Chee had uphill struggle to N.Z. softball honours

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32219, 11 February 1970, Page 11

Chee had uphill struggle to N.Z. softball honours

W'HEN the Papanui A and Canterbury third baseman, C. I. Chee, takes the field for New Zealand against the touring Arizona All Stars at English Park on Saturday, It will be the climax of his softball careerone in which he has had more than his share of reversals.

Chee, who will also travel to Auckland for the fourth and fifth tests on Sunday is the first Canterbury player to attain full national honours against an overseas side. R. M. Bennett, the Kaiapoi and New Zealand Army all-rounder, played against the San Antonian (Texas) team at Christchurch in February. 1968, but that was for a New Zealand southern zone selection.

But the 27-year-old Chee must consider himself somewhat fortunate to win a place in the team after only a fair inter-provincial Beatty Cup tournament at Invercargill recently. Playing in a Canterbury team which contested the B section and eventually finished second to Otago for the Headifen Memorial Trophy, Chee had little chance to show the national selectors that, as a batsman, he could handle the deliveries of the country’s leading pitchers. However, in the main trial he did hit P. Roberts (Otago), who also struck him out twice, and A. J. W. Prescott (Canterbury), safely, to average .500 for the game, a performance which must have satisfied the selectors. Before the tournament, Chee would have been ranked below third baseman of the calibre of P. F. Rodgers (Auckland), C. E. Phillip (Wanganui), both of whom participated in the

world championships of 1966 and 1968, and C. Ward (Wellington), and must be elated with his swift rise in softballing stature. However, Rodgers was unavailable, Wanganui withdrew its team and even the effervescent Ward could consider himself fortunate to gain selection after showing mediocre form with the bat at Invercargill. Chee, who has been a regular member of the Canterbury team since 1965 (excluding the 1967-68 season, when he was unavailable), began his career with the now defunct Avon Royals club.

His interest then turned to cricket and he became a member of the Technical College First XI, only returning to softball in 1962 at the age of 19. Although he did not play in the 1967-68 Beatty Cup at Auckland, Chee was available for Papanui in the New Zealand inter-club John Lennon championships at Wellington, and a good performance there was rewarded with a New Zealand trial at Trentham. His blossoming career was abruptly threatened last season however, when a knee injury in the second game (against Hawke’s Bay) put him out for the remainder

of the Beatty Cup tournament at Hutt Valley. But he appears to have made a good recovery.

Chee has good reason to remember two of his many representative appearances, but for very different reasons. The first was against Southland, when it beat Canterbury, 2-0, to win the Headifen Memorial Trophy in the 1966-67 Beatty Cup tournament at Christchurch. “Facing Garth Tattersfield, I was so nervous I missed the coach’s signal— I was supposed to bunt and instead was struck out,” Chee recalled. "The coach (Mr W. Anderton) dragged me for that. Ever since I’ve tried to relax in the batter’s box and always watch the signals,” he said. Softball is a game in which the coach is involved in every play, and in spite of this unhappy incident, Chee still regards Mr Anderton as the best coach he has played under. On a happier note was Canterbury’s great 12-1 win over the touring San Antonian team in 1968, in which Chee got a remarkable four safe hits in the five innings played. “I think they underestimated us and were probably a little tired,” he said. “But

they should still have played far better than they did.” Chee, who throws righthanded, but bats in the lefthanded “natural position” which gives him an advantage in the race to first-base, is also one of the finest base stealers in the game. As the lead-off batter in most of the teams in which he plays, Chee uses his great speed in attempting to force an error. His other sporting interests include soccer, in which he was an under 20 Canterbury representative and a member of the Technical senior side for three years, until 1967. He was also a member of the former A grade men’s basketball team Orients. Colin Chee's three brothers, Allan (aged 29), Bruce (28), and Douglas (22) have all represented Canterbury at softball. Bruce and Douglas are both members of the leading Papanui A team. Allan now plays for Porirua in the Wellington competition. A sister, Anne, has been a member of the Spreydon senior women’s team for several seasons. Chee has set an example which others must attempt to emulate, especially with the next world championship in the Philippines only two years away.