Date-stamped : 23 Nov94 - 10:29
New Zealand vs Orange Free State
Bloemfontein, 19-22 Nov 1994

====> Day 4, 22 November 1994
Cronje leads Free State to historic win over New Zealand

South African captain Hansie Cronje  stole   some   psychological
points  ahead of the first test by leading provincial side Orange
Free State to a thrilling two-wicket  win  over  New Zealand   on
Tuesday.

Set 381 to win from 84 overs after Martin  Crowe`s  68th   first-
class  century  had  taken New Zealand to 234 for three declared,
Free State reached the target with just five balls remaining.

Cronje, who leads South Africa in the first  test   starting   on
Friday in Johannesburg, was unbeaten on 44 as Free State clinched
victory off the first ball of the final over.

Opener Mickey Arthur gave Free State exactly   the   start   they
required  and  although  he  lost both Rudolf Steyn and Gerhardus
Liebenberg cheaply, he and Louis Wilkinson  revived their   hopes
with a 146-run partnership for the third wicket.

Arthur fell lbw for 85 to Dion Nash  and   Wilkinson   went   the
same  way  for  89  to  fellow  paceman Murphy Su`a as Free State
slipped to 252 for six shortly after tea.

But Cronje, batting down  the  order  at   number   eight,   then
joined  Nicky  Boje in an enterprising seventh-wicket partnership
which produced 103 runs in 75 minutes of which Cronje`s contribu-
tion was a mere 32.

When Boje fell for 66 to a slip catch  by   Steven   Fleming   to
give  Nash  his   fourth  wicket  and Philip Radley was bowled by
Chris Harris, Gordon Parsons joined Cronje,  his  brother-in-law,
to take Free State to their first win against a touring team.

Afterwards the delighted Cronje described the win  as  ``a   ter-
rific  lift``  and said he had learned a few things about the New
Zealand side. But he said the defeat would not necessarily  upset
the tourists` build-up to the test.

``If that was their full test side out there then  I  think  they
would be a bit concerned but maybe some of their guys held back a
little,`` he said.

New Zealand captain Ken Rutherford remained  in  optimistic  mood
for the test.

``We are disappointed but not that disappointed because it was  a
really  good  game  of  cricket, `` he said. ``I think there were
enough individual performances for us to have got smething out of
it.``

Rutherford reserved special praise for Nash who  took  four   for
83.  ``Dion  bowled  really  well on a flat track. After about 30
overs there was no shine and no seam and he  toiled  away  really
well.``

Crowe was another player to take advantage  of  the   conditions,
adding an unbeaten 124 not out to the 89 he made in the first in-
nings as he and Chris Harris shared an unboken partnership of 166
in 108 minutes to set up the declaration.

Thanks :: The Reuter Library Report
<END> Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)