Good day despite dismissal

Press, 28 December 1987, Page 26

Good day despite dismissal

PA Melbourne Despite the disappointment of being dismissed for 99 on Saturday the New Zealand batsman, John Wright, felt he had a good day in the third cricket test against Australia. Wright was dismissed one run short of his seventh test century, edging a catch to the wicket-keeper, Greg Dyer, off the fast bowler, Craig McDermott He is the third New

Zealander to be dismissed for 99 in a test innings, after John Beck in 1953-54 against South Africa at Cape Town, and Richard Hadlee at Lancaster Park against England in 1983-84. However, the 33-year-old vice-captain was philosophical about his fate. “It was definitely a good day for me. It would have been good to have been there at stumps because that’s what I was trying to do.

“But certainly in the context of my test career it was a good day," he said. He was understandably disappointed not to have reached his hundred, which would have put him level with the former captains, Bevan Congdon and Glenn Turner and one behind Martin Crowe in test centuries. Wright and Crowe took turns to hold a test batting record against Aus-

tralia on Saturday. When play began Crowe had the record for most runs by a New Zealander in tests against Australia, 743. Wright passed that mark when he reached 36. When he was dismissed for 99, he had scored 807 runs. However Crowe regained the record when he got to 65, on his way to 82. At the end of his innings Crowe bad scored 825 runs.