Cricket Youth WEEKLY REVIEW

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32838, 11 February 1972, Page 15

Cricket Youth WEEKLY REVIEW

With the return to school last week of primary pupils, there was a simultaneous return to competition cricket on Saturday morning. Although it may seem that the long break between Christmas and New Year ruins the junior cricket season, such is not the case. For over the holiday period there is an almost daily dosage of cricket for the young enthusiast.

From the week prior to Christmas, when coaching and one-day matches were arranged, through the Plunket Shield series, the Brabin tournament and the Peter Philpott coaching school, young players have been given every chance to study good players in action and to subsequently emulate them under organised conditions. It would be surprising if any other major association could boast a prouder record in the administration of “cricket youth” than that of the Canterbury Cricket Association. The highlight of. the preChristmas half of the Junior Advisory Board Saturday competition was undoubtedly the excitement surrounding the selection of the Canterbury team for the primary schools’ South Island tournament. The tournament was held at St Kevin’s College, Oamaru, on excellent batting wickets and in warm sunny weather. The Canterbury team performed extremely well, winning its way through to the final, where it had the better of the 1971 winner, Nelson, in a drawn match.

Canterbury was undoubtedly handicapped by the unfortunate unavailability of the team’s most experienced all rounder Gary Smith. However, in the course of the week’s cricket there were some outstanding individual efforts. With the Bradman-like batting average of 150 runs and only one dismissal in the tournament, the West-University batsman Michael Fulham was most successful. There was some very solid batting from Martin Nicholson (East Shirley), who scored almost 200 runs in the five matches, usually capitalising on a series of substantial opening partnerships from Paul Lawson and Peter Rattray. During the tournament games Canterbury scored an average of 34 runs for each wicket. In the field the Canterbury team was equally successful. The bowling performance of the tournament was probably that of the Canterbury spinner, J. Boyle, who routed Ashburton by

taking all 10 wickets for only 37 runs. The Canterbury pace-bowler, Brent Wallcroft, gathered 14 wickets during the tournament, whiie Paul Findlay gave steady support with his medium-pace bowling. The team fielded with dedication and enthusiasm and was well led by Rattray, whose tactical decisions were positive and attacking in most situations. At the tournament’s conclusion a South Island side was selected which included three Canterbury players. The team was: C. Jackson, B. Blair (Otago), W. Hodgson, P. Marshall (Nelson), J. Boyle, M. Nicholson, M. Fulham (Canterbury), B. Robertson (North Otago), B. McCarthy (Central Otago). The idea of the South Island tournament is an excellent one and it is just a pity that the side picked after a similar North Island tournament could not somehow be matched against its South Island counterpart. Nevertheless the experience of playing in such a tournament is one to be treasured by those who have now joined the ranks of the secondary-school players; and it should surely offer

incentive to those who will continue to play in the Saturday morning grades until tournament time, 1973.