Cricket: Walmsley poised for test recall

By RICHARD BOOCK

PORT ELIZABETH - He is not quite the last man standing, but the fact that he can climb on the New Zealand cricket team's bus without the help of a stretcher-bearer or nurse is likely to play a big part in Kerry Walmsley's test fortunes tonight.

The 27-year-old seamer has been the big mover during the build-up to the second test against South Africa, and seems likely to win a recall on the back of an impressive spell against Border this week, and the fact that his main competitors are either injured or are not performing.

Andrew Penn seems certain to be ruled out by the side-strain injury he aggravated at East London, while Daryl Tuffey has been infuriatingly inconsistent, and on present form poses more of a threat to wicketkeeper Adam Parore than any of the South African batsmen.

Add to that the problems with Chris Martin's abdominal strain and a slight concern over Brooke Walker's durability, and you can imagine that the idea of a fully-fit bowler who can land two consecutive deliveries in the same vicinity might be tempting for the tour selectors.

Walmsley came to prominence five years ago when he played two tests against Zimbabwe, but is remembered by the South Africans for his efforts for a President's XI in the 1994-95 summer.

Having not seen him bowl before, South African opening batsman Andrew Hudson apparently noted the square-on action at the popping crease, prepared himself for the in-swinger, and to his utter consternation lost his off stump to the out-swinger, which used to be Walmsley's stock delivery.

Now playing for Otago, the former Aucklander's prospects have since been affected by injury and indifferent form, to the extent that he played just five first-class games last season.

But with fast bowlers falling like ninepins this year, he was fast-tracked back into contention under Sir Richard Hadlee's convenership, and performed reasonably well for the Academy side during their winter tournament in India.

If Walmsley does make it back into the test arena, he will become the fourth Aucklander to make the present team after transferring south to Otago, following in the footsteps of Paul Wiseman, Matt Horne and Mark Richardson.

New Zealand coach David Trist has evidently been encouraged by Walmsley's enthusiasm during the tour, and if he has mentioned the need for someone to bowl a consistent line and length once this week, he must have mentioned it a hundred times.

Trist, who knows Port Elizabeth well after coaching Eastern Province for six years, believes that the St George's Park pitch will favour the seamers and suggested that the more sporting the surface, the better chance his side had of grabbing an initiative.

"It's still got a fair bit of grass. I was surprised where it was just two days out from the test," he said. "It's holding a lot of moisture, it's pretty soft, and at this stage the key just goes right through it.

"That suggests they will struggle to get it hard. It's unlikely to provide a lot of spin, and I would be surprised to see it last five days."

He expected to see some pronounced movement early on, but warned that the East Cape's drying on-shore breezes could flatten out the pitch with surprising speed, leading to a difficult time for all bowlers.

"You've still got to bowl in the right channels but if it is doing a bit, it brings us a shade closer to the opposition, really," Trist said.

South Africa checked into the same hotel as the New Zealanders yesterday, and promptly had a two hour-long team meeting before heading into town for some light entertainment.

Having beaten New Zealand 5-0 in the one-day internationals, and already with a 1-0 lead in the test series, the hosts have always managed to find another gear when required. It would be a something of a surprise if they were not able to exploit New Zealand's inexperience at St George's Park.

Apart from the motivation of securing the series with a win in this test, they are aware that South African captain Shaun Pollock is just 10 wickets shy of the 200 mark, and possibly still feel the steely gaze of public scrutiny on their backs after the disappointment of Hansie Cronje.

New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (capt), Mark Richardson, Craig Spearman, Mathew Sinclair, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Adam Parore, Brooke Walker, Shayne O'Connor, Kerry Walmsley, Chris Martin, Daryl Tuffey.

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (capt), Gary Kirsten, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Lance Klusener, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini. 12th man: Andrew Hall.

* Television coverage of the test starts on Sky Sport at 9.25 pm.