New format favours positive cricket

Press, 4 December 1985, Page 54

New format favours positive cricket

A restructured points system, designed to encourage positive cricket, will be introduced for the inaugural under 20 national tournament, which begins in Christchurch this week. The tournament replaces the under 22 and under 19 series of recent years and is the solitary bridge between the new under 18 contest and provincial B team competition. No batting bonus points will be awarded. The bowling team will receive one point for taking two wickets two points for four wickets, three for six wickets, four for eight wickets, and five when the ninth wicket is captured. Bowling points will be gathered only in the first innings of the two-day matches. A first innings win will be worth six points, which will ;be retained in the event of 'an outright defeat. Outright victory has a value of 12 points, and a tie six points.

Seven members of the Canterbury team — to be captained by the highly

promising all-rounder, David Hartshorn — played in last summer’s under 19 tournament in Hastings. Canterbury finished second behind Wellington and, boasting a particularly strong batting lineup, will be seeking to improve on that placing.

The bulk of the runs will be expected to come from Hartshorn, Blair Hartland and Gary Lund — all batsmen with considerable senior club experience — Jon Preston, Darren Murray and Grant Dickson. Preston, a left-hander, will open the batting with Lund, and Canterbury is fortunate to have a particularly short batting tail, with' the lower order players, Mark Hastings, Richard Petrie and Andrew Vincent, all capable of providing runs. The bowling will be based around the medium pace of Steve Hawker, in his second season of senior cricket with Burnside-West, the Timaru player, Brad Ritchie, and Lund; the in-swing of Hastings; and the two slow bowlers, Hartshorn (leg

spin) and David Aitken (off spin). First round matches, tomorrow and on Friday, will be played throughout the country. Canterbury' will meet Otago at Hagjey Oval; Northern Districts will face Auckland in Auckland; and Wellington will entertain Central Districts. <' The five visiting teams will then assemble in Christchurch for the remaining four rounds, at Hagley Oval, Burnside Park, Ham and Hagley respectively, starting on Sunday.. Wellington is likely to present the most formidable combination, and. its match against Canterbury in the last round could conceivably decide the tournament winner. A national under 19 team will be announced at the .end of the tournament, with the selection panel being convened by the. chairman of the New Zealand senior .panel, Mr Frank Cameron. Canterbury will be coached and maanged by two wise cricketing heads, Bob Carter and Wayne Wilson.