Cricket: Rutherford leads Kiwis

NEW ZEALAND's squad of 16 players to tour England in the first part of the summer contains no real surprises, writes Henry Blofeld. Although Martin Crowe said on Tuesday that he did not want to be considered for the captaincy, he did declare his fitness.

The captaincy stays with Ken Rutherford, who took over in Australia in November and kept the job at home to Pakistan and India, when Crowe's knee injury ruled him out.

The choice that is closest to being a surprise is that of Gavin Larsen, who bowls at a gentle medium pace, has a reputation as a one-day player, and has been named as vice-captain. His control as a bowler is excellent, but it will be surprising if he makes much impact on Test pitches.

New Zealand's one-off Test against India in Hamilton ended in a draw yesterday with the debutant, Stephen Fleming, scoring 92.

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD (Tour to England, 29 April to 5 July): K R Rutherford (capt), G R Larsen (vice-capt), B R Hartland, B A Pocock, B A Young, M D Crowe, M J Greatbatch, S P Fleming, S A Thomson, A C Parore, M N Hart, C Pringle, S B Doull, D K Morrison, D J Nash, H T Davis.

Devon Malcolm, who arrived in Trinidad on Tuesday to rejoin England's tour of the West Indies following knee surgery, will not be risked in the third Test, starting tomorrow.