Match slips away from Canterbury

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 48

Match slips away from Canterbury

From

JOHN COFFEY

in Auckland

Canterbury once more exhibited its inimitable ability to toss away cricket matches that were in its grasp when crumbling to a 60run Shell Trophy defeat to Auckland at Eden Park No. 2 yesterday.

Given the task of scoring 198 runs to win in 45 overs, Canterbury’s all-too-familiar fourth innings flutters led to it not only falling well short of its target but also presenting Auckland with 12 competition points. The latest batting collapse was a recurrence of the nightmarish tumbles in earlier games against Northern and Central Districts. On this occasion it was the final disaster after Canterbury had let slip a number of previous opportunities to finish off an Auckland side which was wobbling at the knees after trailing by 132 runs on the first innings. Trevor Franklin and Martin Pringle, who accumulated 170 runs for Auckland’s third wicket, both survived catching chances on Tuesday afternoon, and Pringle was dropped again yesterday when on 48. Another outstanding bowling stint from Michael Holding with the second new ball, well supported by the left-arm spin of Mark Priest, had Canterbury in command again in mid-afternoon. The ninth Auckland wicket fell when the home side was only 164 runs in credit with 193 minutes playing time remaining. But Richard de Groen, a young bowler who fills his rightful place at No. 11 in the batting order, took a particular liking to the deliveries of his Canterburj' counterpart, Bill Lawrence. Lawrence had allowed

only 19 runs from his first 13 overs. De Groen was responsible for most of the 21 which were conceded off his next 18 balls. The last pair not only provided Auckland with the luxury of a declaration, but cut 38 minutes into Canterbury’s batting time and pushed the winning target 33 runs further out of reach. In spite of all that, Canterbury was comfortably placed at 58 for one after 15 overs, not too far adrift of the required runrate of 4.4. Though hampered by his cracked finger, Paul McEwan had forcefully hit five leg-side boundaries and Blair Hartland was punishing anything loose outside his off-stump. The faster bowlers, Danny Morrison and de Groen, had been rendered ineffective by the geriatric pitch. Auckland’s front-line spinners, Bill Fowler — whose first innings figures of three for 54 were his best in first-class cricket — and Martin Bradley, will never be mentioned in the same sentences as the Grimmetts, Lakers or Benauds. But the wily Fowler was to be a willing partner to Canterbury’s most recent display of cricketing euthanasia. He tossed the ball up to the batsmen and chuckled away gleefully as they committed suicide. First, though, the medium-paced lan Fisher had McEwan caught, cutting. In the next over Hartland lifted a drive into Fisher’s clutches at

cover. After Rod Latham and Peter Kennedy had consolidated the situation, Bradley replaced Fisher. The off-spinner had bowled badly in the first innings, and his opening over was in similar vein yesterday. It was not Bradley’s fault that Kennedy clipped the second ball, a rank full toss, to Steve Brown at mid-on, or that David Hartshorn shouldered arms to the fourth and was bowled. In one over Bradley had two for two; after three overs he had two for 33. The radical change to his fortunes was caused by Holding, who belted six fours, a six and a single from Bradley’s 12 deliveries. Sadly for Canterbury, Holding’s next meaty blow, off a Fowler full toss, fell to Pringle at long-off. Priest holed out in similar fashion in Fowler’s next over, Andrew Hintz and Lee Germon could not halt the slide, and Latham and Lawrence settled down to survive the final 53 deliveries. Sixteen were left unbowled when Fowler had a ball jump from the rough surface and deflect from Lawrence’s bat to Fisher at silly point. So Canterbury, with 28 points from five matches, stays in third place behind Northern (40) and Otago (32), which both have a game in hand. Then comes Wellington (24 from four), Central (20 from five) and Auckland (16 from four). AUCKLAND

First innings 204 Second innings P. A. Horne c Hartland b Holding 14 T. J. Franklin c Germon b Holding 116 5. W. Brown lbw b Holding 5 M. R. Pringle c Latham b Holding 77 RA. J. Hunt b Holding 6 W. P. Fowler c Holding b Priest 29 I. D. Fisher b Holding . . 0 P. J. Kelly c Hartshorn b Priest 11 M. J. Bradley not out. . . 11 D. K. Morrison c Priest b Lawrence 2 R. P. de Groen not out . 25 Extras (b 9 lbl4, nbs, w5) 33 Total (for 9 wkts dec.). . 329 Fall: 25, 40, 210, 228, 243, 251, 280, 283, 296. Bowling.—M. A. Holding 32, 6, 77, 6 (nb3, w4); C. W. H. Lawrence 18, 5, 40, 1 (nb2, wl); M. W. Priest 36, 10. 85, 2; D. J. Hartshorn 27, 5, 79, 0; A. J. Hintz 8,2, 18, 0; R. T. Latham 1, O, 4,0; D. A. Dempsey 3,2, 3, 0. CANTERBURY First innings 336 Second innings B. R. Hartland c Fisher b Fowler2s D. A. Dempsey c Bradley b de Groen 8 P. E. McEwan c Kelly b Fisher 23 R. T. Latham not out. . . 23 P. G. Kennedy c Brown b Bradley 15 D. J. Hartshorn b Bradley 2 M. A. Holding c Pringle b Fowler 31 M. W. Priest c Pringle b Fowler 1 A. J. Hintz c Bradley b Fowler 0 L. K. Germon c Kelly b Fowler 1 C. W. H. Lawrence c Fisher b Fowler 1 Extras (lb 7 7 Total 137 Fall: 14, 60, 60, 87, 89, 124, 127, 131, 133, 137. Bowling.—D. K. Morrison 3, 1, 17, 0; R. P. de Groen 7,2, 17, 1; W. P. Fowler 18.2, 6, 41, 6; 1. D. Fisher 5,0, 15, 1: M. J. Bradley 9,2, 40, 2. “Man of match”: Trevor Franklin (Auckland).