Poor run rate spells defeat for New Zealand cricketers

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 34

Poor run rate spells defeat for New Zealand cricketers

NZPA staff correspondent Colombo New Zealand was beaten by four wickets as it struggled to strike form in the first one-day cricket international against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.

the New Zealanders started on the back foot when the early batsmen failed to hit a sound run rate. In the first 10 overs they managed only 23 runs for one wicket, and by the 20th over had scored only 55, still less than three runs an over.

The runs rate did not pick up until the final 10 overs, after lunch, but New Zealand’s total of 171 for six off its 45 overs never seemed enough on the small Saravanamirttu Stadium pitch. Sri Lanka got off to a , quick start, stayed ahead of the required run rate, and passed the New Zealand total with almost five overs to spare. Only once, when Sri Lanka slumped to 79 for five after losing three wickets for only 17 runs, did New Zealand look tb be getting on top. But just as. the game seemed to be swinging in the Kiwis favour, a 67-run partnership between . Roy Dias and Aravinda De Silva, aged 19, steered it once

more in Sri Lanka’s direction.

De Silva went on to score an unbeaten 50, his highest score in international cricket, and saw Sri Lanka through to 174 for six off 39.4 overs.

Things might have been different if John Wright had held a difficult catch when Dias was five. Wright made up for it later when he caught the same player, running backwards on the mid-off boundary for 34. But by then it was too late.

The Sri Lankans deserved their victory with a good all-round • display. Their tight fielding helped medium-pace bowlers Vinodhan John (3-39 off nine overs) and Arjuna Ranatunge (1-23 off nine overs) restrict the New Zealand batsmen. New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals and only started pushing the run rate when captain, Jeremy Coney, and Jeff Crowe got together.

Crowe played sensibly to finish '57 not out, in an innings which lasted 90 minutes and included five fours and a six.

Crowe and Coney shared a 40-run partnership for the fifth wicket. ‘

Although Crowe hit out towards the end of his innings as New Zealand

scored 45 runs off the last five overs, it was never going to be enough. Stephen Boock bowled tightly to concede only 29 runs for one wicket off his nine overs. Ewen Chatfield took two for 35 off his nine and Coney two for 16 off four.

Coney, who won the toss in his first game as captain and elected to bat, was not too despondent after the match. “There were no excuses for that loss but I think the team learned a lot from the game. It was the first time the team had played without Richard Hadlee and that was an experience in itself,” he said.

“The pace of the whole innings was too slow, but it is easy to do that on a slowish wicket. It is very easy to try to take a little bit longer to settle in at the beginning of a tour. “Everyone was trying hard to win and I don’t think our performance was indicative of the players’ effort. “We lacked consistency. To put six balls out of six in place the bowlers must be more consistent. It’s hard to set fields to bad balls,” he said. Coney was unhappy that during the New Zealand innings wide balls on the leg side were not called often enough. He said that the Sri Lankans bowled two or three an over early on, and batsmen became frustrated at not being able to play them. NEW ZEALAND J. Wright c Amal Silva b John 11 B. Edgar c Amal Silva b Ratrayake 6 M. Crowe b Ranatunge. . 23 J. Reid c Ratnayake b A. De Mel 21 J. Crowe not out. .... . 57 J. Coney c D.S. de Silva b John 24 B. Cairns c A. de Silva b John.... ; . : . .... . 4 I. Smith not out ...... 5 Extras (lb, 141 b, 2nb, 3w) 20 Total' (for 6wkts) 171

Did not bat: M. Snedden, S. Boock, E. Chatfield. Fall of wickets: 20, 36, 58, 84, 124, 133. Bowling (wides and no balls in bowlers’ analyses): De Mel 9, 2, 29, 1; John 9,0, 39, 3; Ratnayake 9,0, 40, 1; Ranatunge 9,0, 23, 1; de Silva 9,1, 25, 0. SRI LANKA S. Wettimuny c Edgar b Cairns 1 A. Silva c Boock b Chatfield ........... 21 R. Madugalle c Wright b Chatfield 31 A Ranatange c Reid b Coney 8 R. Dias c Wright b Boock . 34 D. Mendis c Crowe b Coney . 3 A. de Silva not out ... . 50 A. de Mel not out 16 Extras (3b, 51b, 2nb) . . 10 Total (for 6 wkts) 174 Did not bat: R. Ratnayake, D.S. de Silva, V. John. Bowling: Snedden 6,1, 32, 0; Cairns 6.4, 2, 36,1; Chatfield 9.0, 35, 2; Boock 9,0, 29,1; Coney 4, 0, 16, 2; M. Crowe 5,0, 18, 0.