes 5, leg-byes 4, no-balls 1) .. 10 Total 131

Fall of wickets: one for S, two for IT, three for 45, four for 45, five for 47, Six for ST, seven for 73, eight for 101, nine for 125. BOWLING

0 M R W Ward 10.5 0 48 2 0. Brown 5 3 6 0 D. T. Underwood 31 18 32 7 B. B. Knight .. 3 1 5 1 B. D'Oliveira .. « 3 0 1 it. Illingworth U 9 24 0