Australians in quest of Ashes

Press, 30 April 1981, Page 36

Australians in quest of Ashes

NZPA Melbourne The Australian cricket captain, Kim Hughes, hopes the tour of Sri Lanka and England will produce the material to carry Australia though the next few years as a top cricket force. He said this at Melbourne yesterday when 13 of the 16player squad headed off in quest of the Ashes. Hughes said that the team was an exciting blend of experienced and highly promising newcomers, such as the young New South Wales’ batting star, Dirk Wellham. . "Naturally, we are confident,” Hughes said. “Basically we are setting our sights

on being as competitive as possible. “Australia has been steadily rebuilding in the last couple,of seasons and it. is .now up to the players to produce the goods. The Sheffield Shield . provided good, really . strong competition and now all players know what the' competition is; about,” he said. “I am confident we are going to have a very successful tour.” Hughes said that Wellham had a good temperament for the international scene, while most -of ■ the - others in the “touring’ side ‘ had at- least three or four seasons of Sheffield Shield experience. ?

Wellham, with only four Shield games and a match against New Zealand as his first-class playing record, found it hard to hide his excitement at the airport. . "This time last year I was playing soccer and baseball in Sydney and thinking of .trying to get to England in a bid to improve my cricket,” said Wellham, who at 22, is the baby of the team. For. Trevor Chappell it was the end — or start — of a cricketing dream. Since 1968 Trevor has been consistently farewelling his more famous cricketing brothers, lan and Greg, as they left on overseas tours, mostly as captains. .

Now as the third member of one of Australia’s, great cricketing families. Trevor is looking to a good early bag of wickets and runs to force his way into a -regular test place. The side’s manager, Mr Fred Bennett, of New South Wales, who is making his sixth tour of England in an official capacity, . also expressed confidence that the Australian ranks carried sufficient talent to bring home the Ashes. The English-born Jacquie Bright, wife of the Victorian spinner, Ray Bright, was at the airport in a farewelling role which she has come to know so well.

A-tearful Jacquie, who met her husband during the Australian tour of England in . 1977, at least will not have the four and a half months separation which some of the other wives: will experience. She and Graham Yallop’s English wife, Helen, will go to England at the end of May to be present during a big part of Australia’s tour and also be reunited with their families. The team arrived in Colombo last night and will practise today in preparation for the first of three one-day games which start on Saturday. . A four-day game wilt round off the 10-day tour