Dempsey leads Canterbury to one-day victory

Press, 5 January 1981, Page 24

Dempsey leads Canterbury to one-day victory

PA Hamilton A commanding century’ from . the opener, David Dempsey, led Canterbury to an easy’ 40-run win over Northern Districts in a Shell Cup one-day cricket match at Hamilton yesterday.

After Northern’s captain, Andy Roberts, had won the toss and put Canterbury in. the openers, Dempsey and Barry Hadlee, quickly wrecked Northern’s hopes with an explosive 80-run partnership. Hadlee adopted a quieter role than Dempsey, content to punish only rank bad balls — and * there were many from the Northern fast bowlers, Stu Gillespie and Karl Treiber. Hadlee went with his score at 21, caught behind by Mike Wright off the bowling of Roberts, easily the best of the Northern bowlers. Dempsey carried on without pause, bringing up his century in only 87 minutes from 89 balls. He hit 15 fours before he was magnificently' caught and bowled by' the left-arm spinner. Cliff Dickeson, who threw himself across the pitch to take a screaming drive centimetres off the ground.

Rod Latham followed at the same score, 147, trying to pick up where Dempsey left off, and giving Roberts his second victim. Dickeson took the second and third of his four catches in the innings at mid-wicket to remove Cran Bull and David Stead, and Northern staged something of a revival when Barry Ritchie, Richard Leggat and Steve

McNally went cheaply. But the wicket-keeper, John Mackie, quietly picked up the singles to see Canterbury through to 231 for nine at the end of the 50 overs.-: The total was always beyond Northern’s batsmen from the time Grant Gibson was unluckily bowled, the ball rolling off his bat and just knocking off the bails. < The star Batsman, Barry Cooper, in great form this season, had his first failure when he half-played an oh drive to be caught by Bull at mid-on, and Chris Kuggeleijn, a century-maker in the Shell Trophy match, was well caught in the slips by Stead for five. Northern’s 34 for three became 36 for four when the opener, Mike Wright, was stranded down the pitch b.v a side-on throw from Stead which hit the stumps. A 70-run partnership between Roberts and Bill Fow-. ler revived Northern’s hopes, both batsmen playing sensibly, picking up singles with good running and punishing the occasional bad ball. But the hopes died again when Fowler went for a big hit from Stead and was caught by Hadlee at 106, and 24 runs later Roberts went, driving a full toss, straight to Bull at cover.

The tail-enders battled on, with David White, Dickeson, Gillespie and Steve Scott all reaching double figures, but the final result was never in doubt.

Dempsey was the only possible choice for man-of-the-match, and Dickeson took the prize for best fieldsman.