Border devastating against N.Z. attack

Press, 2 November 1985, Page 80

Border devastating against N.Z. attack

NZPA staff correspondent Brisbane The Australian captain, Allan Border, wasted little time in stamping his authority over the New Zealand attack on the first day of the tourists 7 match against Queensland yesterday.

Border, carrying on from where he left off in the recent Ashes series in England, scored 102 as Queensland reached 282 for four at stumps. The belligerent lefthander was in devastating touch, middling the ball and by-passing the field with an

almost unfailing ease. Border gave just one chance, at 93, and it was a cause for dismay when Bruce Edgar, coming in off the backward square leg boundary, put down a swept top edge from the offspinner, Vaughan Brown’s, bowling.

No more such opportunities came as Border registered his century, including two sixes and 11 boundaries, off 113 balls. The two sixes came off the left-arm spinner, Stephen Boock, who Border crashed at immediately

after his entry into the. attack. Border was out soon after reaching his century, charging Lance Cairns and getting another thick edge. John Wright, running back, took an excellent catch in the covers. The charge was one of the quirky aspects of Border’s innings which offered the New Zealanders some food for thought. He had had a similar rush of blood to the head during a relatively quiet spell earlier in his innings when the New Zealand captain, Jeremy Coney, brought in his fielders from the long-on and long-off boundaries to the bowling of Martin Snedden. Almost as though his machismo had been threatened, Border immediately charged Snedden, clubbing him cross-batted to the midwicket boundary. Another minus mark in the'-Border innings was his uncertainty outside the offstump to Richard Hadlee in a short spell after lunch. Hadlee, playing because Martin Crowe has an infected wisdom tooth, beat the outstretched bat of the Australian captain three times in quick succession with balls that cut off the wicket. It was a luckless day for Hadlee. At the very start of the Queensland innings, after Coney had won the toss, the New Zealand spearhead had the Australian opener spearing a ball through third slip where Cairns could only get a finger to it. Shortly afterwards, Hadlee, himself, put down a difficult caught and bowled chance off Wessels. That miss proved inexpensive as Wessels was soon out for 25, playing across a Martin Snedden yorker. The South African-born opener had never looked comfortable with the wicket showing early life and overcast conditions to aid the swing of Lance Cairns. Queensland first innings R. Kerr c Coney b Snedden 20 K. Wessels b Snedden . . 25 A. Courtice not out. ... 88 A. Border c Wright b Cairns 102 G. Ritchie lbw b Snedden 7 G. Trinible hot out. .. . 27 Extras (lb 2, nb 1). . . 13 Total (for 4 wickets) 282 Bowling: R. Hadlee 19.2, 6, 35, 0; L. Cairns 28, 8, 70, 1 (nb 6); M. Snedden 23, 3, 73, 3 (nb s>, J. Coney 3,1, 10, 0; S. Boock 7,2, 30, 0; V. Brown 12, 0, 62, 0.