Crowe wins praise

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 21

Crowe wins praise

NZPA staff correspondent Auckland New Zealand cricket is in good hands as long as young men such as Martin Crowe are at the reins, according to New Zealand’s captain, Geoff Howarth. Howarth, who played a key role in New Zealand’s seven-wicket defeat of England in the final Rothmans Cup one-day international at Eden Park on Saturday, lauded the contribution of the century-making Crowe who was also named man of, the match. “He’s a class player, there’s no doubt about it,” Howarth said. “He has a very steady head on his shoulders for his age. He’s a very capable player. He just needs to keep at it. “I’m sure he’ll benefit from his time with Somerset (the English county he joins next English summer).” There were other per-

formances to be lauded, however, Howarth said, performances which were too frequently overlooked. “I think Ewen Chatfield is the unsung hero here,” he said. “He was very good in the test series and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. “He bowled extremely well here and he was involved in a couple of runouts. You can’t speak highly enough of his performance. “Then there were team matters to be considered,” New Zealand’s captain said. “There was a lot of pressure on us here and at the same time a lot of pride to be recovered. “If we’d played here like we did in the last two matches we would have a lot of credibility. But we picked ourselves up off the ground — and we were on the ground — and showed people that we can play one-day cricket and we can

play it well.” Howarth’s English counterpart, Bob Willis, also heaped praise on Crowe. “He’s a very good player. I’d say just slightly inexperienced and that is a problem here. There is not a real chance for players to take part in county cricket in the near future from a New Zealand point of view and I hope Martin takes his opportunity.” Willis maintained his criticism of international wickets in New Zealand. “There were more runs today,” he said, “but batsmen were limited in the strokes they could play. There were no hooks or cuts because the bounce was too low. “It’s not a good wicket when bowlers of the pace of myself or Richard Hadlee can’t carry the ball to the wicket-keeper. “Whatever, we didn’t play well,” he said.