SIDELINES

Press, 9 December 1983, Page 12

SIDELINES

IN THE SHELL TROPHY cricket matches which will start next week, slow over rates will again be penalised. The minimum required is still 17 overs an hour; but this time the assessment will be made over the whole season, instead of match by match. The penalties are quite severe. A penalty point is to be deducted for every 0.1 of an over under 17. The new arrangement seems a fair one. There are times when a pitch demands seam bowling from both ends, which could drop the over rate for a particular match. A flaw in the scheme is that if the top teams are close on points, the winner might not be known straight away. There have been increases in Shell Series prize money. The trophy winner will now earn ?3000 instead of $2OOO, the runner-up $l5OO ($1000) and the team in third place $750 ($500). Outright wins each are worth $l5O ($120). Similarly, in the Shell Cup limited-overs contest, the first prize is $l5OO instead of $lOOO, and the runner-up will get $750 ($500).

SOUTH ISLAND’S rugby league representatives will have only one of their five fixtures at an away venue next season — against Auckland at Carlaw Park on May 20 in what might be the final of the national interdistricts tournament. South is to play Northern Districts (April 28), Central Districts (May 5) and Queensland Country (May 26) at Christchurch, and the Show Grounds has also been named as the venue for the encounter with Great Britain on July 25. Canterbury is to have matches with Wellington and West Coast on a home-and-away basis, but the highlight of the first-class programme will be the second test between New Zealand and Great Britain at the Show Grounds on July 22.

NOTABLE QUOTE: Greg Chappell, who enters the third test against Pakistan at Adelaide today just 83 runs from Sir Donald Bradman’s Australian record of 6996 runs in test cricket: “There is no comparison between what Sir Donald did in 52 tests and me in 85. It seems almost sacrilegious to pass the record.”