Howarth gets runs as rain interrupts test

Press, 2 April 1985, Page 48

Howarth gets runs as rain interrupts test

NZPA staff correspondent Port of Spain Rain and determined New Zealand batting combined to frustrate the West Indies’ efforts to win the first cricket test at the Queen’s Park Oval under their new captain, Viv Richards.

And there is no-one doing a better job at keeping the West Indian fast bowlers out and pushing along the New Zealand score than his opposite number, the New Zealand captain, Geoff Howarth.

When the third day’s play was eventually abandoned at 4.45 pm, 45 minutes early because of tropical rain, New Zealand was comfortably placed at 223 for five in reply to the West Indies first innings score of 307.

Howarth was still there on 44, his highest score since 62 and 60 against Sri Lanka in Kandy a year ago, and he and Richard Hadlee had added 41 in their sixth wicket stand.

Howarth said he had found things hard going at first but was becoming more confident. ”1 have 44 runs on the board, which is more than I have scored for a while, and I have batted for three-and-a-half hours, which is longer than I have done for a while, so I am prettypleased. But it’s been a hard time and I’ve had to work hard for the runs,” he said. Howarth resumed on ,25 with Jeremy Coney in the morning and the pair added 16 runs before Coney was leg before to Malcolm Marshall for 25 with the New Zealand score 182 for five.

The pair added 50 runs for the fifth wicket, taking just 78 minutes. But scoring was slow during the morning session, with only 51

runs being put on. Both Howarth and Hadlee played very cautiously, leaving anything outside the off-stump, and the New Zealand 200 eventually came up in 330 minutes, off 427 balls. While Howarth has gone from strength to strength, albeit slowly, he has given the West Indies little chance to remove him, unlike Hadlee who was dropped twice.

Michael Holding was the unlucky bowler both times. On six, Hadlee lifted a slower ball back to the bowler but Holding could not hold on to it. And on 14 Hadlee edged Holding, bowling the second over with the new ball, to Richards. The West Indies captain proved himself human when

the ball went in and out of his hands.

Marshall and Holding never got another chance to attack the Kiwi batsmen as rain stopped play just 10 minutes into the second session and a damp run-up and wet patch on the wicket forced play to be called off. For New Zealand it was a welcome stoppage. For the West Indies just another frustration. Only 84 runs behind with five wickets still intact, New Zealand is near to reaching safety in this, the first of the four test series. Today is a rest day, and with only two, days remaining, it will take a brilliant performance from the West Indies and some disasters in the New Zealand batting to deprive the Kiwis of a mor-ale-boosting draw. Scoreboard: WEST INDIES First innings 307 NEW ZEALAND First innings (overnight 166/4) J. G. Wright c Richardson b Harper 40 K. R. Rutherford c Haynes b Mar5ha11....... 0 J. J. Crowe c and b Harper 64 M. D. Crowe lbw b Holding 3 G. P. Howarth not out . . 44 J. V. Coney lbw b Marshall 25 R. J. Hadlee not out .. . 18 Extras (b 4 lb 9, nbl6). . 29 Total (for five wkts) 223 Fall: 1, 110, 113, 132, 182. Bowling: Marshall 22, 4, 65, 2 (lOnb); Garner 17, 6, 34, 0 (6nb); Holding 19.3, 3, 70,1; Harper 22, 11, 33, 2; Richards 2,0, 7,0; Gomes 1,0, 1, 0.