Record Book Favours Australia In Tests

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 11

Record Book Favours Australia In Tests

■pOR the last five or more 1 years, claims have been made that the machinery of Australian cricket is running down. The loss of the last test series to the West Indies and then Australia’s defeat by Transvaal this week perhaps give some substance to those claims but it is significant that since 1956 Australia has lost only one test rubber and its loss to Transval was at the least a moral victory; to score 413 runs in the fourth innings was an outstanding effort. The prospect of South Africa emulating the West Indies is very real in the series soon to start but the records of AustraliaSouth Africa tests since the Second World War are most revealing and would give Australia some confidence. In neither of the series in South Africa (1949-50 and 1957-58), did the home team perform up to expectations and its best efforts have been in Australia in 1952-53 and 1963-64. Not surprisingly, Australia had a 4-0 victory in the 1949 series. South Africa was still in a transitional period with H. J. Tayfield playing his first series and such players as J. H. B. Waite, N. A. T. Adcock, T. L. Goddard and D. J. McGlew still to make their first test appearances. The Australians, with a solid core from the great English tour team of 1948, won the first two tests by very comfortable margins, making high scores and dismissing South Africa cheaply. R. N. Harvey, then 21, started his great run of massive scoring against South African teams—in 14 tests, his 1807 runs were at an average of 90.3 —and he was to score four centuries, and 660 runs in the series. The third test was an amazing match. South Africa led off with 311 and the young Tayfield humbled Australia with seven for 23. A. D. Nourse, the South African captain, had a lead of 236 but after a weekend’s consideration and with rain threatening, batted again. South Africa made 99 in the face of ths wiles of I. W. Johnson and W. A. Johnston and Australia made the required 336 runs for the loss of only five wickets. Harvey batted 54hr for 151 not out and in this innings attained true greatness. The rest of the series was

anti-climatic. J. R. Moroney made two centuries in the fourth test, and the fifth went the same way as the first two.

Harvey dominated the series with 660 runs and an average of 132 but South Africa missed the injured A. M. B. Rowan. The Transvaal off-spinner, early in the season, took 15 for 68 (nine for 19 in the first innings) against the Australians. It was on this tour that R. R. Lindwall was described as “the portly ghost of a once-great fast bowler,” and spurred by

this he produced consistently fine bowling throughout the tour. The 1952-53 tour of Australia was a brief peak for the South Africans who reached new and exciting heights with the excellence of their fielding. This, and general all-round competence, contributed more to the sharing of the series than great individual effort. Tayfield was the only bowler to finish with good figures and no batsman averaged 50. Except for Harvey, who made 834 runs in nine innings, no Austra-

han batsman was at all dominant.

Australia won the first test and South Africa the second by margins of 96 and 82 runs respectively. Australia's win was not inspiring, but in the following game. South Africa owed much to Tayfield (13 for 165) and that batsman of limited skill but tremendous determination. W. R. Endean, who earned the soubriquet of “Endless” with his innings of 162 not out.

Harvey made a century, and Australia won by an innings in the third test, while more good Australian batting forced South Africa to play for a draw in the fourth test

The fifth test was most unusual and Harvey, after making a double century in the first innings, was in a losing team. South Africa scored 297 for four in the fourth innings of the match to win with the entertaining batsman, R. A. McLean, making 76 not out in 80 minutes.

Two emerging masters of Australian cricket, R. Benaud and A. K. Davidson, were important members of the essentially young team that went to South Africa in 1957-58 and won the series 3-0. Between them, they took 55 wickets the rest of the bowlers took 33 —while Benaud made more than 300 runs, including two centuries.

The first and third tests were drawn and McGiew undistinguished himself in the latter match by making the slowest century in firstclass cricket at that time. The other three matches, however, were convincing wins for Australia: the second by an innings, the fourth by 10 wickets (one run being needed in the second innings), and by an eight-wicket margin in the last.

The bowling of Benaud, Davidson and L. F. Kline were winning factors in the second and fifth tests Kline took a hat-trick in the second test, when J. W. Burke made a very stow 189.

The fourth game belonged to Benaud and by making a century and taking nine wickets, he narrowly missed the honour of being the first man to make 100 runs and take 10 wickets in a test The next time the countries met 1963-64 was Benaud’s swan song in big cricket and the start of a new and energetic era in South African cricket E. J. Barlow, R. G. Pollock and K. C. Bland, all new or relatively so to test cricket made many runs and P. M. Pollock warmed the hearts of those who like to see a young man bowline as fast as he can and unafraid to use a bumper.

The first test was drawn when rain came but Australia woo the second by eight wickets when R. B. Simpson, in his first test as a captain, put South Africa in. W. M. Lawry made a century for Australia and I. R. Redpath and B. K. Shepherd reached the nineties; Redpath was dropped for the next match. The third test was drawn in pleasant batting conditions, but South Africa squared the rubber in the fourth. Barlow and the younger Pollock scored 341 together in a brilliant batting display and no wickets were lost in scoring the required 82 second innings runs.

South Africa had a wonderful chance to win the fifth test and series but in the end, the typical fortitude of the Australian tailenders saved the home team. Australia has won half of the 20 post-war tests. South Africa three and seven havs been drawn.