THIRD TEST MATCH. AUSTRALIANS OPEN THE BATTING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 09, 11 January 1908, Page 9

THIRD TEST MATCH. AUSTRALIANS OPEN THE BATTING.

BIG GUNS FAIL. THE COLTS SHAPE WELL. ' By Telegraph.— Fress Association. — Copyright. ADELAIDE, 10th January. The third test match, was. begun here to-day in delightfully cool weather. Tha attendance was over six thousand. '■■ Jones, tho English captain, who is ir- ill-health, was' unable' to < come to Adelaide. Hayes, Blythe, and Young were nb=o left out of tho English team. Koy Hill is the twelfth- man of ,the Australian team. NOBLE AND THUMPER MAKE A START. Noble won the toss, and , he and Truonpsr began the innings on a perfect wicket. Trumper was almost speechless with a heavy cold. Noble began with a square-leg hit to trio boundary off Fielder,- and Trumper snicked Barnes's first\ball for 3. Two ov.ers yielded ,11 runs. In Fielder's second over Trumper 'tried a leg-glance, and was bowled off his pad. One for 11. Clem Hill, having at severe cold, was kept back in the hope of his not being ' wanted till Saturday. Macartney was promoted, and set to business with the confidence of .a veteran. Runs came rapidly, but at 35 Noble "backcut a'_ ball from Barnes straight to Hutchings at second • slip. M'Alifitor opened with extreme caution. Macartney, with a pretty 4 off Fielder, made' the total 50, after fifty-, five minutes' play. The fielding "was close and accurate, _and kept the runs down. A double change to Crawford and Rhodes was made, but runs came faster, Macartney twice in one over cutting Rhodes to the . boundary. M'Alister ' took thirty-fivo minutes to re.ich double figures. At lunch the score wa,9 two for 79 — Macartney 40, M'Alister 16v When the game was resumed Fielder and Barnes bowled, and ten overs produced' only 13 runs. Rhodes, relieved Fielder at 92, but the batsmen scored off him, and the century was reached after one hour and fifty-nine nn'mites* play. Crawford relieved Barnes at 106 and in his second over he had M'Alister caught at second slip. The retiring batsman had been at this wickets' ninetythree minutes. Three wickets for 114. ARMSTRONG AT THE WICKETS. Armstrong followed, and played cautiously. Braund relieved -...'.uodes at 130, and at 140 got Macartney leg-be-fore. The Sydney midget had batted flawlessly fbr one hour fifty-throe minutes, and hit nine 4's. He c^id not give a chance. ' ' t Ransford began vigorously. At 160 Armstrong was caught at short stop. Hill came inj and batted' steadily, but Ranßford punished Fielder ' and Barne3. , ,/', , ' At the tea adjournment Ransford •was 32 and, Hill 2, and 'the/ total 182. Fielder an.d, Bames wejre the bowlers after tea. Raniford drove the former to the boundary. With the total at 191 Hill tried to smother a good-length ball from Barnes, and wap caught at the wicket. > QUEENSLANDBR OPENS OUT. < Hartigan opened with a ' single off Barnes. With all the Australian champion batsmen out, the Englishmen, who had worked most energetically all day, jset, to wefrk with - -redoubled vigour. Their 'bowling was accurate and tho fielding 'brilliant in trie extreme. Har- ( ,tjgan, .with, a cougle of 'braces oil Barnes' to Wg, brought u,p the secabd b-epitiry', after" 2o4 'inimites' play. Harfigan at-6' had a narrow 'escape, as he f 'glanced a ..ball frqnt" Fielder just over, the heads of the • slip's.-, . The next ball he drove for 4. With 215 up Ransford, in trying' to glance one, from , Barnes, was bo^vled. He nad played delightfully crisp cricket; scoring' Till' round the wicket, and baited sixty-three "minutes, hitting -six 4's: - '• . _ ' CARTER CAREFjTJL.' f .• Carter, joined Hartigan, /and Rhodes and .Braund were -tried with the ball. Hartigan, batting .stylishly, scored at a fair '•ate, but Carter took' twenty-five minutes to reach 10. • Rhodes 'then handed the ball to .Crawford. At 249 Carter gob four off each bowler, and 250 went up for _t 252 minutes! pl&y- Hartigan reached 40 by square-cutting Crawford ,'to. tho boundary * and drove the next ball for 4. Fielder relieved Braund at 267^ .andin. his first over Carter, when 23, snicked the ball high, and Braund, jumping up, got it on tho tips of his finders, but could not hold it At 273 Hatchings went oh a£ Crawford's end, and got Carter leg-before with his fifth ball. The firsb baft •of Fielder's next over bowled Hartigan. Tho Queenslander had played a splendid dashing innings of seventy-five minutes without giving a chance, and hit six 4's. O'Connor and Saundera played . out time. The Englishmen fielded superbly all day, Hutchings being particularly brilliant. Score*: — AUSTRALIA. / First Innings. Noble, c Hutchings, b Barnes ... 15 Trumper, b Fielder ...' „. ... , 4 Macartney, Ibw, b Braurtd ... ... 75 M'Alister, c Hn&hings, b Crawford 28 Armstrong, c Humphries, b Fielder 17 Ransford, b Barnes 44 Hill, c Humphries, b Barnes ... 5 Hartigan, b Fielder 48 Cartel-, lbw, b Hutchings 24 O'Connor, not out 5 Saunders, not out 1 Extras 13 Total for nine wickets ... ... 279 NOTES ON THE PLAY. The cricketing public of Sydney and Melbourne, having had their test games, it is now the turn of the people of Adelaide. The third match of the tour is always played at the latter place, and tho colonials generally perform particularly well there. The first contest in 1884 resulted in a win for the Englishman by eight wickets. The Australians batted first and madd 243 in their 'first, and 191 in their second innings. Percy M'Donnell hit brilliantly for 124 and 83, ' and Giffen says in his book that he wished himself anywhere but in the middle of the ground when he ran M'Donnell out iv the second innings, when so -near his double century. England scored 369> and two for 67. "i Barnes obtained 134 and 28 not out, Sutton 82. and Ulyett 68. Peel 'secured eight wickets for 119 runs. ' The visitors also won - the great match, played • in 1892. They batted first, - and put ■ up' the* fine total of. 499— Stoddart. 134, Peel 83, Grace 58, and Maurice .Head 57.' The colonials made 100 in their first knock, and 169 in -their second; but in justice to them it must be said that they -were greatly handicapped by the rain, which fell after the Englishmen had completed their innings. Briggs captured twelve wickets — six each innings — for- 136 runs. The' next four games were all won by the Australians. Against Stoddart's first team they put together 238 and 411, Iredalo making 7 and 140, Albert Trott 38 and 72, not out both times, and Bruce 11 and 80. The Englishmen could only >«tai is| aaii-ife Aftd4 aj^tn in^

