Cricket selector unavailable

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 34

Cricket selector unavailable

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

The New Zealand Cricket Board of Control may have to find a new national selector in the coming season. lan Colquhoun of Palmerston North, who has been on the selection panel for five years, yesterday said that for business reasons, he would not be available.

He said he was very disappointed at having to withdraw, because of the enjoyment he had had from selecting and he hoped that within a year or so, he

might be available for selecting again. “But I can not see myself doing the job 1 would like to do. In fairness to the players, it has to be done thoroughly,” said Mr Colquhoun. Last season, for the first time in many years, there were four members on the selection panel — Mr Colquhoun, Graham Dowling (Christchurch), Frank Cameron (Dunedin) and the test captain, Mark Burgess (Auckland). It is possible that the Board of Control will decide to revert to a three-man

panel, although Mr Colquhoun said that having four helped to give full coverage while reducing the travel demands on each selector. If a fourth member is decided then a strong candidate to cover the lower half of the North Island would be the former Wellington captain, Don Neely. Mr Colquhoun, a ■ noted rugby player and rugby coach at Palmerston North Boys’ High School, played in two tests against England, as a wicket-keeper, in 195455. There was a delightful

- background to his first test ’ appearance at Dunedin. He i had a nightmare the evening - before the game, falling out of bed in trying to take a ■ dream catch off England’s - captain, Len Hutton — and f missing it. : In the match. Colquhoun caught Hutton in each innings, for 11' and 3. I The selection policy will ’ be one of the matters before i the board when it meets in i Christchurch on Saturday. It , will also have before it for ■ ratification the proposed itinerary for the West Indies I tour of New Zealand.