N.Z. wins third test and series

Press, 5 December 1985, Page 80

N.Z. wins third test and series

New Zealand won its first cricket test series against Australia with a six-wicket victory in the third and deciding test at Perth yesterday.

Set 164 to win in its second innings New Zealand reached the target just on 6 p.m. (Perth time) with 11 overs remaining. The winning run came from an edge through slips by Jeff Crowe. At the other end was his brother, Martin, who had steered New Zealand to its victory with a fine 42 not out.

New Zealand was again given a good start by its openers, Geoff Wright and Bruce Edgar. They put on 47 and then John Reid helped Wright and later Martin Crowe to bring the target within reach. The win is New Zealand’s third in an overseas series. The first was against Pakistan in 1969 and the second against Sri Lanka in 1984.

Set to score 164 in a minimum of 84 overs for victory after bundling Australia out for 259 in its second innings early yesterday, New Zealand was 104 for two at tea. The tourists were well ahead of the rate of 1.95 runs an over needed to forge a win on an increasingly erratic WACA pitch. Martin Crowe (16) and John Reid (23) were batting positively to combat the pitch and build on an excellent opening stand of 47 by John Wright and Bruce Edgar. Wright and Edgar continue steadily until lunch, keeping close to the asking run rate.

Edgar quietly accumulated ones and twos, while Wright was more aggressive, straight driving Greg Lawson for four and pulling Craig McDermott to the square leg boundary.

Fifteen minutes before lunch, the Australian captain, Allan Border, introduced the off-spinner, Greg Matthews, in an attempt to take advantage of the bowlers’ rough outside the left-handers’ offstump. New Zealand went to lunch at 33 without loss after 18 overs. Wright was 19 and Edgar 10.

It soon became obvious that Matthews’ exploitation of the rough would pose considerable problems for the New Zealand batsmen. In Matthews’ first over after lunch Wright, on 20, had a life when the wicketkeeper, Wayne Phillips, fumbled a stumping chance. Edgar was Matthews’ first victim when he stretched well forward, and was judged by the umpire, Mr Ray Isherwood, to have prodded a catch to Border at silly mid-off. Replays indicated, however, that Edgar’s bat had been firmly tucked behind his pad and the ball had come off the pad.

The wicket fell at 47 in the twenty-sixth over, Edgar scoring 16 runs in 106 minutes.

Wright was joined by John Reid. The pair brought up the New Zealand 50 in 120 minutes of 28.3 overs.

An hour after lunch, the total had advanced to 61 for one after 33 overs.

Matthews was replaced by Bob Holland after nine overs which had yielded 13 runs.

Holland’s occasional very loose ball proved costly, with Wright driving him to the boundary to take the runs required by New Zealand to less than 100.

, In Holland’s second over, Reid advanced down the wicket and lofted him over the head of mid-on to the boundary. Wright’s enterprising innings came to an end in the thirty-ninth over with the New Zealand total at 77. He made the fatal error of playing back to David Gilbert and was bowled for 35. On 14, Reid was fortunate when spearing Gilbert just to the left of David Hookes at first slip. In Gilbert’s next over, he put down a diving chance from Martin Crowe. Crowe had seven, and the New Zealand total was 92. Crowe and Reid’s runs came fast in the 30 minutes before tea. Holland had 27 runs scored off his first eight overs and the New Zealand 100 was posted in 188 minutes off 45 overs, well in advance of the required run rate. NEW ZEALAND First innings 299 Second innings J. Wright b Gilbert .... 35 B. Edgar c Border b Matthews 16 J. Reid c Phillips b Gilbert 28 M. Crowe not out 42 J. Coney b Gilbert 16 J. Crowe not out 2 Extras 25 Total (for 4 wkts) 165 Fall: 47, 77, 121, 149. Bowling: G. Lawson 21, 7, 35, 0; C. McDermott 13, 1, 27, 0; D. Gilbert 23, 5, 49, 3; G. Matthews 9, 3,13, 1; R. Holland 8,1, 27, 0. AUSTRALIA First innings 203 Second innings W. Phillips c Smith b Chatfield 10 R. Kerr b Hadlee 0 D. Boon b Hadlee 50 A. Border b Hadlee .... 83 G. Ritchie c M. Crowe b Coney 44 D. Hookes b Bracewell. . 7 G. Matthews lbw b Hadlee 14 G. Lawson c J. Crowe b Hadlee 21 C. McDermott lbw b Bracewell 11 D. Gilbert b Hadlee .... 3 R. Holland not out 0 Extras (2b 51b 9nb) ... 16 Total 259 Fall: 3, 28, 109, 195, 207, 214, 234. 251. 255. 259. Bowling: R. Hadlee 39, 11, 90, 6; L. Cairns 26, 6, 59, 0 (8nb); E. Chatfield 30, 9, 47, 1 (Inb); J. Bracewell 28.5, 8, 47, 2; J. Coney 8,5, 9, 1.