AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TOUR

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 254, 10 July 1926, Page 23

AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TOUR

FIRST TEST MATCH HELD IT LEEDS The third Test match will commence at Leeds tc-dav. The first Test in this town took place 27 years ago, and a few notes on this game are of interest at this stage of the Australians’ tour. One of the most interesting Test matches played in 1899 was that at Leeds on two days at the end of June, rain preventing play on the third ana last day. J. Briggs and H. Young, of Essex, came into the English side in place of W. -Mead and W. Rhodes, who had played at Lords, and J. 1. Brown and W. G. Quaife displaced C. L. Townsend and J. T. Tyldesley. On a wicket of some pace, on which a batsman had to play well to obtain his runs, the Australians went in after winning the toss. J. Worrall, the Victorian, hit well to the on-side of the wicket in his innings of 76 (run out), out of 172. The Melbourne batsman played a long way the best knock against J. T. Hearne and J. Briggs, and then H. Young went on as first change to bowl for the rest of the innings. The Essex left-hander, with his high action, bowled a perfect length, with the ball swinging into the batsman, met. with great success in obtaining four w.ickets for 30 runs as the result of 19 overs. Clem Hill contributed 34 and H. Trumble carried his bat for 20. The Australians found the runs bard to obtain against the good bowling and fielding, H. Young beating the bat on many occasions and missing the leg stump \v a narrow margin. The English team found run-getting almost as difficult as the Australians had, and it was not until A. A. Lilley (55) and T. Hayward (40 not out) got together that the Home players passed their opponents’ score by 48 runs. Some very fine bowling was done by H. Trumble, who never gave a run away in his 39 overs, in which he took, five wickets for 60 runs, with M. A. Noble (thfee for 82) doing bis share at the opposite end. England had to. bat one short owing to J. Briggs losing his reason at a theatre after the first dav’s plav. This pooular cricketer came out of the mental hospital in 1900 and plaved for Lancashire that season. Then he had a relapse, and had to return

to hospital, where he died early in 1902. Few men have been so popular with his fellow-cricketers as John Briggs, and his death caused general gloom among the fraternity of those who love the game. One of the greatest of slow bowlers, a good and free bat, a splendid cover-point, a merryhearted man who never harmed anyone but himself, he died before he reacnca the age of 40. On the second day of the game the. English team filed out very' much depressed at the loss of one of their star bowlers. J. T. Tyldesley, fielding as substitute, caught J. Worrall from a high drive off 11. Young, 'lhe next over by,. J. T. Hearne saw the spectators sit up and take notice as the first and- only hat-trick in a Test on English soil was performed l?y the Middlesex • bowler. Off the third delivery, C. Hill for once in a way was too late in his attempt to push the ball past square-leg, and was clean bowled. S. E. Gregory cut the fourth into MacLaren’s hands in the slips, and the fifth M. A. Noble sent to the namr quarter to the safe hands of K. S. Raujitsinhji. M. A. Noble and S. E. Gregory’ earned a pair of spectacles in |his Test. At 39 J- Darling was caught in the gully off H. Young, and five wickets were dow.n with nine runs still to be made to reach England’s score. The rot was stopped by V. Trumper and J. J. Kelly, who put on 58 runs in 55 minutes. After the battling Kelly had gone, H. Trumble and V. Trumper added 43, when Victor was snapped in the slips by the Prince off F. S. Jackson. F. Eaver, the manager of the team, joined his fellow-Victorian, and after an hour’s batting the score was increased by "2, when Long Hugh -was run out, a decision which is considered to this day should not have been given against the batsman. It was during the Laver-Trumble stand that England longed for the little man in bed, when IT. Young had to be rested. It was only after 75 minutes’ batting that j. T. Hearne got him out for his great effort, which realised 45. 11. Trumble had the happy knack of coming off nine times out of ten, and his batting performance in the first Test at Leeds is one of the ernes that ’Australians love to cherish. Before stumps were drawn for the day England scored 19 without loss; and that was the end.