Spinner back in Canty squad

Press, 23 October 1989, Page 32

Spinner back in Canty squad

By

TIM DUNBAR

Three slow left-arm bowlers, including Marist’s Garry MacDonald, who last played firstclass cricket four seasons ago, have been included in the 198990 Canterbury squad named at the week-end.

MacDonald, aged 33, joins the St Albans spin twins, Andrew Nuttall and Mark Priest, who took 43 wickets between them for Canterbury last summer. Best remembered for taking six wickets in an innings (including a record four caught-and-bowled) against Pakistan in his debut season five years ago, MacDonald has not played for Canterbury since the 1985-86 season.

He was unavailable for the next two seasons, while “setting up a house,” .and was unable to regain a place in the Canterbury team last year. Because of injury he could not play in the trials.

MacDonald was chuffed to make the 20-man squad but not overly confident about the possibility of a return to first-class cricket. The Shell Trophy side

will be named on November 20. “It would be nice but it’s a big squad and there’s a bit of culling to be done,” MacDonald said yesterday. “If you look at it logically there are nine to be dropped.”

He said that the other two slow bowlers had done nothing wrong last season but he would at least “keep them honest.”

The Marist man is almost entitled to be regarded as an allrounder after his outstanding form with the bat in club cricket last season. He hit three centuries (an unbeaten 68 was his previous best) and his average of 43.92 put him ninth on the list.

MacDonald now feels he would be keeping out a younger cricketer if he played for the B team. But he will have a talk with the convener of selectors, Brian Salt, before making any conditions about availability. He still has fond memories of those figures of six for 62 against Pakistan. “It was just one of those freak days. But I’ve bowled a lot better other times and had less return.” Mr Salt said that MacDonald had earned a recall with his string of “tons” last year and with three left-arm spinners in the squad there would be plenty of competition.

One member of the Harris

family, Ben, has failed to make the squad but the name of his younger brother, Chris, is there for the first time. Chris Harris had an excellent tour of England with the New Zealand youth team over the northern summer, including a score of 125 in the first “test.” The older Harris made a fine 45 against Pakistan on his debut last season but managed only 45 more in his other five first-class innings.

Mr Salt said this was only a basic squad and other players could be considered. “There’s still time for anybody to force their way into the final team.” The full squad announced by the selectors, Messrs Salt, Trist and Denis Averhart, is:— ■ David Boyle, Garry MacDonald (Marist); Chris Cairns, Rod Latham (Lancaster Park); Chris Flanagan, Richard Hadlee, Stu Roberts (High School Old Boys); Lee Germon, Blair Hartland, Darren Murray, Richard Petrie (Sydenham); Roger Ford, Chris Harris, Andrew Nuttall, Mark Priest (St Albans); Steve Hawker (Burnside-West University); Peter Kennedy, Anup Nathu (Woolston W.M.C.); Paul McEwan (Old Collegians); Paul Winter (North Canterbury).