T.W. Graveney Seems To Be Having The Last Word

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 11

T.W. Graveney Seems To Be Having The Last Word

(THE outstanding success of -*■ T. W. Graveney in the tests against the West Indies adds a further strange twist to an unusual test career. From his first appearance for England in 1951 Graveney has charmed spectators in Australia and New Zealand, in India and Pakistan, in the West Indies and England: but never in South Africa. For among the inexplicable gaps in Graveney’s cricket story are his failures to win selection for South African tours in 1956-57 and 1964-65. Graveney has made good scores consistently throughout his first-class career, and in an age largely of cricketing labourers, he was always the artist Physique, technique and style combined to make him among the most attractive of modern batsmen. And his rewards have been sadly short of what he deserved.

After one test appearance against South Africa in 1951. Graveney went to India and Pakistan, averaging over 60 in the tests, and he was the outstanding tour batsman, with six centuries and an aggregate of 1393. He made a tour of the West Indies in 1953-54, averaging 38 in the tests, and 56 for all firstclass matches. He also toured Australia and New Zealand in 1954-55, and had a test average of 44 against Australia, while scoring four centuries and making 855 runs on tour at 45 an innings.

In England in 1956, Graveney topped the general averages with 2397 runs at an average of 50. But he played in only two tests

against the Australians and was not chosen for the subsequent South African tour. But he came back, with a vengeance, in 1957: after a duck in his first test innings against the West Indies (in the second match of the series) he made 258 at Trent Bridge and 164 in the fifth test at The 0va1—472 in four completed test innings. Graveney went to Australia again in 1958-59, averaging 31 in the tests, making 1229 runs at 47 on the whole tour. But that summer was his last in tests for some time.

He did not play against Australia in 1961, his first

season away from Gloucestershire, and one in which he was not eligible for Worcestershire, in championship matches. So he also missed the 1961-62 tour of India and Pakistan. In the home season of 1962, however, Graveney’s name was again very much to the fore. Pakistan was on tour, and the first game was with Worcestershire. Graveney made 10 and 117. Three weeks later at Lord’s he scored 30 and 110 for the M.C.C. against the Pakistanis. In the first test, he made 97, in the second 153; after a failure, with 37, in the third, he made 114 in the fourth, batting only once in each match. The International Eleven team tour of 1962—which came to New Zealand as a Commonwealth Eleven—saw Graveney at his best His tour scores, against the best available opposition and in variable climates, was 52, 25, 112 not out 52 not out 11, 70, 47, 94, 92, 116 not out 95, 36, and IL There was a third visit to Australia in 1962-63, with a test average this time of only 29 but 737 runs in Australia at 53. He had a good home season in 1963—nearly 1500 runs, at 35, but he was not selected to play against the West Indies. Nor did he play against Australia in 1964 although in that summer he made 2385 runs and averaged over 54. He missed the Indian tour in 1964, the South African tour in

1964-65, and he did not play against the New Zealand and South African teams in tests last year—although in his own charming manner he put together 1768 runs and averaged 49. So now, at 39, he is back on the test scene again, after failing to win a place in the first test But in the second it was 96 and 30 not out in the third 109 and 32. The gaps in Graveney’s test career are the sadder for the realisation that whatever the situation, he always played with an air of authority, an innate grace, given to few. But he seems to be having the last word.

NO FLAGS

Even though there may have been some difficulty in allocating senior grounds because of the WellingtonCanterbury representative match there was no excuse for Malvern Park not being flagged for the senior Rugby match between Meri-vale-Papanui and New Brighton. The match was a very close one and the referee and linesmen had difficult tasks on two occasions when players dived over the corner. A try was awarded on one occasion and disallowed on the other but neither the teams nor the officials should have been happy with the situation that arose because of no comerflags.