SHELL CRICKET SERIES New pace bowlers have vital roles to play

Press, 14 December 1977, Page 20

SHELL CRICKET SERIES New pace bowlers have vital roles to play

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

Th Feoruary. 1921 Canterbury's cridtet team made its first visit to Inv e r c a r g i I I, to play Southland, then a firstclass province. The already mature Reg Read had match figures of 14 wickets for 59. No such spectacular Canterbury success can be expected when Canterbury plays its second first-class match at Invercargill, against Otago, on Friday . Canterbury has a good side, the Otago team contains rather fewer illustrious names; but Otago, in the last few seasons, has given clear evidence of a will, a fighting spirit, which would make mockery of any computerised assessment of the likely result. What the computer certainly could not announce is how the Queen’s Park pitch will play. There hat e been widely varying results there in recent • ears, with batting sprees and debacles. But Canterbury — if all its members are fully fit — is quite well-equipped to cope with almost any situation. It has good pace bowling, a right-hand leg-spinner and a left-arm orthodox spinner. Otago is also well-var-ied in its bowling. It has

three seamers, a left-arm spinner, and an offspinner. With the omission through injury of Richard Hadlee. Canterbury’s depth in batting has been decreased, but it remains an experienced and attractive batting line-up. It seems likely that the twelfth man will be either Tony Collins or Barry Hadlee. After the openers there are Bevan Congdon. Murray Parker, the aggressive Paul McEwan. Maurice Ryan. David Stead and Davie Hadlee, who will probably be at number eight. It is a list which holds exciting prospects, although it may lack all the soundness of some previous Canterbury teams. And the pace bowling, for so long a Canterburystrength. includes two newcomers to first-class cricket — Harvey King and lan Wilson. King, young and strong has considerable potential and Wilson, who has done so much for Sydenham with his left-arm bowling, is a good choice as a substitute for Richard Hadlee. Last Saturday he bowled splendidly — on a helpful pitch, to be sure.

But he made the most of it, and there seems now to be no concern about his habit of getting too close to the forbidden area in

his follow-through. He has certainly earned his chance, the hard way. The hard-headedness and determination of Dayie Hadlee, and the experience of Bevan Congdon. should provide a sound platform from which the two new bowlers may operate. With the steadily improving

Stephen Boock and the variation provided by Stead’s leg-breaks. Canterbury has a very useful attack. Otago's batting looks vulnerable, but it has depth too. The brothers Wayne and Bruce Blair, Stewart McCullum. Warren Lees, Keith Campbel) and Lance Cairns give it an aggressive look. Brian McKechnie, not long back from the Al! Blacks tour, may be a little lacking in match practice, but he is a very useful all-rounder. Cairns did not bowl very well in the inter-island match; Graeme Thomson, the leftarmer,.did. They make a formidable pair. Add to them the successful off-spinner, Peter Petherick. and the left-arm spinner Chris Kirk — who was most impressive in Otago’s Gillette Cup match with Canterbury — and Otago has a bowling combination which earns respect. A good start to the Shell Series is important, if not imperative. It will be a keenly-fought, probably a close contest, but perhaps Canterbury's determination to crown its centennial year will carry it through.