Cricket: England looking sicker by the day

By RICHARD BOOCK

CHRISTCHURCH - For a couple of reasons, England's besieged test cricket selectors are unlikely to be sending an SOS to these shores for a while.

Not only have the next batch of contenders - the England A side - run into some equally lame form against New Zealand A in Christchurch, but they have also been laid low by chicken pox, influenza and several cases of near tonsillitis.

Christchurch's most miserable November in 50 years has taken its toll on the tourists, with allrounder Ronnie Irani virtually quarantined after being diagnosed with chicken pox, Michael Gough bed-ridden with the flu, and several others - Chris Schofield the worse of them - battling an assortment of colds and viruses.

Blood was taken from all team members and officials yesterday and there remains a faint possibility that the next tour match, against Central Districts at Palmerston North starting on Sunday, could be in jeopardy. The blood test results are expected back this afternoon.

Things were hardly much better for England A in a cricketing sense either, with Mark Alleyne's side facing three sessions of grim survival today after being batted out of the match by their hosts.

Dismissed for a paltry 123 in their first innings, England A were left 417 to win when New Zealand A captain Gary Stead finally declared his team's second innings closed at 278 for nine yesterday afternoon, following an absurd waste of time through the middle session.

Stead was doubtless counting on the 30-odd overs still remaining when New Zealand A came out to bat again, but as a local lad should have guessed the light was never going to last. He should not have been surprised when the day's play ended just three overs and 16 minutes later.

Even then, there was enough time for more ignominy for the tourists when opening batsman Ian Ward was beaten and bowled by Chris Drum's first ball of the innings, England A eventually limping through to six for one at the close.

Earlier, New Zealand convener of selectors Ross Dykes watched Mark Richardson (67 not out), Lou Vincent (64) and Matthew Bell (58) bat their team into a match-winning position, with Richardson surviving an early chance to prosper for the second time in the match, following his first innings of 74.

With the first test against the West Indies starting in Hamilton on December 16, the most interesting question surrounding the New Zealand line-up is whether Dykes' panel will opt for Drum or Andrew Penn as the replacement for Geoff Allott, who has been officially ruled out of contention.

Before this match, it seemed Penn's perceived versatility had given him the inside running, in which case his four first-innings wickets should have kept him there. But Drum has bounced back strongly from the pasting he received in India, taking the first three wickets of England A's first innings, as well as bowling Ward last night.

Elsewhere, the New Zealand test line-up looks to be relatively settled, with the incumbent opener Stead likely to retain his berth despite a double failure in Christchurch, and Craig Spearman certain to be preferred ahead of Mathew Sinclair for the No 3 slot.

New Zealand coach David Trist said the combination of Penn and Drum had been one of the most impressive features of the New Zealand A effort.