AN UNCERTAIN QUALITY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21940, 14 November 1936, Page 19

AN UNCERTAIN QUALITY

THE ENGLISH CRICKET v TEAM EARLY FORM MAY PROVE MISLEADING Although the English cricket team has not shown very convincing form in its four matches to date in Australia, it is very early yet to make an estimate of its chances against the pick of the Commonwealth in the test matches, the first of which, at Brisbane, does not begin until December 4. Apart from, the bad luck the team has already experienced in the number of injuries suffered by the players, it is well known that a team which may start a tour hesitantly, even weakly, may, before its conclusion, mould itself into a test-winning combination. . , ~ . There is no denying, however, that G O. Allen, the English captain, has many difficult problems to solve in the three matches which will be played before the first test, and he is not helped by several players whose form he wishes to gauge being on the injured list. Two encouraging features of the tour for English supporters are the wonderful batting form of W. R Hammond, and the consistently good bowling of Allen himself. Form, of batsmen, at least, does not vary as much in Australia as it does in England, because playing conditions are more uniform, and everything points to Hammond being nearly as great a force in the coming series as he was in 1928-29, when he made 905 runs in the rubber, at an average of 113.12. He was, of course, a big factor in the success of Chapman’s team in winning the “Ashes.” Australian Conditions In England, a batsman may strike form during a spell of dry weather and completely lose touch when wickets change with the advent of a rainy spell. Australian wickets are covered during rain, and consequently there is less variation in pace and “life.” It may be argued that no cricketer can go through a whole season without a lean spell, but Englishmen have every reason to hope that there will be plenty of big scores from Hammond’s bat in the tests. Maurice Leyland and R. E. S. Wyatt have had few chances yet to show form, but their experience of Australian wickets will overcome some of the difficulties which apparently are troubling the new men in the team, arrfong them'' C. J. Barnett, J. Hardstaff, A. H. Fagg. and L. B. Fishlock. All these have given glimpses of their possibilities, and it will be surprising indeed if one of them does not prove a success in the tests. The effectiveness of the English attack, particularly against class batting, has yet to be proved, and the injuries to R. W. V. Robins and W. Voce have contributed to keeping it an unknown quantity. Both were expected to do great things in Australia, for the former should increase his unusually quick mp from the pitch on the hard Australian wickets, and Voce, the fast left-hander, bowling to a modified leg trap, was expected to threaten the batsmen with dismissal by the new leg-before-wicket rule. Robins, of course, may find it difficult to maintain length with his spin, and Voce has been disappointing so far. The Fast Men Allen appears to have been nursing K. C. Fames and W. Copson, the remaining fast bowlers, very carefully His own experience on the last tour may prove a pointer to his tactics here. Allen was not a test match prospect when Jardine’s team reached Australia, but, bowled judiciously, he gained in effectiveness as the tour went on, and eventually reached such form as to make him a very important element in the English speed attack. The Englishmen are a young team, and they will take time to settle down. Though their performances so far have not been such as to inspire confidence in them when pitted against Bradman, McCabe, Grimmett, O’Reilly, and the other Australian test stars, it would not be at all surprising if, by keenness and bold tactics, they made a really strong bid to recapture the “Ashes.”