CRICKET Davidson Bowls Well At Lord’s

Press, Volume C, Issue 29548, 24 June 1961, Page 15

CRICKET Davidson Bowls Well At Lord’s

(By KIRA. Special Correspondent, RAY LINDWALL) LONDON, June 23. A. K. Davidson came good at Lord’s. No bowler of Davidson’s calibre has two consecutive bad test matches and he certainly proved the point.

This match is going as I predicted when I said that! Australia s seam attack was! enough to see the side on' top on this wicket. Within an hour after tea England was all out for another small total and nobody slower than the medium paced K. Mackay had been seen at the crease. There was a lot of moisture and pace in this wicket and that suited this Australian attack down to the ground They got the ball to lift and were on top of the batsmen all the time. If nothing else the Australian bowlers have proved in two tests that they can take advantage of any help the conditions offer them. Now’ 1 expect the pitch to become easier and that means that England could well be facing a long rearguard action as it did at Edgbaston. But this was Davidson's day. The sight of the ball lifting off the pitch was enough to make him forget his troublesome groin injury. This was his most hostile performance of the tour. He was always on the spot. He swung the ball both ways and he had every batsman in trouble with the ball that jumped from just short of a length He got P B. H. May with one of these. May had

played some beautiful shots! but he has always been suspect to the one that lifted! around his off stump. This] time he just hung his bat; out at it. Again earlier in the weeki I warned that M. C. Cowdrey.! when scoring centuries fori Kent against the Australians. I might run out of runs before! the test. As a bowler I used| to like seeing the top bats-; men take their runs off me ! before a test —I knew there' was less chance then of them] coming up with another big! score. R. N. Harvey had the same trouble in the last Australian season. He took hundreds off the West Indies in the state matches but could hardly raise a score in the 'tests. The Australian bowlers would have done better had the fielding been up to standard. Three reasonable chances went down before lunch. Australia can now be cock-a-hoop—even though F. S. Trueman and J. B. Statham bowled like furies for the last hour; but if Australia wins this one it will play the last three tests at full I strength for I learned today ' that R. Benaud’s injury is far , from long term and he should be completely fit for the rest i of the series.