Smith snares remarkable century

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 36

Smith snares remarkable century

The circumstances of lan Smith becoming the first New Zealand wicket-keeper to make 100 dismissals in test cricket were as remarkable as the actual achievement. Smith attained his milestone at the Basin Reserve yesterday when at precisely 12.3 p.m. he caught the West Indian captain, Viv Richards, from the bowling of Ewen Chatfield. Even Ripley might take some convincing that Smith’s very first test victim was also caught at the Basin Reserve on the corresponding day of the opening test of the 1981 series with India — and that the records show it occurred at exactly 12.3 p.m. That first leg of an amazing coincidence caused the downfall of India’s first-innings top-

scorer, Sandeep Patil, off Gary Troup. The only variable was the digit on the calendar — Patil was dismissed on February 23, Richards on February 22. Smith is playing in his thirty-fourth test. He has six stumpings, and his catch off Richards was his ninety-fourth. Smith had caught Larry Gomes on Saturday afternoon and he also shared in the dismissal of Jeffery Dujon later yesterday. There have been a dozen wicket-keepers from other nations who have attained three figures — the list is topped by the Australian, Rodney Marsh, with a mammoth 355 — but Smith could hardly have chosen a more memorable situation to join them.

The West Indians were 50 ahead, had seven

wickets in hand, and Richards, the finest batsman in the game, was threatening to forcibly ram home his team’s advantage.

But even a "master can make a marginal misjudgment, and Richards

only faintly touched a ball to leg. Nimble footwork and confident handling, lowish and to his left, enabled Smith to make a reasonably difficult task appear quite simple.

As Richards departed, the drinks buggy arrived, and Smith’s feat could be toasted with cordial; somewhere else, someone should have been putting the champagne on ice. Smith, whose thirtieth birthday is next Saturday, became the New Zealand record-holder in England last year when he passed Ken Wadsworth’s total of 96. Only Warren Lees (59 dismissals) and Artie Dick (51), of all others, attained half-centuries during their terms behind the stumps for New Zealand. Unusually, Jeremy

Coney is this country’s third most prolific catcher. Gus Logie yesterday became his sixtieth victim. Smith has in effect beome a double centurion in test cricket terms. He scored an unbeaten 113 against England at Eden Park in 1983-84, joining Lees as the only New Zealand wicket-keeper to score centuries at the highest level.

Twelve bowlers shared in Smith’s first 100 dismissals; he took catches from Richard Hadlee (31), Chatfield (23), Lance Cairns (10), John Bracewell (9), Troup (6), Derek Stirling (5), Coney (3), Evan Gray (2), Martin Snedden (2), Stephen Boock (1), Martin Crowe (1) and John Morrison (1), and stumpings off Boock (3), Bracewell (2) and Coney (1).