Coney, Chatfield take N.Z. to great victory

Press, 15 February 1985, Page 32

Coney, Chatfield take N.Z. to great victory

By

JOHN COFFEY,

in Dunedin

Ewen Chatfield, one of cricket’s undisputed tail-end charlies, combined with Jeremy Coney, a cool man at the helm in a crisis, to bring a shrapnel-scarred New Zealand team home on a wing, a prayer and a glide backward of square leg for a two-wicket win over Pakistan at Carisbrook yesterday.

When Coney turned a ball from Tahir Naqqash for two runs, his personal total increased to 111, his partnership with Chatfield was advanced to 50 runs, and New Zealand had reached its winning third test target of 278.

Both of the Wellington representatives had begun their innings with Pakistan seemingly poised to square the Rothmans-sponsored series.

Coney made his entry on Wednesday afternoon with New Zealand apparently doomed for defeat at 23 for four.

Chatfield’s entrance yesterday occurred with New Zealand staggering at 228 for eight. Its plight was worse than the basic figures suggest, for Lance Cairns was then lying groggily in the first aid room after having been struck on the head by a delivery from Pakistan’s young mediumfast bowler, Wasim Akram. If necessary, Cairns would have batted again, but his resistance would have been little more than token. In effect, it was up to Coney and Chatfield to keep New Zealand aloft and on course towards a bigger winning score than their country had managed in any previous test. At the very least Chatfield’s duty was to stay alongside Coney while Cairns regained some of his senses. But Chatfield yesterday gave his very best and played more than an equal part in one of New Zealand cricket’s most memorable partnerships. They were together for 104 minutes as they agonisingly edged towards their goal. At one stage there were 19 consecutive singles as the Pakistan captain, Javed Miandad, invited Coney to relinquish the strike to Chatfield. That sequence ended when four byes veritably spurted New Zealand onwards. Coney, himself, had 22 successive ones before a forceful placement towards mid-wicket took him to his second test century. It .was imperative for New Zealand cricket that someone got to 100 before John Walker. Because of Miandad’s tac-

tics and Coney’s increasing confidence in his lieutenant, Chatfield was to face 84 of the 132 deliveries bowled while he was at the crease. Courageously, he shrugged off blows to his helmet, arm and gloves and the overenthusiastic Akram was warned by an umpire, Fred Goodall, for intimidatory methods. Chatfield established his own milestones. When he reached eight, he raised his test career aggregate to 100 runs — in his nineteenth match and twenty-sixth innings. He exceeded his previous highest test score of 13 and was closing on his best first-class effort of 24 when the game ended. The Pakistanis must by now have grudging respect for Chatfield’s batting ability. He has not been dismissed in four innings in this series.

Although Chatfield sparred and missed outside the off stump with frightening frequency, it was Coney who was closest to being dismissed.

Coney nicked the first ball from Rashid Khan after the tea break, but the wicket-keeper, Anil Dalpat, spilled the chance low to his right under the horrified gaze of his skipper at slip. Coney was then 97, and it would have been a tragedy if he had been deprived of a century. In all, Coney stayed 385 minutes and faced 243 deliveries.,

His initial responsibility yesterday, when New Zealand resumed at 114 for four, was to shore up one end while Martin Crowe gave reign to his magnificent stroke play. In an over from' the highly regarded Azeem Hafeez, Crowe drove twice through the covers and to mid-on for fours. It had been Pakistan’s plan that Hafeez and Akram would fire the bullets on this St Valentine’s Day, but it was Hafeez who was in danger of being massacred. Crowe raced past his third half-century in three test innings and Miandad was forced to place a sweeper on the cover fence. Akram tried to bounce Crowe without disrupting his composure and all five

seam bowlers in the Pakistan line-up had been tried as lunch neared. The only consolation for the visitors was a slowing of the scoring rate from the accuracy of Naqqash and Mudassar Nazar.

The fifth-wicket stand, begun in such bleak circumstances the previous day, was worth 157 runs, just 26 runs short of the New Zealand test record established by Mark Burgess and Robert Anderson at Lahore in 1976-77, when Crowe left in controversial circumstances.

A cut from Naqqash’s bowling flew towards Mudassar at backward point. Mudassar appeared to bring the ball up with a scooping motion, suggesting it was on the half volley. The Pakistan fieldsmen whooped and hollered with delight, Crowe stood his ground, and the umpire, George Morris, pondered at some length before declaring Crowe to be out. Crowe departed with obvious reluctance.

Crowe’s 84 equalled his second-highest test score; was accumulated in 232 minutes from 165 balls. He had struck 12 boundaries, all but two of them outstanding shots through the off-side field.

His antagonist gone, the big-hearted Hafeez returned to bowl from lunch through to tea. He rested just one over after that adjournment before coming back and seeing the game through to its conclusion.

Hafeez’s only positive reward from all that endeavour was to bowl Richard Hadlee and have New Zealand struggling at 208 for six. lan Smith had runs from each of the first three balls he faced, failed to learn anything at all from being beaten four times in an over from Hafeez, and was caught at second slip from Akram’s bowling.

Just three deliveries later, the total still 217 for seven, Cairns tried to duck away from Akram’s bouncer and was struck behind the left ear. He collapsed at his crease and had to be assisted from the field. Brendon Bracewell lasted only

long enough to prove he yet has to master the hook shot. It was Chatfield’s moment, and there was an omen of what was to follow when he dabbed a single for the last ball of Akram’s over to keep the bowling. Coney went to him and they had the first of many conferences which plotted New Zealand through to safety. Pakistan salvaged little from the match, most notably the “man of the match” award given by the former New Zealand captain, Glenn Turner, to Akram.

That was a most surprising decision. True, Akram is now the youngest player to have a 10-wicket test bag. But it was he who dropped the vital return catch from Coney when that batsman was on 37, and Akram tended to waste the new ball taken when New Zealand was 25 runs short of victory.

Akram received a “friendly warning” from Mr Goodall when he struck Chatfield on the helmet, and an official caution for yet another short-pitched ball before tea. Meanwhile, Coney and Chatfield were winning a truly dramatic test. Scoreboard: PAKISTAN First innings 274 Second innings 223 NEW ZEALAND First innings 220 Second innings G.P. Howarth c Mohsin Khan b Akram .... 17 J. G. Wright c Mohsin Khan b Hafeez .... 1 J. F. Reid c Dalpat b Akram 0 M. D. Crowe c Mudassar b Naqqash 84 J. J. Crowe lbw b Akram 0 J. V. Coney not out ... . 11l R. J. Hadlee b Hafeez . . 11 I. D. S. Smith c Miandad b Akram 6 B. L. Cairns retired hurt. 0 B. P. Bracewell c Naqqash b Akram 4 E. J. Chatfield not out . . 21 Extras (sb, 61b, Unb, 1 w) 23 Total (for 8 wkts) 278 Fall: 4,5, 23, 23, 180, 208, 216, 228. Bowling.—Azeem Hafeez '32, 9, 84, 2 (3 nb, 1 w); Wasim Akram 33, 10, 72, 5 (6 nb); Rashid Khan 9,2, 33, 0; Tahir Naqqash 16.4,1, 58,1; Mudassar Nazar, 9,2, 20, 0 (2nb).