Australia tumbles to Northern Districts

Press, 15 February 1982, Page 38

Australia tumbles to Northern Districts

NZPA staff correspondent Hamilton

The Australians' cricket stock plummeted an extra point yesterday when they suffered the. second successive loss of their New Zealand tour at the hands of Northern Districts.

Failing to discipline themselves to the task of overhauling Northern’s total of 260 in the one-day match, Australia tumbled to a demoralising 24-run defeat.

The root cause of their downfall before 7000 fans who crammed into Seddon Park can be found in their own camp. When an innings of substance was needed. Australia's batsmen were not up to the job.

Bruce Laird (63 runs) and John Dyson (79) were the bulwarks of an innings which foundered through lack of application. The Australian captain-by-proxy Kim Hughes will have rued his decision to allow Northern first use of a grassy but kindly-paced wicket.

It was the cornerstone innings of Geoff Howarth (72) in a swashbuckling 87 minutes of power-hitting, which primed Northern for victory and bolstered its belief that Australia was beatable.

John Wright and Howarth

blasted 85 runs for the second wicket, a 62-minute romp Curtailed when Bruce Yardley bowled Wright in the twenty-first over. Barry Cooper then joined Howarth in a 45-run partnership, to carry Northern to 157 when the third wicket fell.

Fourteen of those 45 runs, including two massive sixes, were hammered by Howarth in Yardley’s fourth over. The pressure was firmly on Australia when it came in to bat. Its openers, Bruce Laird and Graeme Wood, Who failed to give Australia an adequate platform in the first one-day international on Saturday, were separated cheaply again yesterday, when Wood was run out for 2. Marsh, Yardley, and Chappell, who followed his Eden Park century with only five yesterday, all tossed their wickets away with ill-consid-ered shots. When Cairns bowled Aiderman in the forty-seventh over the Australians were still 24 runs behind and the victims of their own stupidity. Dickeson. the veteran right arm spinner, topped the Northern bowling figures tyith three for 43 from his 10 overs. NORTHERN DISTRICTS M. Wright lbw Aiderman. . 12 J. Wright b Yardley . . : . . 38

G. Howarth c Marsh b Yardley 72 B. Cooper b Bright 6 J. Parker c Lillee b Thomson 12 C. Kuggeleijn st Dyson b Yardley 25 L. Cairns b Aiderman .... 35 C. Dickeson c Border b , Yardley 3 S. Gillespie b Yardley .... 10 M. Carrington not out... . 7 N. Pollock run but 1 Extras (bl 6 lb 9. w9, nbs) 39 Total 260 Fall: 27. 112, 157. 157, 183, 237, 239. 250. 255. Bowling: J. Thomson 8,2. 16. 1; T. Aiderman 10. 0, 45. 2; G. Chappell 5, 0. 36. 0: R. Bright 10.’ O. 39. 1; B. Yardley 10, 2. 58, 5; A. Border 3, 0. 27, 0. AUSTRALIA B. Laird b Dickeson : . 63 G. WOod run out 2 J. Dyson c Pollock b Dickeson 79 K. Hughes C J. Wright b Carrington. 20 R. Marsh st M. Wright b Dickeson 2 A. Border run out 34 B. Yardley run out. . . . 11 G. Chappell b Gillespie ... 5 R. Bright b Cairns 4 J. Thomson not out. .... . 1 T. Alderman b Cairns .... 0 Extras (b 5. Ib3. w2. nbs). 15 Total 236 Fall: 5. 143. 160, 174. 178. 204. 217, 230. 235. Bowling: Carrington 10. 1. 46, 1: N. Pollock 10, 0. 55, 0: S. Gillespie 9. 0. 45, 1; L. Cairns 8.2, 1. 32. 2: C. Dickeson 10. 1. 43. 3. Northern Districts won by 24 runs. One day international report, page 25. '