Shell changes sought

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 44

Shell changes sought

Recommendations for condensed, and separate, Shell Trophy and Shell Cup competitions for the 1985-86 cricket season will be discussed by the New Zealand Cricket Council’s Board of Control at its meeting in Christchurch on April 13 and 14.

The proposals for the first-class season will be made by the major associations’ committee, which met in Wellington over the week-end. The committee has asked for the one-day Cup competition to consist of five

rounds of matches, to be crammed in from December 27 until January 4, with no final, rather than a straight round- robin format.

By a majority decision, the committee will also recommend the retention of three-day matches in the Trophy contest, with eight rounds, starting about January 6, and running through until shortly before the Australian tour of New Zealand begins in February.

The added recommendation is for the points system to be the same as last

summer, with four points for the first innings win, and 12 for the outright. The players committee, comprising Messrs Murray Chapple (convener), Alby Duckmanton and Cran Bull, met with six representatives of the first-class teams yesterday. The players’ representatives stated a preference for eight rounds of four-day matches in the Trophy competition. They would favour the same points system, if four-day games were introduced. However, if three-day

matches remain, they said they would prefer the reintroduction of performance points in the first innings, for the first 100 overs, but with no restriction on the number of overs to be bowled. There would be no points for winning on the first innings. The representatives were Barry Cooper (Northern Districts), Martin Snedden (Auckland), Robert Vance (Wellington), Richard Hayward (Central Districts), Vaughan Brown (Canterbury) and Andrew Jones (Otago).