FIFTH TEST MATCH. ENGLAND SCORES 281 RUNS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 47, 25 February 1908, Page 3

FIFTH TEST MATCH. ENGLAND SCORES 281 RUNS.

ANXLOUB MOMENTS. GUXX MAKES ANOTHER BIG SCORE. Ey Tdteiapb.- Press Association.— Copyright. SYDNEY, 24th February. F.ain greatly interfered with the test cricket match, which entered upon its third day to-day. Frequent squalls prevented play being Tesumed. till -3.50 o'clock; but the wicket, considering tho soaking it uad had, played fairly well. Gunn and Hardstaff resumed the batting for England, who continued their first innings (which stood at 187 for three wickets, on Saturday night). Gunn maintained his place at 'the wickets ri^ht through ; but there iva& evidence that the Englishmen were anxious to get their opponents in on the heavy wicket before it recovered. Barnes really threw his wicket away, making no attempt to get back to his ccreasD after' starting on a second run which he found he could not make. The crowd was not too well pleased with these tactics, and invited the Englishmen to "Play the game!" The innings closed without any N interesting feai ture, from the cricket point of view. Noble and O'Connor commenced the-, second innings for Australia. O'Connor f'avo a chance to Braund shortly alter starting, but it was not taken. Both baUpien were out to play out times ii\ the hope that a better wicket would bo theirs to-morrow. Rhodes, Crawford, and Barnes were tried in quick succession with the object of upsetting the Australian captain's tactics. Then Noble broke his bat, and a few more minutes were consumed, and .stumps were drawn without the foso of a wicket. The attendance to-day was very small. The weather is overcast, but there arfc indications of it 3 clearing. Following are the scores : — ENGLAND.— First lmunss. Fane, b Nobte 0 Hobbs, b Saunderc ... 72 Gunn, not out ... ... ... ... 122 Hutchings, run out ... 13 Hardst3ff, c O'Connor, b Saundere ... 17 Crawford, c Hill, b Sanndcrs .. 6 Braund. st Carter, b Macartney ... 31 Rhodes, c Noble, b Armstrong „. 10 Young, st Carter,* b Macartney „. 0 Jones, b Macartney ... /. 0 Barnes, run out 1 Extras ... ' ... ... ... 9 Total 281 V Bowling Analysis NobU ' ..." 1 for 62 Saunders ./. ... ~> for 114 o'Conr.or 0 for 23 Macartney 3 for 44 Armstrong ... , ... 1 for 29 AUSTRALIA. Firsi Innings '... 137 • Second Innings Noble, not out ... ... 11 O'Cpnr.or, not out 4 Extra 1 No wickets for ... 1 ... „. 1& NOTES ON THE PLAY. The Eiiciißiimen, who on Friday had ■ lost one wurket for'll6, and on' Saturday two mor'o for an addition of 71, finished j up yesterday by making 04 raws for the 'remaining seven wickets. The wirkcl played fairly well, so the cable message informs us, and tho drying period, which causes the. worst of the ■trouble, was probably not readied when stumps were drawn, Tho outstanding items m the 'English total— which is a good 0110 under the circumstances — were the scores of Gunn olid Hobbs. These two men were th? only ones who did anything at all on the t.reacherou's wicket 'at Melbourne oh the last encounter. Hobbs made uwst of his runs, however, on Kn1 day, ' when the wicket was improving after the Australians' dismissal, but nev1 ortheloss his c ontvibution is a pood one. I George Gunn is as much at home on the I Sydney ground as was Archio MacLaren. j The Nottingham professional has only i batted three times there, and hjs tallies ! are 119, 74, and 122 not out. His offort wjis a yreafe one, and ho h 1h« only man who has notched two centuries in tha I present series of test games. Indeed i MacLareii is the only other Englishman who has overdone the'samo in (Australia. The Lancashire captain put together 109 at Sydney and 124 at Adelaide,, when a member of Stoddart's second team It was against this side that Darling lottod up three such r.roics. The two lci'thanded bowlers 'each secured three wickets in Australia, but the Sydney man's figures are much the better of the two. j C?rter stumped "a couple of men, whilst two cthors ware run out. Tha. five amateurs on the English side only accounted for 19 runs between 1 them, thrcs bsing disposed of for the dreaded duck. Noble, who does not shirk his responsibilities in the matter of facing ths* music just bc'fora time on a wicket which would not, assist him much, took O'Connor in with him, arid the pair managed to play oul uiine. The Adelaide bowler is a handy man with the but light enoupb. The two colonials reduced the English lead of 144 to 128 when stumps were I ch,:wn. This is 4 pratty large mortgage to wipe off, but theie are instances VAlier,- ihe inns have not only be.en made but the &ide hi arrcav has won the game. The cc-cond innings of the colonials in the present series of tust inalghes miubi prove mtci-esting. At Sydney Jbev notr-ned 275 fov cicrht wickets, the first Melbourne mxtch 597, nt. Adelaide 506, and again at Melbourne 585. Should the wicket be in good order, (hey oujjht to make a big s'orc, as Fielder and Blvlhe are not playing.