WEAKNESSES APPARENT N.Z. still needs improvements

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32869, 18 March 1972, Page 46

WEAKNESSES APPARENT N.Z. still needs improvements

(From D. J. CAMERON. N.Z.P.A. special correspondent)

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados).

All the praise that has been lavished on the New Zealanders, and the scorn that has been heaped upon the West Indians after the second test at Port of Spain should not disguise one fact —the New Zealanders still need to improve if they are to draw or win this test series.

Those heady moments on the last day, when New Zealand had the West Indies scrambling to avoid defeat, were a tremendous boost to the tourists’ morale which had been heavily dented in the first test.

But the recovery that put the side in a strong position was started only by the shocking catching of the West Indians, and New Zealand cannot expect such liberal good fortune again.

If one of the numerous catches offered by B. ECongdon had been accepted before he was 60, New Zealand would have been lucky to reach 200, and even luckier to avoid a big defeat, New Zealand is not likely to receive such good fortune in the coming tests. Also the West Indies, having had some of their superconfidence knocked out of them bv the narrow escape at Port of Spain, should become much tougher-minded in the remaining three tests. All the talk of moraleboosting in the New Zealand side does not cover up the fact that there are weaknesses in the team structure. Back injury The major worry is, naturally enough, the back injury and concurrent loss of form bv the captain. G. T. Dowling. There is no more conscientious or determined player than Dowling, but the plain facts are that his back is a continual problem which worries him. and that it has affected his plav considerably. He will not play in the Barbadoes match, and should not play in the third test, but it is very Important to the New Zealand effort that he be fit enough for the fourth and fifth tests. In the 1969 toui of England the New Zealanders suffered so many serious middleinnings collapses that they attracted the nickname of "Dowling’s Doughnuts"—substantial in the extremities, but with a hole in the middle. In recent matches, the batting of G. M. Turner, B. C. Congdon, and M. G. Burgess, at the top of the list, has been wonderful, while lower

down, K. J. Wadsworth, B. R. Taylor, R. S. Cunis and J. C. Alabaster have been excellent batting value. The batting at numbers five and six is less substantial. and too often there have been major or minor collapses there with two or three wickets falling too quickly for comfort.

After the pressure-cooker attempt to get T. W. Jarvis into form for the first test—which did not succeed —he has not found form, and unless he develops quickly as Dowling’s replacement at No. 2, Jarvis may find it hard to get back into test form. B. F. Hastings started well, but now he inevitably has to start against good-quality spin bowling, and this is not his strong suit. G. E. Vivian, after being left out of the first-class games for a month, has had only one squad innings against Trinidad. His tour development was arrested by the late start, and there may now not be enough time to work him into his best form for the tests. However. Vivian was the leader of the splendid New

Zealand fielding in the second test, and New Zealand will be the weaker if he does not keep his test position. So R. Morgan, for all his late start, could supersede Hastings and Vivian in test considerations. The pitches should suit Morgan’s style of batting, because his old weakness against the ball moving off the seam is unlikely to be exploited on these heartless pitches. The bowling has fallen more readily into test shape. Cunis and Taylor are now the obvious new-ball bowlers, until such time that there is a pitch fast and bouncy enough to give M. G. Webb a chance. H. J. Howarth and Alabaster are the essential spinners, and will be all the better for having Morgan to give them a rest.

Congdon has, in his quiet subtle way, caused the West Indians all sorts of problems, and his is now a key member of the attack. Fielding The New Zealand fielding and catching is. at least to this stage, superior to the West Indians’. All New Zealand needs now is for the centuries to come from the middle as well as the top of the innings.

Congdon and Turner have worked wonders, but they cannot be expected to bear the burden all the time.