Experience abounds

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32839, 12 February 1972, Page 14

Experience abounds

Whatever New Zealand’s problems may be in the test series against the West Indies which starts next week, lack of experience is not one of them. Compared with the top New Zealand players of years ago, the present side is a collection of hardened old test veterans. C. S. Dempster. J. Cowie, R. C. Blunt, M. P. Donnelly, J. L. Kerr, T. C. Lowry —these are among the great names in New Zealand cricket. But eleven members of the New Zealand team in the West Indies have al ready played in more test matches than did any of these outstanding performers a generation ago. With so much test cricket being played today, the test records of the 1930’s and 1940’s make strange reading. Blunt played in nine tests, T. B. Burtt 10, Cowie 9, Dempster 10, Donnelly 7, W. A. Hadlee 11, K. C. James 11, Kerr 7, Lowry 7, M. L. Page 14. The current captain, G. T. Dowling, has had 37 test matches, 21 behind the record-holder J. R. Reid and five behind B. Sutcliffe. And by previous standards at least, there is a wealth of experience in the present

team. R. o. Collinge has ™ B R - Ta J' lor 20, J. C. Alabaster 19. B F Hastings 11, R. S. Cunis 15, G. M. Turner 11, M. G. Burgess 15, B. E. Congdon 31, H. J. Howarth 11, K J Wadsworth 11. Of the remainder, T. W. Jarvis ha'-

played in 6 tests, M. G. Webb in 1, G. E. Vivian in 1, K. O. Campbel] in 0. Dowling has scored 2263 test runs at an average of 32.3, a very fine performance. Burgess has 851 at 32.7, Congdon 1559 at 26.4, Hastings 620 at 34.4, Jarvis 302 at 30.2, Taylor 706 at 22.1, Turner 710 at 37.4, all of them very satisfactory records. Taylor is the leading test wicket-taker in the party. He has 62 wickets at 26.8 runs each. Cunis has taken 45 at 28.2, Collinge 47 at 27.6. Alabaster 48 at 35.8. Howarth 41 at 24.3.