Chance for new players

Press, 16 January 1988, Page 84

Chance for new players

By

GARY BIRKETT

The England team manager, Mickey Stewart, is confident the less experienced members of the touring party will emerge as genuine test quality players during its forthcoming tour of New Zealand.

The England team arrived in Christchurch yesterday and at first glance appears to be a relatively unknown side, apart from a few "name players.” At a low key press conference Mr Stewart said it was unfortunate that the likes of David Gower, lan Botham and Graham Gooch were unavailable but it meant the new players had an opportunity to establish themselves.

"That is going to be one of the more interesting aspects of the tour. Players like David Capel and Neil Fairbrother could ' emerge as the future stars of English cricket,” Mr Stewart said England did have a solid core of experience.

“Mike Gatting, Chris Broad, Bill Athey and Tim Robinson have done very well in test cricket while Neil Foster has done well in the last eight ninths and will be the spear-

head of the bowling attack.*’ Gatting, who many feel will lose the captaincy if England does not perform up to scratch, said there would be little between England and New Zealand in the three test series. “If my players play to their ability then I am sure we will have a good series. Obviously New Zealand has a good side but I feel that the test playing nations have levelled out. They are all capable of beating each other and that includes the West Indies.” England practised yesterday and wil have another training session today before flying north tomorrow for a three day match against Wellington at the Basin Reserve.

After the rigours of the controversial Pakistan tour the players are now feeling refreshed, according to the tour manager, Peter Lush. “The break of three weeks at home with wives and families was ideal in helping us freshen up and we are all looking forward to this tour. We are very pleased to be here and just want the Pakistan controversy to be regarded as dead and

buried.” He confirmed that Gatting did not receive an apology from the Pakistan umpire, Shsakoor Rana. “He did get a letter during the third test but it did not contain an apology. It was a nice letter but it was a letter of regret rather than an apology. We had expected that it would contain an apology.”

The England players would accept the decision of umpires in New Zealand without comment, he said. “I certainly don’t expect any of the players to speak to the media about umpiring decisions. We just want to go out and play the game.” The management stressed that the players had been told that they are to behave in a manner befitting an England cricket side. England’s last tour in 1983-84 produced allegations of late night hotel romps, broken windows and cannabis smoking. The team arrived with three changes from the side that lost the Pakistan series last month. The Surrey wicketkeeper, Jack Richards, joins' the Yorkshire opener, Martyn Moxon,

and the Worcestershire seamer, Neal Radford; replacing Gooch, Jack Russell and Nick Cook. One of the surprise omissions from the side is Allan Lamb, who played in the World Cup series but was not required for the Pakistan tour. Many felt that Lamb, in spite of his recent lack of test form, would have been a certainty for New Zealand if the team had been selected after the World Cup instead of two months ago. The most experienced members of, the touring party, which numbers 16, are Gatting (61 tests), John Emburey (49), Graham Dilley (31), Robinson (23), Foster (21) and Athey (20). Chris Broad, with a batting average of 40.17 from 17 tests, heads the averages while the leading wicket takers are Emburey (122), Dilley (100) and Foster (60). The full side is.— Gatting (captain), Emburey (vicecaptain), Athey, Broad, Capel, Phil De Freitas, Dilley, Fairbrother, Eddie Hemmings, Foster, Bruce French, Paul Jarvis, Moxon, Radford, Richards, Robinson. The first test starfe in Christchurch on February 12.