second innings bagged eighty wickets Tot 43 — a grand all-round first appearance in „ these matches. In .the game vrjtlj. Stoddart's second team, the Australians amassed the" large total ,of 573. At the end, of the. first day^a play, two tickets had fallen for 369, Darling being not-oufc 170. Next day the left-hander vent without adding to- his -score, -and Mar* doch's 211 still .remained the- recordj though beaten, by. Foster- (287)' At Sylfc ney six years later. ' The' 1 Englishmen made two fairly good;tbtal« of 2?a ."add 282. The 1902 contest resulted-, in /a hard-fought victory by four - wickety, Clem Hill notching 98 and 97, and- Warner's eleven' succumbed by 216 runs aftet some excellent all-round .scoring." The colonials, who have had first iuntnga four times out of .the six played §.t Adef laide,' totted up 338 (Truraper 113, ' Hill 88, DdT 79, and .KfoblV 59), ■m&rfflt (Gregory 112, Noble .65, and Tr.ur&psf , 59). The Englishmen notched "246 fHirsfe I 58, Warner 43), 'and •278~(Wwner- 1 m Hay ward 67, and Hirst 44)". "". *<' - ;'~ Tho Australians' have made"'' twp' changes, bul their trmidlitig ,' "hat not been strengthened thereby. j The dropping of Cotter comes s& a- surprise, and no doubt; if -was thought ih*b his fast bowling would not come off^on, tho Adelaide Oval. He > has 'nevejp played a test 'game there, but- laet'-yeat he bowled in one innings against "Sou'tfe Australia and captured ' three';, wickers for 57. O'Connor,' yvho is not a youngster, being well over 30,- is, like" Haftigan, an ex-New ,Waks players He did nothing for South ', Australia when opposed to the Englishmen, but op the tour of the i formed'' he 'secured" • dozen wickets in the games for Sheffield Shield, although he- was freely punished. ■ Noble 1 had the luck .to . ■vftji the toss, but again the, side l failed to take full advantage of, the good fortune* Tho start was a .bad one,- but. then ther"« were two good openings in the last game, and Australians are not noted for their first wicket stands. The captain, too, was out early, but the two Macs, 'improved the situation. - The Gordon Club man^has batted vefy successfully of lata against ttie, visitors, his complete tally, being 9 not out, IS not out, 42-, 3d, 9> 37, 54, and 75, whilst tho East Melbourne cr,ack' has .put together 1, 43, 57, ■51 not out, 3, 41, 11, 10, 15, and 28. -Armstrong and Hill went cheaply, and the four big guns on the side only totalled 4J.' runs between them. Ransford and Hartigan, however, like Macartney, played like tradesmen, and.it would appear , that ■ the Queenslander , ,-will , keep his place in the team, Carter w,as agaufc infform, and participated in a. stand of 58 runs. The Australiau.toUl, under th> circumstances, is ' a disappointing one, and great credit is due to the English* men for .their good work* . ,