ENGLAND CHOICE FOR THIRD CRICKET TEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 155, 4 July 1938, Page 9

ENGLAND CHOICE FOR THIRD CRICKET TEST.

SOME SURPRISES

Nichols, Smailes Included; Fames Dropped.

CANTAB. WICKETKEEPER.

rnited Press Association—Copyright

IR-'CPivp.l 11 a m.t

LONDON". .Tulv 3

Lnslanil s team for the thinl cricket against Australia, to he plavod a. Manchester, starting ,-n Fridav, . lth a l! "" t «'£ f"ur (lavs, will be *n.'..pn trum the following:

W. R. Hammond (Gloucester), captain. P. A. (iibb (Cambridge Universit v). H. Verity ( Yorkshire). L. Hutton iYork«hi-e). T. F. Smailes (Yorkshire). F. Paynter (Lancashire). I) C S. Coinpton (Middlesex). W. .1. Kdrich (Middle-ex). M. S. Nichols (F.ssex). L>. V. P. Wright (Kent). J. Hardstaff (Notts 1. C. J. Barnett (Gloucester). T. \Y. Goddard (Gloucester). Sir Pelham Warner states that Ham !■ "'I is making splendid progress and is certain to play. He is still undergoing treatment for an injured leg.

The composition of the 13 suggests that either Hardstaff or Edrich will be twelfth man and that one bowler will \m dropped. Gibb replaces Ames as ■wicketkeeper. He wears spectacles and $• aged 24. A Cambridge University man, he is a splendid bat.

. The choice of Nichols is a surprise. He has been in and out of Test teams for so many years that his reinclusion at the ape of 37 suggests that the committee despairs of younger talent.

Goddard, who is also 37, is presumably included to keep down runs. Fames, who bowled to the point of exhaustion in the first and second Tests, must be considered unfortunate to have been dropped.

The team is more criticised than the other two were. Critics regret the dropping of Fames. Nichols is eleventh In the bowling averages with 81 wickets for 19.35 runs, and Smailes is sixteenth with 55 for 20.89. Goddard and Wright do not appear in the averages. BATTING AND BOWLING. LATEST ENGLISH AVERAGES. (Beceired 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, July 3. Following are the leading batting and Bowling averages in English cricket: — BATTTNG.

TBy special arrangement Serv.ce. m addition to of information, is used in l 0& or the overseas intelligence publisned n this issue, and all rljhts "JfJS™,, ln Australia and New Zealand are rf • sucn or the cable news on tots P*/^ e " SB so headed has appeared to I&e Tunes «nd is sent to this P*Per b ■permission. It should be u?^-' fhe opinions are not those of The Tune* unless expressly stated to he so-J

Buns. Average. Hammond 1724 82.09 Edrich 1367 68.35 Dempster »12 63 -" P.vnter 1329 63.28 Hutton 1091 60.61 Gibb 1000 60.55 Gearv 544 O 044 Thompson" 797 56.92 Compton "35 56.7o Valentine 644 53.66 Ames 832 5258 Hardstaff (15th) .. 617 47.46 BOWLING. Wkts. Average. Bowes ...-. 48 "■*! Levland 33 l->.63 Woodhead .., 31 le.^o Butler 29 16.61 Mayer _ <9 }«•" Verity 77 17.10 Pollard - --• »i "•?? day 33 18.ol