Cricket England names new trio

Press, 12 September 1986, Page 27

Cricket England names new trio

NZPA-Reuter London England’s cricket selectors have named three uncapped players; the all-rounder, Phillip de Freitas and the batsman, James Whitaker, both of Leicestershire, and the Surrey wicket-keeper, Jack Richards, for the forthcoming tour of Australia. The inclusion of the three in the 16-man party for the tour to start next month had been widely predicted. More of a surprise was the recall of the openers, Wilf Slack, the Middlesex player who was discarded earlier this year, and Nottinghamshire’s Chris Broad, overlooked since playing five tests in 1984. Graham Gooch’s decision not to go on the tour for family reasons had left a vacancy for an opener but

others were thought to be ahead of Slack and Broad, notably Tim Robinson and Martyn Moxon, who were both disregarded. The party has a distinctly Caribbean flavour, with Slack, de Freitas and the Warwickshire fast bowler, Gladstone Small, all having been bom in the West Indies. De Freitas, aged 20, was educated only a couple of kilometres from Lord’s. His attacking all-round play has brought him 91 wickets and 639 runs this season. Whitaker, aged 24, was born in Yorkshire and is an aggressive middle-order batsman who scored more than 1500 runs this year in spite of being out of action for a month with a broken hand. Neil Foster, Graham Dilley

and Small will comprise the fast bowling attack supported by the all-rounders, lan Botham and de Freitas. The England party will leave on October 9 and play its first match in Queensland nine days later. After the five-test series, England will play a World Series Cup limited-overs tournament against Australia and the West Indies in January and February. The touring party is: Mike Gatting (captain), John Emburey (vice-captain), Bill Athey, lan Botham, Chris Broad, Phillip de Freitas, Graham Dilley, Phil Edmonds, Neil Foster, Bruce French, David Gower, Allan Lamb, Jack Richards, Wilf Slack, Gladstone Small, James Whitaker.