Turner fit; to open against Tasmania

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33431, 12 January 1974, Page 38

Turner fit; to open against Tasmania

I Prom D. J. CAMERON)

LAUNCESTON. There were two pieces of good news for the New Zealand cricketers when they reached Launceston yesterday to prepare for a three-day fixture against Tasmania, starting today.

(>. M. Turner, their in-! iured opener, will he able to play, and Tasmania’s leading batsman. Sadiq Mohammad, will not he able to take part in the match. Turner trained briskly yesterday afternoon as the New Zealanders relished their first taste of sunshine for the last week. He will open the batting in this match but is still rather tentative about judging his own form. “I should be able to defend," said Turner, “but my form is not very good and I would not think I could score quickly. The hand will be okay, provided I do not get a whack on it.” Sadiq, the dashing little opening batsman who made a feast of the New Zealand

bowlers during Pakistan’s tour last summer, has developed a neck complaint and did not think he was fit enough to play in a three-day game. Tasmanian officials were most concerned about Sadiq’s withdrawal. Apart from his batting, his leg-spin bowling has proved most effective, and some officials were not impressed when Sadiq’s club in Launceston asked if he might play in a one-day match this week-end. ALABASTER NAMED For the first time on this tour, New Zealand has had the luxury of having ail 15 players available for selection. Besides Turner, with his injured hand, G. D. Alabaster, the off-spinner, has recovered quickly from the broken rib he suffered at training in Melbourne 10 davs ago.

The selectors decided to rest B. Andrews, R. J. Hadlee, M. J. F. Shrimpton and J. M. Parker, and the twelfthman duties will be shared among this four. The New Zealand team is: B. E. Congdon (captain), Turner, J. F. M. Morrison, B. F. Hastings, J. V. Coney, K. O. Campbell, K. J. Wadsworth. Alabaster, D. R. Hadlee, B. L. Cairns, D. R. O’Sullivan. Congdon and Hastings are the only two to have played in every game on the tour so far.

LANCASHIRE SPINNER ■ It is difficult to judge the strength of the Tasmanian side. It was clearly defeated by New South Wales in a recent first-round match in the Gillette Cup knock-out series and has had little match experience against the Sheffield Shield sides this i summer. However, it has a handful of prominent players, especially J. Simmons, the captain and off-spinner. Simmons is from the Lancashire county jside and is coaching in ■ Northern Tasmania. Parker, the New Zealander i who plays for Worcestershire, said that Simmons was 'warmly regarded in England as a very useful off-spinner and hard-hitting batsman. B. Doolan, the Tasmanian wicket-keeper and batsman, scored a century against the Pakistanis last year, and the New Zealanders who last ; played Tasmania at Hobart

four summers ago will probably remember K. Badcock as a very useful all-rounder. The Tasmania team, with the twelfth man to be named today, is: Simmons (captain), J. Wilkinson, K. Thompson, L. Appleton, P. Roberts, R. Panitzki, A. Bennewirth, Badcock, G. Whitney, Doolan, G. Knight, M. Leedham.