MOTZ OUT OF SQUAD

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32461, 23 November 1970, Page 26

MOTZ OUT OF SQUAD

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

(By

Canterbury cricket has been struck another grievous blow—and again it is the ranks of the pace bowlers which have been reduced. R. C. Motz has withdrawn from the Plunket Shield training squad and is no longer a candidate for first-class matches this season. Motz, Canterbury’s finest allrounder since the Second World War. bowled 19 overs for Riccarton on Saturday; yesterday, his back, which was injured during the tour of England last year, felt very sore.

He intends to continue playing club cricket this summer, but he does not feel he could stand the stresses of 15 days of Plunket Shield in about three weeks, which is what Canterbury’s programme demands.

Motz nurtures hopes of resuming his first-class career next season and cricketers everywhere will hope that he can. He is only 30 years of age, and his tally of 492 wickets leaves him only 20 behind the New Zealand

record held by R. W. Blair. Motz has made no secret of his ambition to pass that mark. He holds the New Zealand record with 100 wickets in test matches and has

performed magnificently for iris province and his country. Since his first match in 1957-58, he has scored 3440 runs. This season, after recovering from an operation on his back, he has dropped his pace in his dub cricket, and he has taken 14 wickets at 13.7 runs each. This is not failure, even by Metz’s high standards, but he has not been quite as sharp In his attack as had been hoped.

There were good prospects that tn the month remaining before the first shield game, he would have benefitted by steady practice, and been a key member of the Canterbury team. Now he joins the list of Canterbury bowlers no longer available: B. R. Taylor, transferred to Wellington, N. A. Huxford, injured, D. R. Hadlee withdrawn from cricket with a back injury.