ENGLAND V. AUSTRALIA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 91, 10 January 1908, Page 8

ENGLAND V. AUSTRALIA.

THE TEST' MATCH. fFBOK OUR SPECIAL COItUESPONDEKT.) Sydney, :• January 4. ■ It required the courage of Spartans to play cricket under the conditions, .prevailing in Melbourne on Thursday, on ;the second day of the present Test Match. Tho heat was really too great for good play, arid batsmen and fielders alike were, wilted.- With Australia out for 266, the Englishmen, camo in, and a feature of the piny which followed was the lino innings of Hntchings, who, after a period of inactivity, suddenly launched out into a succession of boundary hits, which made a beautiful exhibition of tho bowling. At tho close of tho day's pl_ay, he Had scored 11' not out, aud tho Englishmen,, with only three wickets down, were within'twenty of the, first innings' total of tlie«rAustralians. This made patriotic. Australians feel gloomy, of course; but at tho moment of writing tho prospects for tho Commonwealth team have considerably improved, for after tho closo of tho Englishmen s innings for 382, Noble and Trunipor went to tho wickets for Australia, and, both not out when, the stumps wero drawn, had compiled 96 botwfe'en them, so that Australia, with all the wickets in hand, begins the fourth day's pi ay to-day, only twenty runs behind tho visitors. Noble and Trumjjer played fiiie confident cricket in their innings yesterday afternoon while the sun blazed fiercely,