N.Z. bowlers expose woeful Aust. batting

Press, 2 December 1985, Page 29

N.Z. bowlers expose woeful Aust. batting

NZPA staff correspondent Perth New Zealand’s seamers again routed the cream of Australia’s batsmen to put their side in a good position at stumps on the opening day of the third and deciding cricket test at Perth on Saturday.

The technical deficiencies of Australia’s batsmen were again harshly exposed on a placid W.A.C.A. pitch and only some dogged late resistance took Australia to a first innings total of 203. The New Zealand openers, Bruce Edgar and John Wright were then required to face a difficult 25 minutes at the end of the day but successfully negotiated six overs of pace from Craig McDermott and Geoff Lawson. The tourists were eight without loss at stumps with Wright three and Edgar four. The chief destroyer for New Zealand was again Richard Hadlee whose five for 65 off 26.5 overs took him to 293 test wickets, within sight of becoming the sixth member of the elite 300 club. It was Hadlee’s fourth five-wicket bag of the threetest series. Australia’s tail was exposed as early as 141 for six with the loss of David Hookes. But Greg Matthews, who lived a charmed life in totalling 34, McDermott, the scorer of a test-best 36, and David Gilbert (12 not out) added some belated substance to the Australian innings to the frustration of the tourists. Australia started solidly enough but it slumped from 74 for two at lunch as its middle-order batsmen failed dismally on a W.A.C.A. pitch which was low and slow but held no terrors. A big frustration for the Australian batsmen was the diabolically slow newly-laid

outfield which made boundaries a rarity. That was no excuse, however, for the way they fell to the movement obtained off the seam of an attack which succeeded admirably in keeping the ball up to them. Ewen Chatfield, still nursing the left leg he gashed at practice on Friday made the initial inroads before lunch, dismissing Robbie Kerr for 17 and Wayne Phillips for 37. Both got fine edges to the wicketkeeper, lan Smith, as they pushed at balls outside their off-stump. After lunch, Hadlee struck two quick blows as the Australian batsmen’s failure to move into line with the ball became endemic. David Boon, a hero in Australia’s series-levelling second test triumph, drove well away from his body in the third over of the session. The resultant thick edge was taken by John Bracewell at third slip. Boon had scored 12 and Australia was 78 for three. The prized wicket of Allan Border was claimed by Hadlee in his next over as he made use of the stiff wind gusting across the W.A.C.A. to push the ball away from the left-hand-er. Border had been defeated by Chatfield outside his off stump before lunch. To Hadlee, he finally got the touch and Smith took his third catch. The Australian captain had scored just 12 and Australia was 85 for four. Without addition to the

total, the New Zealand captain, Jeremy Coney, dismissed Greg Ritchie. The Queenslander was trapped lbw for six as he tried to force on the legside. Coney’s gentle off-cutters were tailor-made for the conditions. Forcing him away proved an exasperating task and the undoing of Hookes. The Australian vice-cap-tain pulled Coney for one six but was out for 14 later in the same over trying to repeat the shot in the manner of an egotistical schoolboy. Bracewell took the catch at square leg and Australia was 114 for six. Coney finished with two for 43 off 21 successive overs, including 11 maidens. Matthews, meanwhile, had enjoyed a ridiculously charmed life, playing and missing at Chatfield and Hadlee and spearing desperately close to John Reid in the gully. The biggest New Zealand blemish of the day was also to Matthews’ advantage when Martin Crowe dropped a straightforward catch off Hadlee when he was seven. Crowe was at first slip, the position usually occupied by his brother, Jeff, who is suffering from a calf injury. Matthews also appeared to succeed in running out Hookes from a sharp single but the Australian vice-cap-tain was given the benefit of a considerable doubt by the umpire, Peter McConnell. Hadlee took his third wicket of the innings shortly before tea when Geoff Lawson edged him to first slip where Jeff Crowe was again in residence. Crowe juggled but finally

took the catch and Lawson was out for 11 with the total at 131. In the last session, Matthews’ luck finally ran out when Hadlee • bowled him with a ball which cut back between bat and pad. Matthews had scored 34 in 103 minutes. McDermott’s stand and deliver treatment of the New Zealand bowlers threatened to make him Australia’s top scorer. He drove strongly before being comprehensively bowled by Chatfield with the total at 190. Bob Holland avoided registering a sixth successive duck and even flourished briefly for four before he fell quickly with the return of Hadlee. The Australian 203 was scored in 321 minutes off 82.3 overs.

AUSTRALIA First innings W. B. Phillips c Smith b Chatfield. 37 R. B. Kerr c Smith b Chatfield 17 D. C. Boon c Bracewell b Hadlee 12 A. R. Border c Smith b Hadlee 12 G. M. Ritchie lbw b Coney 6 D. W. Hookes c Bracewell b Coney 14 G. R. J. Matthews b Hadlee 34 G. F. Lawson c J. Crowe b Hadlee 11 C. J. McDermott b Chatfield 36 BD. R. Gilbert not out 12 R. G. Holland c M. Crowe b Hadlee 4 Extras (lb 6 nb2) .... 8

Total 203 Fall:38, 63, 78, 85, 85, 114, 131, 159, 190. Bowling.— Hadlee 26.5, 6, 65, 5; Cairns 14, 1, 50, 0 (Inb); Chatfield 16, 6, 33, 3 (Inb); Coney 21, 11, 43, 2; Bracewell 6, 3,6, 0.