Sports feature ‘The silver fox’: sitting on 1000 wickets

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 36

Sports feature ‘The silver fox’: sitting on 1000 wickets

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

During New Zealand’s 1969 cricket, tour of England, Dick Motz took his career total of bowling ’ dismissals to 500. One of the team’s opening batsmen, Bruce Murray, referred to this feat when he composed some light-hearted lyrics about Canterbury’s contingent in that side. • A couple of the lines about Motz went:

Now he’s half a thousand wickets and has made his mark Four hundred of them lbw — at Lancaster Park.

Five hundred is a massive haul for a bowler in firstclass cricket. So is a thousand in club cricket, with its once-a-week-if-the-weather

-is-kind format. Only one man in Christchurch has beaten 1000. Reg Read was well clear of 1600 when his 40-year career ended. At Sydenham Park on Saturday, Bruce Irving is almost certain to become the second man with 1000 senior wickets. And it was on the same ground, on December 3, 1955, that he first won particular prominence, with a hat-trick. It was Irving’s fourth senior match. The present Sydenham captain, Brian Salt, is the only other player in that match still in the top grade: and at that stage he was in his fifth senior season.

Irving has been a delight. Allied to his skills as an offspinner, his ability as a fieldsman and his very useful batting, he has brought to the game a refreshing sense of • humour.

Not . that: Irving lacks a competitive approach. He is very much a team man, rejoicing in the success of others, and his club. Not only is he but one short of 1000 wickets; he needs two more catches to beat lan Cromb’s record of 148.

Irving was a spectacular success in his first season — 51 wickets at trifling cost. Then came three lean ones, two of moderate success before in 1961-62, he started to gather vast hauls of wickets very regularly. On 14 occasions, his tally equalled or exceeded his age — the last time, in 1975-76 when, at 43, he took 48 wickets.

His highest tally was 64 in 1971-72, but he has had 40 or more on 13 occasions, and reached 50 seven times. Some of his figures have been startling. He had his second senior hat-trick in 1961-62, against Riccarton, and took nine East-Shirley wickets in an innings in 197475. Then there was the remarkable day 20 years ago when he had seven for 13 against Riccarton.

Now 49, he keeps on keeping on, and seems-as steady and demanding as ever. Reaching the mark of. 1000 wickets will not go unremarked by a club celebrating its centenary; Irving’s success comes at a propitious time.

Irving was 30 when he was selected for a Canterbury team. In his first apperance,

he had figures of 4/34 and 3/ 44 against Otago and in all that season, he took 14 wickets at 17.5. Next summer, he had 4/32 against Auckland, but in 1964-65, Peter Sharp replaced him in the Canterbury team.

However, there was ■clearly interest in Irving among the national selectors; he was included in a President’s Eleven which played Pakistan. There was a tour team to be chosen; but the off-spinner’s position went to the.young Vic Pollard.

It was not until 1970-71, after years of Canterbury bowling plenty, that Irving played for the province again and in his final season, 197273, he had a return of 4/56 against Auckland. In all, 44 first-class wickets.

The season by season club figures of this talented player have been:

Season 1955-56 Wkts Av 5's 6 10’s 1 51 12.3 1956-57 9 31.4 — — 1957-58 12 26.7 — 1958-59 18 20.2 — __ I 1959-60 27 16.9 — — 1 1960-61 22 19.1 1 — I 1961-62 ■ 50 13.1 4 2 : 1962-63 25 19.7 1 — , 1963-64 32 11.7 -1 —• 1964-65 45 13.2 3 1 . 1965-66 50 15.1 3 — 1966-67 31 20.8 1 —- 1967-68 38 17.0 3 ; 1 1 1968-69 29 19.0 2

1969-70 37 15.1 1 - 1970-71 54 13.0 5 1 1971-72 64 13.6 7 1 1972-73 52 14.3 3 — 1973-74 49 15.8 3 1974-75 47, 14.4 3 1 1975-76 52 14.4 4 1 1976-77 46 17.5 1 — 1977-78 44 17.6 2 — 1978-79 - 29 18,6 1 — 1979-80 29 21.1 — — 1980-81 47 14.6 3 — 1981-82 10 12.7 1 Totals 999 15.8 59 9