Waimate match of value for Canty

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 80

Waimate match of value for Canty

By

JANE DAVIDSON

The 50-over cricket match at Knottingly Park, Waimate, tomorrow between Otago and Canterbury will give both teams a chance to experiment with batting orders before the first-class season begins after Christmas.

The Canterbury captain. Cran Bull, said yesterday that the match would provide a means of “developing our one-day play” and would also enable the team to work out which bowlers would be used in one-day matches. There are two main changes to the Otago side

from last season. lan Rutherford, the opener, has been dropped, as has another batsman. Wayne Blair. Both have brothers in the team. Blair's omission has surprised Bull, but the latter still regards his opposition as a “pretty useful" side.

There is a prospect of a cracking pace in the early stages, as both sides could open with hard-hitting batsmen. Peter Rattray and Rod Latham appear the likely openers for Canterbury, while Ken Rutherford, aged 18, and Stu McCullum, who has been recalled after

two years, are most favoured to bat first for Otago. The decision by the Otago selectors to include Rutherford is a brave one. He has performed consistently at club level, and captained the Otago under-22 team at the recent national tournament in Dunedin, but his first-class experience is limited. His inclusion could well have come at the expense of his older brother, lan, who made his provincial debut at the age of 17, but whose style of cricket is not suited to limited-over needs. Andrew Jones, the former Central Districts opener, or Bruce Blair, could be at number three, with Simon Richards, named in the New Zealand under-22 team, to follow. Richards was most impressive in his tournament match against Northern Districts, scoring an unbeaten 109 including seven sixes.

Otago has depth to its order, but Canterbury’s batting also looks solid, with the Hadlee brothers, Richard and Dayle, likely to bat as low as eight and nine respectively. However, Bull regards Richard Hadlee’s position as a “floating” one. The Hadlees and Craig Thiele will lead Canterbury’s bowling attack, and there is plenty of spin to choose from — so much so that David Stead will probably bowl medium-pace. Otago, however, is limited to just Stephen Boock as a specialist spinner, with some help from Jones, while Peter Hills and Richard Webb will head the pace attack.

Richard Leggat, who is suffering a slight muscle strain in his side, is likely to be the twelfth man for Canterbury. Otago has yet to name its twelfth man.