Garner casts giant shadow

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 88

Garner casts giant shadow

From JOHN COFFEY in Wellington

Joel Garner, the biggest man on the field, also had the biggest influence on the opening day of the first cricket test at the Basin Reserve yesterday.

The 203 cm (6ft Bin) Gamer, whose wingspan enables him to cover an area roughly from first to second-and-a-half slip, took four wickets and held two catches as the West Indies had New Zealand staggering at 205 for eight by stumps. Only John Wright managed to produce an innings of any authority against the fearsome fourpronged West Indian fast bowling battery before he, ironically, was a victim of Viv Richards’ gentle pace.

Wright had the assistance of Dipak Patel in stemming a potentially disastrous erosion in the morning, and was joined by Jeff Crowe in a fifthwicket stand which further ' improved the situation.

But Wright’s dismissal for 75 after 245 minutes of dedicated service for his country’s cricketing cause started another crumbling which has left New Zealand with little hope of adding many more runs this morning. It was Garner who had initiated New Zealand’s problems by dismissing ken Rutherford after Richards had decided to discover what life his fast men could extract from a flat, grassless pitch.

Poor Rutherford. extended a nightmarish record against the West Indies. He was out for six, his highest score in 10 innings against a team dedicated to making the existence of opposing opening batsmen a mis-

, ery. Wright was also ill at , ease when confronted by

Garner, who conceded, only six scoring shots from 54 delivers before he was surprisingly banished from the bowling lists throughout the second session. Not that Gamer was inactive. The “Big Bird” swooped low and to his right to make ridiculously simple a gully catch from the middle of Patel’s scything bat. He was at slip when he just as athletically fell to his left to cause Wright’s downfall with a second grab. In the meantime, the pressure had been maintained by Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding. Gamer, however, had continued his initial spell long enough to bruise Jeremy Coney’s right forearm and revive memories of the much more severe damage he caused to Coney’s left arm when they last met in Jamaica. Soon afterwards Coney flinched as a ball from Marshall reared towards his ribs. Coney managed only to fend it into the hands of Gus Logie at short leg. The West Indies severely tested Martin Crowe’s patience by keeping him scoreless for 45 minutes, seldom wavering . from a shortish length which prevented Crowe moving on to the front foot. Crowe eventually got underway, and was unfortunate to be given out leg-before-wicket to an inswinger from Walsh. Even on such a placid pitch, Marshall achieved exceptional pace and several times had Patel mesmerised. It was not

the stage for Patel to demonstrate his wristy, fluent strokeplay, though the 53 runs his stay with Wright produced were invaluable in a time of dire need.

The promotion of Coney to No. 3 in the order gave Jeff Crowe the responsibility of shoring up the middle-order. Considering his indifferent form this summer, Crowe put up a particularly brave showing as he laboured along for 138 minutes before offering Logie his third catching opportunity.

Garner had returned after the tea break and went on to bowl 16 overs in a sustained exhibition of making the most of unsuitable conditions. His height enables him to gain an uncomfortable amount of bounce, this physical advantage being complemented by skills of speed and swing in beating the bats of John Bracewell and, two balls later, lan Smith.

During the course of that spell, which brought him three wickets for just 20 runs, Garner became the second West Indian to exceed 250 test wickets. Holding had begun the day two ahead of Gamer, but was left on 249. However, Holding — given fourth use of the ball yesterday — might now be regarded as the sport’s quickest stock bowler. He mustered enough velocity to have his Derbyshire teammate, Wright, chomping reflectively on his gum as he picked himself up from beneath one especially lethal bouncer and

was parsimonious in his concession Of runs. While Garner had. his unique trajectory, Marshall his sheer speed and Holding his accuracy, Walsh’s prime asset was movement through the air. There was simply no respite for the New Zealanders, not even when Richards took a turn. The West Indian captain’s batting and bowling averages at test level are both 53, and he marginally improved the latter when Wright became his twenty-first victim.

Stephen Boock, preferred ahead of Martin Snedden in the playing ;XI, survived 21 anxious minutes with Richard Hadlee to stumps. But the iftitiative is very much with the tourists, whose batsmen should have every chance to regain their touch today. NEW ZEALAND First innings K. R. Rutherford c Logie b Garner 6 J. G. Wright c Gamer b Richards 75 J. V; Coney c Logie b Marshall 3 M. D. Crowe lbw b Walsh 3 D. N. Patel c Gamer b Walsh 18 J. J. Crowe c Logie b Gamer 37 J. G. Bracewell lbw b Gamer 17 R. J. Hadlee not out. . 16 I. D. S. Smith lbw b Gamer 0 S. L. Boock not out 2 Extras (lb 7 nb2l) 28 Total (for 8 wkts) 205 Fall: 10, 19, 45, 107, 153, 181, 192 192. Bowling: M. D. Marshall 18, 2, 51, 1 (nb8); J. Gamer 25, 5, 34, 4 (nb6); C. A. Walsh 12, 1, 46, 2 (nb7); M. A. Holding 16, 4, 34, 0; I. V. A. Richards 11, 3, 32, 1; H. A. Gomes 1,0, 1, 0.