Neeley doubts West Indies’ poor run will continue

Press, 5 February 1987, Page 34

Neeley doubts West Indies’ poor run will continue

By

DAVID LEGGAT

NZPA Wellington Picking a New Zealand team to play the West Indies presents a unique set of problems, said the convenor of the national selection panel, Don Neely, yesterday.

Mr Neely replaced Frank Cameron as chairman of selectors after the tour to England last year, when New Zealand won its first series in England. Choosing the right combination to face the West Indies, for years the undisputed champions of world cricket, is a difficult task simply because of their acknowledged strengths. But the West Indians, by their own lofty standards, have had a lean time recently. They drew their test series in Pakistan, were bundled out of the oneday series in Perth before Christmas and have only a slender mathematical chance of qualifying for the finals of the World Series Cup tournament, which they have dominated in all their five previous appearances. Mr Neely is unconvinced that their patchy

form this summer will carry on to their six-week tour of New Zealand. “Within this tour there are problems created because of the people you’re about to play. We all know how tired and jaded the West Indies are, but for 10 years they’ve been the greatest cricket machine the world has seen,” Mr Neely said. “Their brand of cricket is explosive, their batsmen are world class and they always have four fearsome fast bowlers. “They seem to have an unending supply of a commodity that is rare in the rest of the world.” He added that one quality frequently overlooked in assessing the West Indies is their superb standard of fielding. “They’ve got a couple of the all-time great fieldsmen. I’d pay admission just to see Roger Harper field,” Mr Neely said.

Although giving little away regarding the first test line-up, Mr Neely indicated that stability would be a predominant factor in selection. It would not be a series for the uninitiated. “There is no substitute for experience. The West Indies will drain even the most experienced players,” he said. When Mr Cameron was convenor, New Zealand teams had a consistent look. Players received plenty of opportunities to prove themselves. “Wherever possible that is the way to do things. I’d like to think that policy will continue,” Mr Neely said. The New Zealand team for the first test, and the Presidents XI team to play the West Indies at Hamilton in the first of two three-day matches starting on February 16, will be named on Saturday.