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New Zealand win opener, upset England

Ahmedabad, Feb. 14: New Zealand taught England a stiff lesson about the importance of fielding in one-day cricket. Mike Atherton=92s men put down at least three clear chances, fielded raggedly overall and succumbed by 11 runs.

The opening match of the World Cup had got off to an exciting start with this upset result. To blame England's woeful effort in the field is not to trivialise New Zealand's splendid all- round performance though. Lee Germon's side may lack star value, but packs enough firepower in its batting, and great determina- tion in fielding and bowling, in that order.

The New Zealand innings was built around a superb hundred (101 in 132 balls) by Nathan Astle, his third in limited-overs cricket and also perhaps his best. Astle, a free-stroking right-hander who is not afraid to give the fast bowlers the charge, has a good eye and is quick on his feet.

Nathan excels in the lofted drive and the pull, and he was fed for these strokes by some pretty in-consistent England bowling in which only Dominic Cork in his first spell, and Richard Illing- worth in his second seemed to exhibit the requisite control.

As Astle thrived, New Zealand galloped towards a huge total, much to the chagrin of Atherton who had opted to field first after winning the toss. With the wicket getting slower and lower, the England captain had reason to feel unhappy with himself for this error in judgement. Then his fielders put down chance after chance, and the game appeared to slip further away from England.

Nevertheless, England struck back well to restrict the New Zea- land team to 239 for six. At one stage, they were 196 for three, and with Astle and Chris Cairns (36 off 29 deliveries) in full flow, a total of 250-plus seemed inevitable. But this rally in the field did not continue with the batting. Mike Atherton was bowled by Dion Nash for one, which was a severe setback because the England captain has not only been the mainstay of his side, but also the inspiration in recent times.

With the wicket assisting the slow bowlers run-scoring was never going to be easy, though Graeme Hick, tall and upright, stroked the ball with splendid timing and picked up the gaps beautifully in front of the wicket.

Hick (85), had useful partnerships with Alec Stewart and Neal Fairbrother to put England back in contention, but with the run rate mounting some desperate measures were necessary, and these don't come without risk. Hick's run-out was the turning point of the game. There were thrills aplenty as Dominic Cork and Dar- ren Gough used the long handle effectively. But scoring at more than eight runs an over was always beyond the lower order, and especially against some tight bowling and fielding.

So, New Zealand snatched two valuable points through fine leadership, aggressive batting and fielding, and controlled bowling. They also perhaps served a warning to the other sides that star players are not necessarily the sole path to success. Committed, intelligent cricket can often be more effective.