Canterbury’s deserved win over C.D.

Press, 14 January 1982, Page 24

Canterbury’s deserved win over C.D.

PA Palmerston North Canterbury completed its Shell Trophy win over Central Districts soon after the lunch break at Fitzherbert Park yesterday, with Paul McEwan finishing unbeaten on 103. At lunch Canterbury needed just 11 runs for victory, and, as expected, these proved just a formality. Canterbury’s win was well deserved. It outplayed Central Districts throughout the morning session. The southern team started at 13 for two, chasing 204, and finishing the morning at 193 for three, after a partnership of 174 between Peter Rattray (82) and McEwan.

Local followers were upset by the way in which Central Districts appeared to "concede” the match with Canterbury still needing more than 100 runs.

Catches were dropped, the bowling was loose, and the ground fielding reached an all-time low as McEwan and Rattray added 174 and made sure Canterbury was going to coast through to victory. McEwan was dropped twice in three balls early in the morning's play. The first a relatively simple caught and bowled chance to the opening Central bowler Michael Gill, and the second a catch was low and hard to the right-hand side of Steven Gill at first slip.

Mike Gill had done so much to revive Central's fortunes in the first innings with his six wickets that it was tough luck indeed that he should put down the catch that would have given his side a great winning chance. And Steve Gill couldn't really be blamed for not making a very difficult slip catch . . . But he had earlier taken three very hard ones. Unfortunately for Central the slippery hands suffered by these two then started to spread throughout the team and further catches went down and the ground fielding became increasingly 1 slipshod.