Tour of Australia 1987-88                     Captain : Jeff Crowe

23rd Test tour

Fourth Test-playing  tour of Australia by New Zealand

 (November 1987 - 

               January 1988

The Australian Cricket Board considered inviting New Zealand to Australia for a five-Test series but the World Cup being in October-November 1987 worked against the idea. The series was then reduced to four Tests until one of them was allocated to England.

Jeff Crowe, who spent five years in South Australia before playing for New Zealand, retained the  captaincy. His team included six players on their first major tour.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

Sri Lanka 1986-87

Next tour

India 1988-89

Next Australian tour

1989-90

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen  John Wright, Ken Rutherford, Philip Horne.

Middle-order batsmen  Jeff Crowe, Martin Crowe, Andrew Jones, Dipak Patel

Wicket-keeper  Ian Smith.

All-rounder: Richard Hadlee

Spin bowlers  John Bracewell,  Evan Gray

Fast bowlers  Ewen Chatfield, Danny Morrison, Martin Snedden, Willie Watson.

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (8)

C - Canterbury (2)

CD - Central Districts (1)

ND - Northern Districts (0)

O - Otago (1)

W - Wellington (3)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(4 December 1987) : 

29 yrs  1 month

ODI played in Benson & Hedges World Series Cup one-day series

Test Appearances made before the tour

Hadlee 70,  Wright 52,  Smith 37,  M Crowe 36,  Chatfield 33,  J Crowe 30,  Bracewell 24,  Snedden 13,  Rutherford 11,  Gray 8,  Patel 3,  Brown 2,  Horne 2,  Watson 2,  Jones 1,  Morrison 0.

Team Officials

 Alby Duckmanton was a member of the New Zealand Cricket Council Board of Control.

Selectors

Don O Neely (convenor),  John Guy and Gren Alabaster.

Selection

Unavailable  : Stephen Boock (retired after World Cup).

Tour Party Announced  : Monday 2 November 1987

Fourteen of the fifteen players in New Zealand’s World Cup team were included plus Gray and Hadlee.  Boock who retired was the only absentee.

Not selected: 

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  13 days

(2 November to 15 November)

Travel

Q

The team arrived in Perth on the night of 15 November 1987

Hadlee was given permission to attend a Sportsman of the Year award dinner in Auckland and not join the tour until later.

Time spent in Australia

   72 days

(15 November - 26 January)

On-tour selection panel

Reinforcements

Vaughan Brown  was flown in from New Zealand as a replacement for the injured Horne.

Willie Watson, not required for the triangular one-day series, was recalled when Morrison got injured.

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§  one-day international

Time spent in Australia before First Test: 

19 days

(15 November - 4 December)

Test appearances on tour

3  -   Bracewell,  J Crowe,  M Crowe,  Hadlee,  Jones,  Morrison,  Patel,  Smith,  Wright

2  -   Chatfield, 

1  -   Gray,  Horne,  Rutherford,  Snedden

0  -   Brown,  Watson.

Highlights

•   Danny Morrison took 4-86 bowling in his first Test innings at Brisbane

•   Andrew Jones (150) and Martin Crowe (137) had a partnership of 213 for the third wicket at Adelaide

•   Hadlee (5-86 at Adelaide) took five wickets in an innings for a record 30th time.

•   At Melbourne John Wright became the third New Zealander to be dismissed for 99 in a Test.

Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

Q

Evan Gray and Willie Watson were not required for the one-day leg of the tour and returned during the third Test

The New Zealanders arrived home in Christchurch on Tuesday 26 January 1988.  Manager Duckmanton said the players were exhausted and really needed a break before meeting England in the next Test series after playing in the World Cup, three Test matches in great heat against Australia and a series of one-dayers before meeting England.

Time away from New Zealand    72 days  

(15 November to 26 January)