N.Z. captain eager to bat first tonight

Press, 15 June 1983, Page 48

N.Z. captain eager to bat first tonight

NZPA staff correspondent Bristol

The New Zealand cricket captain, Geoff Howarth, is hoping that the law of averages will decree he wins the toss for the vital World Cup games against England at Edgbaston tonight. Since the New Zealanders arrived in England, Howarth had lost six successive tosses before calling correctly at the start of yesterday’s game against Sri Lanka. That call allowed him to unleash the man-of-the-

match, Richard Hadlee, on a slightly damp wicket to put the Sri Lankan batsmen under pressure from which they never fully recovered.

But Howarth believes it will be far more crucial for him to call correctly against Bob Willis: “Edgbaston is a good batting wicket and if a side can build a big score, it is very hard to pull it back.

“If we could bat first and score over 300, it would be England under pressure and not us,as was the case at the Oval last week,” he said. The New Zealanders have

two big reasons for wishing to reverse last week’s 106run defeat by England in the first round of group matches.

The first is to avenge that loss and thereby prove that their wins over Bob Willis’s side in Australia and New Zealand were proof of their ability rather than the demoralised state of England. The second, and more important reason in the World Cup context, is that a win would virtually guarantee them passage to the semi-finals. With the first round of

the group completed, England leads with 12 points and New Zealand is second with eight points for its wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan has just four points for its win over Sri Lanka while the Sri Lankans have battled bravely for no tangible reward. The top two teams qualify for the semi-finals and a win over England followed by victory over Sri Lanka at Derby on Saturday would virtually ensure New Zealand’s place in the semifinals.

England must at present be a clear favourite to win the group because not only has it more points but its run rate is far superior to that of New Zealand. Furthermore although the New Zealanders disposed of Sri Lanka by five wickets in a business-like manner yesterday, the win did not erase doubts about the capacity of the bowling to restrain the likes of Allan Lamb and David Gower. Ewen Chatfield revealed his best form of the competition and with Hadlee and, to a more questionable

extent, Jeremy Coney and Lance Cairns, can probably be relied upon to bowl his 12 overs economically. However, the source of a final 12 economic overs has become a serious problem. Martin Snedden, who was hit for 105 runs off 12 overs by England’s batsmen at the Oval, returned to the New Zealand side -against Sri Lanka. There was some evidence of a return of rhythm and confidence but his final figures of one for 38 off 10 overs were not overly impressive against a side of

limited batting prowess. The New Zealand selection panel of Howarth, Glenn Turner, John Wright and Hadlee face a difficult decision later today in deciding whether to risk Snedden against England or bring back the Auckland off-spinner, John Bracewell, who bowled steadily to return none for 39 off 11 overs against Pakistan. There is also concern about the form of Martin Crowe, whose lack of control has seriously restricted his value as a back-up bowler.