TEST OUTLOOK

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 134, 3 December 1936, Page 23

TEST OUTLOOK

AUSTRALIA POWERFUL

ENGLAND MAY RISE TO IT

COMBINATION NEEDED

(Written for "The Post" by O. Wendell Bill, N.S.W. Cricket Representative;) :^Br:-the first' Test;, to be-played at Brisbane: commencing- on Friday, Australia, has::->a' -'.most .powerful team, strong in every.department—one which looks-, infinitely superior,, to anything j England can ; place :in the': field. As such we should win the first Test comfortably, as our visitors are not yet' a good combination, too many of their new players not yet having struci; form. , < .-.•.: .."..'.■•■

But Australia might just as well win while she' can, because I feel certain that the Englishmen can be a good team if only several of their new bats'meh .can strike'form; arid then they may surprise us. Let us hope, so, as

we do not v^ant .the matches at all onesided; rather we would have close and exciting contests, no matter who the winner, may be. ... , . CHOICE OF SIEVERS ENDORSED. The Australian selectors have named twelve players, • the twelfth man for the match being unknown, and the only surprise in the selection is that of Sievers, the Victorian all-rounder. His inclusion in the; select band came as a complete surprise to all in this country. No one had for one moment ever considered him. But the selectors in their' wisdom,, deemed it wise ",t;b have; aliofher'.useful*; all-rounder in-,thth team, instead of placing in the field a team with a definite "tail." Sievers's.i inclusion will lend balance to the team,] as. apart from his useful batting, his j bowling has been first rate: this season, although performances would not seem; to indicate this. He bowled remarkably well against England in. the recent'• State engagement, having' three .easy1 ?catches in the slips dropped, besides experiencing>bsd; luck in other directions. '. I fail; to agree with many vopiriions here, that he will be;twelfth.man for the match, as I hold tqithe; opinion that he would not have been selected at all had it been for. this [purposeonly.

It. is hardly thit|'a ; mediumpaced bowler, of his, description would have been, chosen to the. drinks. The. position' is-one for a brilliant utility fieldsman, a'brilliant young player who is shortly- to-make, his mark in international cricket. Sievers will be ql extreme value tp the side with his slip fielding and his batting, and with his bowling. (always steady) affording a rest for our main attack, which-in the | Brisbane "climate may possibly be sorely tried. I shall be most surprised if Robinson is .not named as .twelfth | man on the morning pf the match. He is;just the type required for this position, and will shortly win his place in the actual team. As yet his batting lacks that polish and style so familiar in the.international sphere; but there is no doubt that he is improving rapidly in this direction, and with his natural talents will sbori be in a class with our. best. •■'•"■•. BADCOCK EARNS HIS PLACE. Of the other selections only two positions, those given to Badcock and. Ward; were in doubt. Badcock was preferred probably to either Darling or O'Brien, while Ward was preferred to Grimmett Badcock, by his recent brilliant innings against the Englishmen in the Australian Eleven fixture, clinched his position. We need a fore-

' ing batsman of his type to go in No. 5 after bur openers and Bradman and McCabe'have broken down the attack. , Darling was evidently considered unj sound, and, after seeing the shot he ! played from the first ball received ! from' Voce in the Victorian match, ; which caused his dismissal, I am inclined to agree on this matter. O'Brien could not be considered except as an opener,'-his type of game being unsuitable for the position on the batting order under notice.' So Badcock has his chance, which he has richly, earned. This young player can rise to. great heights. His recent in-

nings was a testimony of that, and | his ability to alter his style of play showed a . shrewd . brain and., understanding born only 'in great, cricketers, pii: >the ioccasion^ofi'.his .-flrst. century ;£gainst the:'visitors Jit:' Perth/ he -was :very partial-Hcftthe^hopk -shot, scoring most ,offhisvruns b'&'-this?method.1 .In the following --match, -that" with South Ausfralia^against England, Allen exploited., 'this^tendency, to ' hook, balls of good;; length;' and this resulted;, in Badcock's'early dis'miisal: ,in bp^th-in-nings. On: his?latest .krtp.ck the majority of Badcock's runs-were scored by glorious drives and square cuts, shots which left the fieldsmen standing, and rarely did he produce the hook shot, .which was leading to his downfall. :\..:,;,; ward for grimmett. "Again, as' in' 1932-33, Grimmett has been, left-^pijt of our team, but there is, no;-doubt, that Ward has fairly earned; his position by his consistent arid excellent bowling. Grimmett, on Australian wickets, is not to be com:pared, -with. Grimmett .on English wickets, 'and here the English batsmen have little or no trouble in dealing effectively with his deliveries. Apart from that, age has caused a noticeable loss of "nip" from the pitch.

