Paul McEwan—the allrounder who became a specialist

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 36

Paul McEwan —the allrounder who became a specialist

Paul McEwan’s benefit season, the first awarded to a Canterbury cricketer, will be launched tomorrow evening. McEwan talks to JOHN COFFEY about his notable sports career.

Cricket followers can count themseves exceedingly fortunate that circumstances, garnished by a considerable dollop of natural ability, dictated Paul McEwan should turn most of his rich sporting talents towards their game. McEwan, poised to become the most prolific run-scorer in Canterbury’s cricket history, might well have developed into a dazzling inside back in either of the rugby codes, or achieved distinction as a golfer. Even in his second high school year few guessed that McEwan would represent his country as a batsman. If cricket was to take precedence over his other pastimes, then surely the lithe young man would make his mark as a medium-paced bowler. After all, McEwan still holds the St Andrew’s College record for most wickets in a season (more than 90), and when he first enlisted with the Old Collegians club it was as an all-rounder who could put the new ball to good use.

. Cricket in that developing period had to sit alongside several other sports in which McEwan was indulging with success.

His first Canterbury honours were in an undereight years rugby league side, and the tyro from Papanui — contemporary of such effective backs as David Field and Russell Seaward — achieved representative recognition each winter until he was firmly told that collegians of St Andrew’s muddied themselves only in rugby union. And so it was in 15-a--side football that McEwan was to catch the eyes of some astute judges. A Canterbury “colt of the year,” McEwan and his elder brother, Murray, were try-scorers when Christchurch beat Linwood in the 1974 club championship final. Paul McEwan also clinched victory for Christchurch, also at Linwood’s expense, with a superb dropped goal in a 1975 title-de-cider.

It was inevitable the brothers would play for Canterbury together, or so it was thought when Paul was also promoted to the provincial squad early in

the 1976 season. Tragically he broke his ankle in a club match just before his debut and glumly heeded the medical advice that he not play again.

“Whatever decision lay ahead between cricket and rugby was made for me,” said McEwan. But he did not depart rugby without leaving an imprint, not least on the jaw of the then All Black captain, Andy Leslie. “I was playing for Christchurch against Petone in a champion of champions tournament in Wellington, marking John Dougan at first-five. Dougan ran to my left and Leslie came off a lineout to my right, calling for the ball,” McEwan recalls. “There was only a split second to decide which one to tackle. I caught Leslie (who did have the ball by now) with a stiff right arm, and a big fight blew up. “Unfortunately, a photographer from ‘Truth’ was at the game and and there were huge headlines in the next issue,” he said.

Golf is still one of McEwan’s interests, and it is probable he will increase his involvement after retiring from cricket — “but that is not for * some time yet.” In a schools championship McEwan (with a handicap of eight) halved with the accomplished Geoff Saunders (who was playing off a two handicap). “It was quite a game — imagine having six birdies and only halving,” said McEwan, who also features on the honours board of the McLeans Island club as a past senior champion. McEwan clearly had potential from tee to green, just as he might have worn the Kiwi No. 6 or All Black No. 10 jersey if promise had been transformed into the finished product. But it was to be cricket which gave this popular, positive player his sporting stage. Bowling along quite happily with his mediumpaced deliveries, McEwan was first advised to concentrate more on his batting by Geoff Tait, his coach at St Andrew’s and a senior player for East Christchurch-Shirley.

“He switched me from the tail to No. 4. My break for Canterbury came in a

Brabin Cup trial when Alan Burgess was responsible for me having a bat at first drop after being No. 9 in the first innings,” said McEwan.

His cricket destiny was no longer in dispute after he hammered 116 runs from 84 balls, the opposing attack including the decidedly useful Chris Galway and lan Wilson. At Old Collegians McEwan came into the sights of the venerable lan Cromb, an old New Zealand captain. “He encouraged me to keep on hitting the ball. I listened, but I suppose I am one of those guys who has a good eye and believes that the bat is to score runs with and not just keep the bowlers out. Taking the game to them has given me personal satisfaction and pleasure,” said McEwan.

Many a potentially dull day at Lancaster Park has been injected with colour because McEwan treated a half-volley on its merits, no matter what stage of his innings it was encountered. After a first-class debut for the New Zealand under-23 team against Auckland in late 1976, McEwan was chosen for Canterbury the next summer.

