Boock shock inclusion in test team

Press, 30 January 1984, Page 30

Boock shock inclusion in test team

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

One of the most appealing attributes of the Otago left-arm spin bowler, Stephen Boock, is a straight-faced sense of humour, but he would have been forgiven last evening if he had broken into a broad smile.

His inclusion in the New Zealand 12 for the second cricket test against England on Friday, at Lancaster Park, was one of the most unexpected moves made by a national selection panel of generally conservative views. There was also a minor surprise — the inclusion of Derek Stirling (Central Districts). Boock’s inclusion has been at the expense of Evan Gray (Wellington) who was the twelfth man in the first test. Stirling replaces Martin Snedden (Auckland) who bowled without great distinction at the Basin reserve. The New Zealand squad is: Geoff Howarth, captain; Richard Hadlee, Bruce Edgar, John Wright, Martin Crow; Jeff Crowe, Jeremy Coney, lan Smith, Lance Cairns, Ewen Chatfield, Boock and Stirling. The omission of Snedden was certainly not surprising, but he might well have been given another chance. He lacked line and length in the first innings of the first test but looked a lot better on the last afternoon. Moreover, he bowled well for Auckland against Wellington last week, on a pitch said to give the seamers little encouragement. Gray has every reason to feel disappointed. He had a good tour of England last year. He has performed well for Wellington as a batsman and spin bowler in the last few weeks, and he

did not spill the drinks during the first test. So without a chance to display his wares at international level he has been dropped. He will not be the only disappointed spin bowler. John Bracewell (Auckland), who played in all four tests in England last year, has had a very good season for Auckland. He must not be cast as a genuine all-roun-der. He is an outstandingly good fieldsman. While the selectors were deliberating Bracewell was playing a major part in Auckland’s defeat of the Shell Trophy holder, Wellington. Without Gray and Snedden, New Zealand’s batting has been weakened. It might

be felt that the batting at the Basin Reserve was sufficiently successful. That was on a pitch which gave the England bowlers little hope. It might be different at Lancaster Park. In the unlikely event of Chatfield, Boock, and Stirling being in the final 11, New Zealand would have a distinct tail. Stirling, aged 23, has been a prospective New Zealand player for a couple of years. He was in the New Zealand “emerging players” team which went to Australia last summer. He has done well this season, and he was highly rated by the touring party after the EnglandCentral Districts match at Palmerston North. He is not as fast as Auckland’s Sean Tracy but he is big and strong and there is every prospect of Lancaster Park being the launching pad for a successful test career. Boock has not played a test for New Zealand since the West Indies tour of 197980 but the word was out early in the representative season that he was bowling particularly well. At 32, he should certainly know his business. He does not turn the ball much but he uses his height well and is, at his best, demandingly accurate. He might not have expected to get back into a New Zealand test team, but is the resilient sort of character to make his choice an obvious one.