Ward's performances ,this season were far ahead of those" of Grimmett, in spite of the fact that^Grimmett was given greater opportunities than his younger rival. Ward should do extremely .well,.as our visitors, particularly the new. batsmen, are not at all partial to spin bowling. But Ward may .find the -.Brisbane -wicket very unresponsive arid unsympathetic to his ■deliveries., . .

There is rib idoubtv that McCormick is - Australia's best; fast bowler at the present moment, and it is only a question pf -his-., physical fitness that will prevent, him being a very useful cog in the wheel of Australia's fortune. OLDFIELD BEST 'KEEPER. In some quarters doubts were expressed regarding Oldfield retaining his position as-, wicketkeeper, Tallon's name in particular being'freely mentioned as Oldfield's logical successor. The;;time is riot yet for Oldfield to be dethroned. It may not be very far off,'but not yet. There? is no doubt that he is still without ai peer behind the stumps. Despite Tallon's superior batting ability, Australia must play the best 'kejeper available, as dropped chances in this direction may mean the loss of the match. Personally, I consider Walker, of South Australia, and Barnett, of Victoria, superior to Tallon.behind the stumps, but they are inferior batsmen. Still, that matter can solve itself in due course. At the moment Oldfield is definitely our.best 'keeper, and as such must be played.

Firigleton has picked up; batting form after a poor start, but, strangely enough, his opening partner, Brown, suffered a temporary relapse of form after a brilliant beginning. At the moment he appears incapable of making a shot, and despite his long innings in the Australian XI fixture, his form is still a long way from his best. It is, therefore, perhaps a comfort that Bradman is batting so well at' the moment, and McCabe is practically back to his best ■ form . also. . ■ . ~ ;-: :; :r. ': '--.-summing' up. -,*• . ■ '•/■ The batting, with Fingleton,,Brown,Bradman,'McCabe, Badcock.c Chipper-, field-'Sievers, and Oldfield looks particularly strong, while in McCormick, Sievers, O'Reilly, and Ward, with Chipperfield' and McCabe as reliefs, there is bowling which looks impressive also., Chipperfield's true value has never been properly estimated in Australia, particularly as regards his bbwl-

ing. In England during the 1934 tour I saw him bowl many fine overs, securing valuable wickets when O'Reilly and Grimmett had failed, besides rising to it grandly with the bat. His.batting of late has a definite flavour of his English form about it, and his illuminating performance with the ball in one of the recent matches in Sydney speaks for itself in this direction.

Our slip fielding should be first-rate with specialists such as Chipperfield and Sievers, and also • McCormick,. to fulfil this important duty when :, required. Brown, Fihgletpn. and Badcock will patrol the outfield—a fine trio —and with Bradman in control everything should run like clockwork:

Bradman bids fair to be as great a captain as Australia has ever produced* his cricket sense, judgment, and shrewd brain being apparent in many ways. ENGLAND'S TEAM. On form to date the English team I would select for the first Test would be: Allen, Barnett, Worthington, Hammond, Leyland, Fishlock, > Hardstaff, Ames, Robins, Verity, and Voce. If Fishlock and Hardstaff could strike their true form the capabilities of the sidfe can be realised. In this event the Test would be a very hard-fought-out struggle, as Robins's inclusion has made a potyer of difference to the all-round strength ;'df the side. Ames's fine batting form has also added to this, so we may see a. fight yet.

England has never gone down without fighting, and, although at the moment the odds are heavily on Australia, our English friends may put up a great show, and demonstrate once again the uncertainty of the great gafhe of cricket. ' :. .