Cricket: Rain spoils Drum's search for rhythm

By RICHARD BOOCK

CHRISTCHURCH - Chris Drum's hopes of sending a message to the New Zealand cricket selectors were put on hold by the untimely arrival of the Christchurch summer yesterday.

The man so harshly treated on the recent tour of India had to deal with more frustration after rain washed out the opening day of the five-day match between New Zealand A and England A at Lincoln.

This was a particular blow for Drum, who - while desperate to restore his reputation as one of New Zealand's leading pace bowlers - is also keen to prove his value in the first-class arena.

Yet to break into the test side, the 25-year-old Aucklander has played five one-day internationals since making his debut in the eventually rained-out third ODI against India last summer, but disputes any suggestion he is better suited to the shorter game.

"It cracks me up when I hear that now," he said from Lincoln yesterday.

"It simply isn't true. I haven't actually played a helluva of a lot of first-class cricket - but I've performed reasonably well when I have. People are too quick to stereotype players these days.

"I was looking forward to getting a few overs under my belt and developing some rhythm in this match, because there's obviously no chance for a long bowl in the ODIs. The nature of the one-dayer means you're never really building up a lot of overs under your belt, and it's sometimes a struggle to maintain form.

"You need to be bowling a lot at this time of the year, and the game against England A seemed a chance for a good workout."

The irony of sitting on the edge of a wet, lush outfield in 10 deg C temperatures was not lost on Drum.

Just a fortnight earlier he was battling 45 deg C heat, fanatical Indian support and some of the best batsmen in world cricket.

There were moments to savour, such as dismissing Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar twice and player of the series Sourav Ganguly once.

"It was a tough experience," he said.

"But in terms of the bigger picture it was quite useful and character-building. There were definitely some lows but certainly some high points through it all.

"I can't imagine ever finding myself in more difficult situations, and in an odd sort of way that's comforting. But the pitches we played on over there were so different to the ones here. It's another world, really."

New Zealand play the West Indies in the first test on December 16, and should injury rule out either Dion Nash or Geoff Allott, Drum appears to be in a three-way race with New Zealand A team-mate Andrew Penn and left-armer Shayne O'Connor to fill the vacancy.

Despite the inclement weather in Christchurch, he said there was enough time to get a result against England A, particularly with the pitch likely to be freshened today and more bowler-friendly.

Some time can be made up during the remaining four days. Four hours can be regained by extending the playing hours from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm each day.