Ritchie catching up on old wicket-keeping record

Press, 14 December 1977, Page 20

Ritchie catching up on old wicket-keeping record

A 49-year-old Canterbury club cricket record may well fall to the young High School Old Boys wicketkeeper, Brian Ritchie, before the end of the present season. Ritchie’s four catches behind the stumps on Saturday during the first day of the match with St

Albans took his tally for the season to 24 — just nine short of the record set in 1928-29 by Bob Burns. That year Burns effected 33 dismissals for Old Boys, the total coming from 13 catches and 20 stumpings: This he achieved in nine matches, an average of 3.3 a game. In the five completed rounds of the senior competition this season Ritchie

took 19 catches and made one stumping for a total of 20 and an average of four a match. Ritchie first donned the gloves as a third form pupil at Christchurch Boys’ High School in 1968. Late in 1969 he made his debut in the first XI and he spent the next four years as the school ’keeper, captaining the side in his final year. He joined the Old Bovs club in 1974 and for the

next two seasons was the first-choice wicket-keeper. But a loss of form and confidence last, year led to Murray Mowrt stepping in for several games, and the keeping duties were shared between them throughout the season. This year, with his confidence returned, Ritchie has been in sparkling form. He has twice taken four catches in an innings, against St Albans on Saturday' and against Sydenham in the fourth round, and looks set to challenge the record shared by Sam Guillen and Bill Burton for the number of batsmen caught in a season. Playing for the then West Christchurch club. Burton took 25 catches in 1947-48. and Guillen achieved the same number in the 1963-64 season for St Albans. The unassuming Ritchie made light of his achievements when spoken to yesterday. "They’re coming, and I'm catching them,” he said modestly’, but confessed to a flick back through the record books after Saturday’s performance. The Old Boys captain John Calder was more effusive in his praise for his young wicket-keeper. "Brian has been in exceptionally good form this season, and we are more than happy with him. We gave him his chance at the start, of this year and he took it. His confidence is up, and he's going from strength to strength," he said. With the senior cricket season extending into March of next year, Ritchie has every chance of setting new marks for catches and total dismissals. His one stumping — that of Bumside-West’s John Mitchell — is far behind the record 20 made by Bob Burns 49 years ago. But Christchurch cricketers are sure to be following the fortunes of Brian Ritchie over the coming summer months.