England batsmen strike form

Press, 21 July 1986, Page 29

England batsmen strike form

NZPA staff correspondent

Manchester

Ecstasy turned all too quickly into agony as the New Zealand cricket team lost the second and last oneday cricket international against England at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The New Zealanders who entered the match one-up in the series, seemed to have a second victory in their grasp after scoring 284 in their 55 overs on being sent in in excellent batting conditions. However, England, finding an unlikely hero in opener Bill Athey, reached that total for the loss of four wickets with eight balls to spare.

The transformation in fortune was even greater for the disaster-prone England team than for the tourists.

So inept was England in the field in the face of an onslaught led by Martin Crowe (93 not out) that its players were booed from the field.

However, the jeers turned to cheers as Athey (142 not out) and Graham Gooch (91) answered New Zealand in kind with a 193-run opening stand. That stand, which was not broken until the thirty-fifth

over, set England on the path to victory. It could not, however, depive New Zealand of the series prize, the Texaco Trophy. That went to the tourists because of their faster run rate over the two matches.

Athey, playing only because Mark Benson had a stiff neck, was named man-of-the-match for his superb innings.

Gooch was out, caught and bowled by Coney at 193 four runs after he and Athey had set a world record for an opening partnership in oneday cricket Previously, Kris Srikkanth and Ravi Shastri had scored 188 against England at Cuttack in 1984-85.

Jeremy Coney said he believed New Zealand had not scored enough runs in the middlee of its innings to make a winning total. The loss in quick succession of Ken Rutherford (63) and Coney (1), and good spells by spinners Phil Edmonds and John Emburey, slowed New Zealand just as it was seeking to accelerate after a steady start In the end, the New Zealand total was based upon the carnage rent on the England

bowlers by Martin Crowe in the final nine overs. A total of 123 came off those overs as Crowe, aided by his elder brother, Jeff, and Hadlee flayed the attack to all parts of the ground.

Scoreboard: NEW ZEALAND B. Edgar lbw b Dilley... 5 J. Wright c Pringle b Emburey 39 K. Rutherford b Edmonds 63 M. Crowe not out 93 J. Coney run out 1 J. Crowe b Pringle 48 R. Hadlee not out 18 Extras (lb 2, w 14, nb 1) 17 Total (for 5 wkts) 284 Fall: 16, 89, 133, 136, 249. Bowling: G. Dilley, 9,0, 55, 1; N. Foster, 7,0, 40, 0; D. Pringle, 10, 2, 63, 1; G. Gooch, 7,0, 48, 0; P. Edmonds, 11, 1, 42, 1; J. Emburey, 11, 1, 34, 1. ENGLAND G. Gooch c and b Coney . 91 C. Athey not out 142 D. Gower c Wright b Coney 9 A. Lamb b Bracewell ... 28 M. Gatting bM. Crowe . . 7 D. Pringle not out 0 Extras (lb 5, w 3, nb 1) 9 Total (for 4 wkts) 286 Fall: 193, 219, 265, 274.

Bowling: Hadlee, 11, 1, 34, 0; W. Watson, 11, 1, 46, 0; M. Crowe, 6,0, 36, 1; J. Bracewelll, 10.4, 0, 67, 1; E. Gray, 4,0, 39, 0; Coney, 11, 0, 59, 2.