It was tough going for a

time — run out without scoring in his maiden innings at Invercargill, a “pair” when confronted by the wily Central Districts spinner, David

O’Sullivan, in his third match, another failure in his fourth game. “I was fast losing confidence,” remembers McEwan, “but was well looked after by guys like Maurice Ryan, Bevan Congdon and Dayle Hadlee (as much as he tried to knock my head off at practice). “They persevered with me as I went through my rough patch and I like to think I’ve produced the right results because of that. There was a nucleus of top players, something we haven’t always had.”

At last McEwan rid himself of his doubts. He scored 63 against Wellington at the Hutt Recreation Ground, then an unbeaten half-century at home against Auckland. Canterbury won the then roundrobin Shell Cup, was runner-up in the Shell Trophy, and McEwan contributed 58 to the Gillette Cup knock-out final win over Northern Districts at Lancaster Park.

The highlight of McEwan’s 74 appearance for Canterbury was the last match of the 1983-84 Shell Trophy competition.

After coming in at five for two (a third wicket fell at 29), McEwan scored a personal best 155 to assure Canterbury of the trophy. Against the bowling bat-

tery. comprising Gary Troup, Sean Tracy, Martin Snedden, Warren Stott, Tom Hellaby and Alan Hunt, McEwan thoroughly dominated Eden Park. He reaped his runs from 192 balls in four hours, striking 26 boundaries. McEwan returned for an encore in the second innings, a half-century accumulated from only 35 balls in just 35 minutes. Such days obliterate the shattering disappointments of 1982-83 — overlooked by New Zealand’s selectors, relieved of the Old Collegians captaincy, then dropped by Canterbury.

“I was told it was because I missed a Canterbury training. But if they were unsure about my fitness why was I backmarker for the sprints at other sessions? I was as fit as I’ve ever been, and felt in really good form.”

McEwan has also been hurt by having served under a succession of captains — “Ryan, Bull twice, Leggat, Brown, Wright, Fulton, Hadlee, Dempsey and 12th man for Thomson, have I forgotten any?” — without being invited to lead Canterbury.

“It’s been said they didn’t want to influence the way I play. I like to think I would have benefited by being captain. There is no way it would happen now — I’d turn it down because it wouldn’t be good for Canterbury to have another stop-gap captain,” he said. Between 1980 and 1985 McEwan twice toured Australia and also visited Pakistan and Sri Lanka with New Zealand teams and was in a Young New Zealand squad in Zimbabwe. He appeared in four test and 17 limitedover internationals.

His debut could hardly have been more memorable, for it coincided with the one-day win over the 1980 West Indians in Christchurch. But life at the top was to become much more difficult, as McEwan discovered in Australia later that year.

“I felt I was a lamb to the slaughter. We had experienced batsmen, like

Burgess, Parker and Howarth, yet I was shunted up to No. 3, where I had never batted in my life. The new boy should have gone in at 5 or 6. “My confidence dropped. It was no help that net practice usually consisted of guys bowling bouncers from 18 paces. They probably had a lot of fun.

“When you look at others such as Martin Crowe or Ken Rutherford, who started badly and stayed in the team, I wish I could have built on that learning experience in Australia,” said McEwan. But McEwan was not recalled for four years, reaching Pakistan via the Young New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe. “I arrived with an average of 90, but at first could not get a game in Pakistan. In my only test I scored 40 not out and came home with an average of 114 — once out in three innings,” he said.

Just before McEwan was to travel to Australia for a one-day series in 1984-85, he was telephoned by a Canterbury official and told he had been left out of the New Zealand squad to tour the West Indies.

“No explanation ever came from the selectors. I’d even had the innoculations. Although I relished playing for New Zealand, it’s not an easy life to be picked up and dropped, picked up and dropped.Employment becomes a big problem,” he said. McEwan, a few. weeks short of his 35th birthday, will, however, mostly be remembered as a winner, certainly in the context of Canterbury cricket. He has already overtaken Tony Mac Gibbon as the most prolific scorer for Old Collegians; another nine games and 294 runs will have him ahead of Barry Hadlee as a dual Canterbury record-holder. “It would be good to head off Barry, then get a few more runs for someone else to chase. When you have played for so many years you become aware of records, but it would be nice to see Canterbury on top of the Shell points table, too,” he said.

Another cricket writer said McEwan’s cover drive "sang of summer.” Long may McEwan’s melody play on.