Young N.Z. fights for survival; England poised for a win

Press, 22 February 1978, Page 36

Young N.Z. fights for survival; England poised for a win

From

R. T. BRITTENDEN

in Temuka

Although only five hours remain today in the match between the Young New Zealand cricket team and England, there is a strong prospect of the tourists enjoying their second consecutive victory.

At the end of a sun-i drenched day yesterday' Young New Zealand was, precariously positioned — j 129 for 9 in reply to Eng-i land’s 310 and thus needing' another 32 to avoid a fol-1 low-on. Inevitably it was the j day of the spinner. Young: New Zealand’s slow bowlers) rolled up England’s innings quite rapidly, and Geoff! Miller, the Derbyshire off-1 spinner, took five wickets in a three-hour stint. Spinners! have taken 15 of the 19 wickets which have fallen sol far. Young New Zealand had ai fearful struggle for survival | with the oall turning; enough, sometimes stopping ■ awkwardly, and bouncing atvarying heights. The sub-i stance of the resistance came from an elegant Bruce Edgar-innings and some! brave hitting bv Brian) McKechnie. But it was a much more attractive day’s play than' the first one, even if fewer: runs were scored; the bowlers held control but there were some red-blooded attempts to wrest it off them. On a still morning of soporific heat — even the white butterflies seemed to) keep airborne only with an. effort — Derek Randall took] 30 minutes to add a single; and that gave him 104 runs; in six hours and a half. , But with the ball turning!

(readily tor Doug Bracewell, I later for Evan Gray, there I was vigorous batting from Geoff Miller and Bob Taylor. I Their counter-attack was an | exciting charge which | brougnt them 46 brisk runs. But then Gray, with four j wickets in eight overs, brought about so swift a I decline that the last five wickets fell for 20 rur r I The offspinner Doug i Bracewell often bad the ! batsmen in trouble and he ialso made life difficult for this wicket-keeper, Jock Edwards, with his turn and | occasional sharp lift. One j ball from Bracewell steepled lup straight over Edwards’s (head, and that could have brought little comfort to the • Young New Zealand batsmen •in the field. bracewell I bowled veil, but he does '.need to keep a tidier line. (He must .ave loved bowling !on this pitch but he was not quite tight enough io make I the most of it. Gray was accurate and de- | manding as he whipped away the bottom order batsmen, but perhaps the most interesting bowler was the 18-year-old Brendon Bracewell. He has a very good fast bowling action, he put i everything into his attack .and he won the respect of I the top batsmen with his aci curacy and hostility. Here 'surely New Zealand has a (youngster to coax along l gently, to encourage.

The Young New Zealand opener Bruce Edgar made just as good an impression as Brendon Bracewell had done. He was dropped at 13 off Bob Willis in the slips but otherwise he played with skill and assurance. He was positive on his movements, forward or back, when the spinners came on and he was very quick to whip away anything outside his legs. There were some pretty drives off the fast bowlers and some classic strokes off the spinners. lan Rutherford was bowled by John Lever when it seemed he was watching the ball go across him and down the leg side but Auckland’s left-hander John Reid batted purposefully and well for a while. To the mortification of the considerable crowd, Jock Edwards failed to score. But he did make a point. His first ball was from the offspinner Miller and Edwards swung it with tremendous power straight at Phil Edmonds at short leg. Fortunately Edmonds was hit only on the thigh but it was yet another reminder of the danger to fieldsmen asked to perch in close to a batsman’s pocket. Edwards also showed that hero worship can survive the worst calamity. Duck and all, he was besieged by autograph hunters as he left the ground. The Young New Zealand batsmen must have aged quite considerably as they struggled against Edmonds’ skilful left-arm spin and the less accurate but sharply turning off-breaks of Miller. One who showed few inhibitions was Brian McKechnie, the All Black full-back, who opened his scoring with a huge six over square leg off Miller, despatching the ball out of the ground and in the general direction of the golf course. Another six by McKechnie off Blair sent the ball into a vast clump of rhododendrons and there, so far, it remains, nothwithstanding the earnest attentions of a strong search party which included some of the English players.

McKechnie batted with a fine blend of aggression and restraint. He defended very ably but was swift and sure to make the most of anything loose. His third six off Miller also cleared the cycle track and the post and rails fence beyond it and he delighted a crowd in excess of 2000 with another superbly timed on drive for six. But in the same over he was cleverly caught, from a defensive jab, by Graham Roope at short leg. If Miller offered some encouragement to the batsmen Edmonds did not bother about bait. He was brisk in pace, flat of flight, but turned the ball sharply and the spin attack was strongly supported by the fieldsmen in close positions. It avoided a stern test of batting technique for the youngsters, and even the failed candidates will have to face a degree examination today. South Canterbury officials are delighted with the attendances so far. Already the gate receipts amount to $4400, which is considerably more than expected. ENGLAND (Resuming 229/4) D. Randall c Snedden b D. Bracewell 104 G. Miller c Edwards b Gray 42 R. Taylor c B. Bracewell b Gray . 26 C. Old e Blair b Gray . . 13 P. Edmonds c Coney b Gray 0 J. Lever b D. Bracewell .. 5 R. Willis not out .. .. 1 Extras . - .. .. 38 Total 310 Fall: 244 290, 290, 291, 302, 310. Bowling.—B. Bracewell, 21, 5, 42. 1; M. Snedden, 13. 3, 39, 1; B. McKechnie, 17, 6. 30, 0; D. Bracewell, 32. 7, 87, 4; E. Gray, 25.7, 8 . 58 . 4; J. Coney, 8,4, 16, 0. YOUNG NEW ZEALAND I. Rutherford b Lever 4 B. Edgar c Edmonds b Miller 41 J. Conev c Edmonds b Willis 1 J. Reid c Radley b Edmonds 15 G. Edwards c and b Miller 0 B. Blair b Edmond . 11 B McKechnie c Roope b MiUer . 33 D. Bracewell e Rose by Miller 0 E. Gray not out .11 M. Snedden e Roope b Miller 3 Extras .. .. 10

Total (for nine wkts) .. 129 Fall: 18, 30 68. 68 70. 106. 112, 113 129 Bowling.—R. WUlls, «, 3, 18. 1; J. Lever, 6,2, 11, 1; P. Edmond, 18, 3. 24. 2; G. Miller, 20, 7,4, 63, 5; C. Old, 3,1, 3, 0.