English umpires quick on 1bw

Press, 1 July 1978, Page 48

English umpires quick on 1bw

Bristol The willingness of English umpires to give leg before wicket decisions has startled newer members of the New Zealand cricket team. They will give them without the slightest hesitation, even when the batsman is well forward with a regularity which would appal New Zealand umpires. There was a sepctacular example of their confidence when Geoffrey Howarth was given out in the match with Gloucestershire yesterday. Howarth was standing two feet clear of his crease when the medium pace bowler, Brian Brain came in. When the ball hit him he was well forward moving into a drive. But it was probably a good decision for the ball kept down and hit him low on the shin. It was one, however, which would have raised eyebrows at home. It ended a lively partnership between Howarth and Mark Burgess, one which started slowly but was in top gear after tea, when the batsmen attacked with vim. Their stand for 114 in 108 minutes was highly entertaining, both batsmen displaying their full range of strokes.

Howarth looked in great

form. Burgess, dropepd twice, had his mind on a declaration which he made with his side still 48 runs behind — a commendable effort to pul life into a match reduced by almost two hours today through rain. Before he went Burgess hit a magnificent six off David Graveney, the tall left-hand spinner, and Lance Cairns put the same bowler

a cricketer’s mile over the distant mid-wicket boundary. The hits were made during a period of vigorous attack, but earlier the New Zealanders had been in trouble. Robert Anderson was again out quickly feeling for an outswinger and a similar delivery beat and bowled the left-hander, Bruce Edgar. Between times, John Wright had suffered a painful knock below his right knee and had retired, but Howarth, scoring his second half-century of the tour, and

Burgess, making his third, put things to right. But when Howarth went, Bevan Congdon was out first ball, another leg before victim. Brendon Bracewell bowled Arnold Stovold in his first over and then had Alan Tait caught behind on the leg side from a badly directed bouncer. At the close of play the county had a lead or 71 with ' eight wickets standing. I GLOUCESTERSHIRE First Innings 227 Second innings lA. W. Stovold b Bracewell . 0 A. Tait c Edwards b Bracewell 6 Zaheer Abbas not out ... 15 A. J. Brassington not out .. 0 Extras (nb2) .. 2 Total (for 2 wkta) .. 23 Fall: 0, 16. NEW ZEALAND First innings J. G. Wright retd hurt .. 7 R. W. Anderson c Brassington b Brain 4 B. A. Edgar b Brain .. .. 12 G. P. Howarth lbw b Brain .. 69 M. G. Burgess c Tait b Graveney 56 B. E. Congdon lbw b Brain 0 G. N. Edwards not out .. 9 B. L. Cairns c and b Brain .. 13 Extras <bs, Ibl, wl, nb2) 9 Total (for 6 wkts decl.) .. 179 Fall: 13, 40, 154, 156, 179. Bowling: Brain 16.4, 1, 48, 3; Davey 13, 5, 17, 0; Shackleton 10, 1, 32, 0; Graveney 12, 2, 47, 1; Crawford 5,1, 26, 0.

From R.T. Brittenden On tour for the N.Z.PA.