Stoic batting in N.Z. innings

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 32

Stoic batting in N.Z. innings

Bv

R. T. BRITTENDEN

Cricket, like an intelligent woman, retains a little mystery and a few surprises, even for its most ardent lover.

At 4 p.m. yesterday New Zealand had roseate , visions of a spectacular victory in the cricket test with Australia. At 5 p.m., a New Zealand defeat seemed inevitable. At 6.20 p.m. the match was drawn—eight wickets down, and 56 runs separating the sides after five days of splendid competition. This was the basic timetable for a train which sometimes raced at express speed, I which sometimes chugged; painfully uphill, and which ■ always seemed to be respond- 1 ing to the commands of a whimsical signalman who wished to make it a mystery trip. Bevan Congdon, one of the first to board it on its last run yesterday, was there at the terminus. At 39, he is almost certainly the senior player in test cricket today: but in making 107 not out, and thus equalling Glenn Turner's New Zealand record of seven test centuries, he displayed all his old skill and tenacity. His was a magnificent contribution to a New Zealand recovery which began late on the third day with the batting partnership between Jock Edwards and Hedley Howarth. Congdon was the pivot of the New Zealand batting yesterday. He was first a main springboard for an attack on the Australians, then the principal bastion of defence. What a wonderful centennial celebration this was for him —a century, in his hundredth test innings. Not everything was quite so well ordered, as New Zealand, 12 without loss, set off after the 338 additional runs required in six hours. There was a fine opening stand of 70 between Turner and Geoff Howarth. But they both departed at the same score. John Parker and Congdon added 58 in little more than an hour, and in the next 83 minutes Congdon and Mark Burgess put on 75. So at tea New Zealand, 203 for three, needed 147 from what seemed certain to be 27 overs—with so many wickets in hand, by no means an impossible task. New Zealand’s prospects seemed to hinge on whether Congdon and Burgess could stay together for perhaps another hour, and score at something like a run a minute, so that the vigorous little Jock Edwards could come in with no spectre of defeat to inhibit his batting. It was not to be. Burgess, who again batted beautifully, was out 20 minutes after tea: Edwards lasted half an hour, and in the next 30 minutes another three wickets fell to the fast bowling of Dennis

Lillee and the skilful seam attack of Max Walker.

When Dayle Hadlee came in, 11 of the final statutory 15 overs were left for a highriding Australian attack to claim the last two wickets. But for the second time in the match, Hadlee found the cool courage and the character to ride out the storm. This last battle was hardfought, for nearly an hour; but the Australians, in the final analysis, could blame their fielding for not winning .the match. Earlier in the [game, a few direct chances I had been missed and some very hard ones had not been taken. Yesterday, Congdon, on 79, cut Greg Chappell to Rick McCosker, but a straightforward catch was put, to ground. At 85, in the fifth of the last 15 overs, a weary bat followed a Lillee outswinger, and Gary Gilmour at third slip put down a relatively simple one.

That was the last major mistake Congdon made; but these were expensive errors.

Like the fielding — often brilliant — the bowling of the Australians was a mixture. In the opening hour, what was expected to be a bowling rocket from Lillee was not much more than a sparkler. Walker, a great competitor, was lacking in line and length. To be sure, they both bowled good balls, but they did not put the batsmen under sustained pressure.

Later in the day, Lillee although not at his full pace, regained his hostility, and Walker, in an utterly admirable spell of sustained accuracy, took out the middle order! batting expertly. Walker, in partnership with Chappell, halted the New Zea-| land advance and, having stated clearly that the runs could not be made, brought] an Australian victory into 1 sight. Walker had 19 consecutive overs, in them taking four for 46 — length, line, sharp movement went into a great spell of bowling. He had a] knack of getting the ball, now and then, to rear sharply. John Parker fell to one 1 of these, as Congdon had done in the first innings. But. erhaps the key to the

h ' performance was Ker-y O’Keeffe, the Australian spinner. It seemed at day’s beginning that he would be the principal danger for IT" ,v Zealand. At each end, there were footmarks, more than useful to him in length and line. It seemed likely that he would go round the wicket at some stage, to find them the moi readily. Leg-breaks, top-spinners, the googlic and the off-break were in his repetoire. And after conceding three runs from four anxious overs, he had Turner caught and

bowled, the ball, evidently pitching in the broken ground, sitting up sharply. He was on again straight after lunch, with the fate of the match, it seemed, in his supple spinning fingers. But Congdon was as conscious as everyone else of the danger, and his response probably sav'-i the match. He took 13 in one over from O’Keeffe. Three overs later Burgess hit three fine fours in one of the spinner’s overs. O’Keeffe was withdrawn, and he did not come back until the tenth of the last 15 overs. These brief asaults by Congdon and Burgess were worth far more than the runs they brought.