New Zealand: Batting lets down championship front runner (1 March 1999)

1 March 1999

Batting lets down championship front runner

The Christchurch Press

Poor batting, more than Saturday's deluge, has been responsible for Riccarton's leadership of the Canterbury club cricket championship becoming even more tenuous, says captain Robbie Frew.

Rain washed out the first day of the penultimate round in all four games, with Riccarton (69 points) under threat from East-Shirley (65) and High School Old Boys (64) and facing an untimely bye in the last round.

Instead of playing for a possible 16 points over two days, Riccarton will be seeking 12 points in an unrestricted (unlimited overs) one-day match against Old Collegians at Hagley 3 next Saturday.

Last summer Riccarton dominated senior cricket, carrying off the WestpacTrust Trophy and WestpacTrust Cup.

It was eliminated in this season's limited-overs cup minor semi-final, and is under siege in the trophy competition.

At one stage it led by 30 points. That was deceptive because the closest pursuers had already sat out byes, and Frew said a possible 16 points always had to be deducted from the lead.

"Having a bye is certainly not ideal. Now instead of having only two more bats this season we can only look forward to one," said Frew.

While critical of Riccarton's Hagley 3 home pitch, Frew lays most of the blame on his batsmen.

"We have just had too many guys out of form, who haven't got the runs on the board. It's been a real struggle," he said.

"I would hate to think what the average score on Hagley 3 would be, maybe 150. You only have to look at someone like Gary Stead before Christmas when we played a lot on Hagley 3 and he got only one 50. Now he's New Zealand A captain and having a blinder of a season on the good tracks around the country."

Frew said Riccarton would have been competitive had it consistently reached 200.

"While we have played badly on Hagley 3 not a lot of other teams have come here and done much better."

During the off-season Riccarton lost Australian all-rounder Neil Maxwell, off-spinner and useful batsman Justin Paul, and long-serving wicketkeeper Brent Glanville. Maxwell's win-at-all-costs attitude went with him.

"Definitely his presence was huge and it always will be in any team he plays for. But I maintain it's pretty sad if guys need him to motivate themselves," said Frew.

"It's hard to put a finger on it without being too critical. A lot of guys have moved on in their lives, leaving university to get a job or setting up a business.

"We are not a young side in terms of Christchurch senior cricket. We have a lot of guys from 24 to 28 with other things to do."

Not all was doom and gloom, however, and it was significant that the three players Frew named as having boosted their value were all primarily bowlers.

Hayden Shaw, fresh out of Shirley Boys' High School, represented New Zealand under-19s and had "huge potential"; Darren Walker had earned Canterbury B and under-23 recognition and "can go a long way now he's in the frame"; and Wayne Stead "is always very consistent".

Riccarton has not lost its title yet, though it is ominous that East-Shirley and Old Boys are drawn to meet in the last round in what could be a winner-take-all contest.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)