NOTES ON THE GAME.

Evening Post, Volume LVII, Issue 155, 3 July 1899, Page 5

NOTES ON THE GAME.

"Victory snatched from All England" is the lament of the Britisher.. But the issue was sufficiently doubtful to give tho Australians <- chance of coming out right in the end, for the English team had to uiako eight more runs than the Australians mado in their first innings in order to win the gome, and the colonials have on several occasions proved great players in a tough finish. After all, tho hard luck of a possible win is not all with the English, for the first test match of the present series was Australia's " nil but tho shouting," when the time limit saved AH England. It will be remembered that on that occasion the Australians made 252 in their first innings and closed their second with 230 for eight wickets. The Englishmen made 193 and 155 for seven wickets, tho Indian Prince "being not out with 93, Thus England had to mako 135, and had three -wickets to fall. A pleasant feature of the Australians' Becona innings of Friday was the finj) stand mado by Kelly, Trumper, Trumble, and Lavor. The cable tolls us that "Trumble and Layer defied the repeated changes in tho .bowling " The superstitious may ascribe Frank Layer's bad luck in the early part of the tour to the fact that he was chosen as " the thirteenth man" of tho team; but the tall Jollimont man has many friends who have stoutly maintained that ho would prove himself worthy of his place. His consistent doublefigure, scoring on his native heath, his good bowling, and his übiquitousness at point, were the qualifications which won him the attention of the committee that selected tho learn. Noble and Gregory made the unenviable " pair of spectacles" in this match. In the previous games there have been only ten other such disappointing achievements, English and Australian players dividing thorn. Peel owns no less than' three pairs, and the others wont to A. C. Bannerman, Percy M.Donnoll, G. F. Grace, Attewell, , E. 'Evans, T. W. Garrott, and P. G. M'Shane. Tho sudden indisposition of Johnny Briggs deprived him of the honour of gaining in this match Ids hundred international wickets. In test matches Briggs ' lias bagged his 97 wickets. Only three bowlers are as yet centurions — George Giffen (103), Bobby Peel (102), and 0. T. B. Turner (101). Trumble uj> to date lias 55 English wickets. T, Richardson has 88 representative wickets to his credit. Writing by a lato mail to a schoolmate who resides in Wellington, J. J. Kelly, the Australian wickotkeepev, stated that the team was enjoying the very best of goodfpllowship, tho utmost good feeling prevailing among the members. Darling was proving a great success as captain, moro than fulfilling expectations. As regarded the social side of the team's life, members had bqon so inundated with invitations that they felt compelled to decline many "good thingi," wad this

had given offence to some hosts and hos* tessos, who thought that the Australians " had grown very' proud in thoso latter days." Apropos to the Middlesex bowler's feat of doing tho "hut trick" on Friday, only two bowlers share Avith Hearne tbe credit of having won a hint in tost matches. Tho ihsb time three bafcsmen were dismissed with successive balls wus at Melbourne, in January, 1879, when Sp6fforth " tho Demon" \va3 the performer, and Royle, Maukinnon, and EEmmett t the victims. The , other fful was also performed at Melbourne, in January, 1883, by Will Battr% of Yorkshire. Ifc was us historic a ) Hearne' &, for Percy M'Donnell, Georj/' Giffen, and Bonnor tho iSmiter were the batsmen who fell. Many colonials interested in the te^t matches have expressed wonderment al the non-iuclusiou of Albert Trolt in All England's team. We learn from Homa files that the Australians have been u,v s-'ired that Trou will not be playnl against (htm in any of the tct>t matches. Tho opinion of Sydney Paidon, the famous cricket authority, and Editor of Wisden's Cricket Annual, is that no na-Livc-boni Australian will ever bo scleoted to play for England aguinst the colonies in representative contests The London correspondent of tho Dunedin Star on 19th May wrote :— " Major • Wardill offered the Hon. W. P. Retvea £500 if ho would guuranteo not to put in an appearance at any of tho "fights for the ashes." The Major, of course, wasn't serious, out he almost might have been, for, strange to say, tlio appearance of the Agent-General for New Zealand on tho scene of Australia's battles with England has always synchronised with tho downfall of tho colonials. Jie was present at Sydney on tho memorable occasion when, wanting bub 37 runs to win, and with eight wickets in hand, the Australians suffered defeat at the hands of the visiting elevon ; and ho witnessed the famous 18-runs innings at Lord's, and tho 'Australian failure at the Oval, when Peel and Hearne got tho whole sido out for 43, and so gave England a somewhat unexpected victory." Was Mr. Reeves at Leeds last week? The next * test match is to open on the 17th insit., at Manchester, and the last f f this season's series of tests ib to tako place on the Oval on 14th August. The Australians open their engagement with Notts to-day, at Nottingham.