Untried bowlers face Otago tomorrow

Press, 26 December 1979, Page 20

Untried bowlers face Otago tomorrow

;PA Dunedin 1 Northern Districts’ com- [ paratively untried bowling attack will face a big challenge when the Shell Trophy? cricket match against Otago begins at Carisbrook tomorrow. Of the five specialist? bowlers named in the; Northern Districts 1? for| the game, three have not' previously played first-class? cricket and only one, the! left-arm spinner Cliff Dicke-.' son. has played before on i Carisbrook. Karl Treiber and Stuart? Gillespie are both newcomers' to Shell cricket and the third seam bowler. Peter Ander-I son, has played in only! seven matches. David White, who is re-1 puted to be an extremely' promising off-spinner, will! also be playing in his first first-class game, I

This means that Northern has the most inexperienced bowling line-up of the six Shell sides and it may prove a handicap as the series continues. Treiber had an ecstatic moment when he bowled Glenn Turner for a duck in the national knockout final. Later, however, he was severely punished by the Otago batsmen. He is a ieftarmer of lively pace but he tends at present to be awry in his line. Gillespie looks to be a splendid prospect, not only as a medium-pace bowler but as an attacking batsman. and Anderson is a willing and able workhorse. Dickeson is now an experienced campaigner but he may find the Carisbrook pitch less receptive to spin than has been the case on his previous visits. However, he still has good control of

length, direction and flight. As well as White, the captain, Geoff Howarth, and Chris Kuggeleijn are more than useful off-spinners. So while there may be doubts about the quality of the Northern bowling, it lacks nothing in quantity. The batting looks exceptionally strong. Howarth, who seems almost certain to be appointed New Zealand captain for the test series against the West Indies, [ heads a line-up including • John Wright, Grant Gibson, [ John Parker. Andy Roberts. Kuggeleijn and Mike Wright. The latter is one of the most under-estimated batsmen in New Zealand and No. 7 in the order is a mockery of his batting prowess. Turner will be playing his first first-class game for Otago since 1976 and his broad bat looms as a major

obstacle for the young northern bowlers. Even in defence Turner is a fascinating batsman to watch because his technique and judgement are so precise. Stuart McCallum has made a notable start to the season and with Turner, who 'is also his clubmate, at the other end, he will have expert advice and encouragement readily available. lan Rutherford, who will presumably bat at No. 3, has had a mediocre season so far but this will not be concerning him too much. Last year he went into the Shell series with a century-plus average in club cricket, and, apart from his 222 in the Shell trophy final, he was a comparative failure. It is an important season for him. A string of consistently heavy scoring could well earn him a New Zealand berth. Bruce Blair is also due for

runs and, like Rutherford, he has the added incentive of New Zealand selection if he can build on the advance he made last season. Wayne Blair has added discipline to the meaty strokes he has always had and there should also be runs down the order from such as John Bracewell, Warren Lees and Lance Cairns. However, most of the Otago batsmen are extremely aggressive in their approach and this means opposing bowlers usually have a chance. For the Carisbrook pitch the game is as important as it will be to the players. Three New Zealand selectors and John Heslop, of the New Zealand Cricket Council's board of control, will be closely scrutinising the behaviour of the pitch during the three days of the match.

Indications are that the pitch will have some early life for the seam bowlers and then settle down to provide an excellent batting strip. If that forecast proves to be correct, it is then only a formality that Carisbrook will be confirmed as the venue for the test match scheduled to begin on February 8. I The teams are; i Otago: Warren Lees (capitain), Glenn Turner, Stuart McCallum, lan Rutherford, Wayne Blair, Bruce Biair, [John Bracewell, Lance [Cairns, Peter Hills, Graeme [Thomson, Stephen Boock, Trevor Sutherland. ' Northern Districts: Geoff Howarth (captain), John Wright, Grant Gibson, John Parker. Andy Roberts, Chris Kuggeleijn, Mike Wright, •Cliff Dickeson, Stuart Gil[lespie, David White, Peter 'Anderson, Karl Treiber.