A gambler selects his team

Press, 22 June 1984, Page 32

A gambler selects his team

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

One of the most confusing cricket assignments of recent times has been a request from a reader to name the probable composition of the New Zealand team to visit Zimbabwe in October. There are several reasons why speculation is more than usually difficult. The New Zealand Board of Control has said that 14 players will go, in what has been described as an “emerging team.” It has not been explained whether the players are emerging from adolescence to maturity, or from maturity to senility. No age limit has been set, but no doubt the selectors will have in mind the Zimbabwe request for the team to include four or five test players. Whether the test selection panel sees this as a requirement to pick top current test cricketers, or those who have had a nodding acquaintance with cricket at its top level,

remains to be seen. The team may be announced before the board of control meets at Wellington on Thursday. At this meeting the side for the tour of Pakistan (15 strong) will be named. It is likely to include some players who have been on the tour of Zimbabwe.

To add to the general confusiion, there is doubt about the availability of Richard Hadlee, and perhaps of Geoff Howarth, for the Pakistan tour. They are most unlikely to have been candidates for the Zimbabwe trip. Then there is the prospect of the selectors leaving out of this tour some players who are key figures in the Pakistan tour, so they may have proper rest.

One of the first in this category is Lance Cairns, who would probably volunteer for any cricket tour. But the probability is that the selectors will hope for him to arrive in Pakistan

fresh and eager, not from a tour of Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe tour provides a very good opportunity for players of promise. Presuming Howarth is not required to trour, the captaincy will probably fall into the hands of Jeff Crowe, who has the makings of a national leader. If it is to be a time for experiment, the selectors could do far worse than include the Northern Districts batsman, Lindsay Crocker, who scored nearly 600 runs last season and Ken Rutherford, the highly promising Otago player. Scott Briasco, of Central Districts, must be a certainty, and Paul McEwan, who did so well for Canterbury last summer, deserves a trip. Trevor Franklin and Peter Webb, both of Auckland, meet the demand for test players and both would benefit from the Zimbabwe experience. For a month-long visit one wicket-keeper is prob-

ably enough, provided Peter Webb is there as a substitute for a tour which has in it four three-day games. Ervin McSweeney, of Wellington, is the likely choice. New Zealand is in desperate need of good pace bowlers to replace, before long, Hadlee, Cairns, and Ewen Chatfield. The Zimbabwe tour is an ideal time for the emergence of one, or more, from Sean Tracy, Derek Stirling, Gary Robertson, Brendon Bracewell and Craig Presland. It seems likely, too, that Martin Snedden, discarded from the test team last summer, might find the opportunity to regain lost ground. There appears to be room for two spinners, and one of them must be Vaughan Brown of Canterbury, who has in his favour his lefthand batting. The other spinner is likely to be a lefthander, either Evan Gray or Stephen Boock. It might be argued that Gray should be given a further chance,

after his reasonable rate of success in England last year, but Boock is a very likely choice for Pakistan, and would probably be one who would benefit by the preliminary work.

There could not be a more difficult team to pick, with so many variables in mind. But no-one buys a lottery ticket without earnest hopes of success. This gambler’s team for the Zimbabwe tour is: Jeff Crowe, Lindsay Crocker, Trevor Franklin, Peter Webb, Paul McEwan, Ken Rutherford, Scott Briasco, Ervin McSweeney, Vaughan Brown, Stephen Boock, Martin Snedden, Craig Presland, Sean Tracy, and Derek Stirling. But no collect telephone calls will be taken from Ronnie Hart, Ross Ormiston, Garth Dawson, Gary Robertson, Brendon and John Bracewell, lan Smith, or Richard Webb. David Stead is on a local line.