SHEFFIELD SHIELD

Evening Star, Issue 19444, 30 December 1926, Page 3

SHEFFIELD SHIELD

■ 4A RECORD BEATING HEW SOUTH WALES ALL OUT, 230 LIDDICUT AND HARTKOPF BOWL WELL. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOURNE, December 29. In the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales the latter made 230 runs in their second innings (Phillips 36, Morgan 26, Kippax 26, Ratcliffe 44, and Jackson 59 not out). Liddicut took femr wickets for 66 runs, and Hartkopf six for 98. A record-making match ended with a. record boating lor New South Wales by au innings and 655 runs, the Victorian! bowlers Hartkopf ■ and Liddicut putting up proportionately almost as good a performance as her batsmen did on the previous days. The weather was line and the wicket was still good. The batting was of the routine, though fairly lively, order in the early stages, hut excellent howling and keen fielding kept the runs down. The only sensation was when the veteran Andrews had his leg stump removed by Liddicut with the first ball he received. Ratcliffe and the colt_ Jackson, who went in sixth, made tilings lively, and looked like putting up a long standstill tho former, in making a big drive, skied a ball from Hartkopf, and Morton took a good catch. Jackson, who played a confident, stylish, and punishing game, could got no one to stay with him, the last four batsmen adding only II runs, and Hartkopf bagged three of them.

ENGLISH CRITICS' VIEWS

“ A TIRESOME BUSINESS.”-

LONDON, December 28. The ‘Daily Telegraph’ states:— “ The efforts of England in the direction of amassing hug© scores are completely overshadowed by Victoria’s record total. Nobody who witnessed the putting together of these mammoth totals will grudge the Australians preeminence in this direction. When the batting masters the bowling so pronouncedly in a couple of days the game becomes a tiresome business. It is fervently to be hoped that the performance in Melbourne will not arouse a spirit of emulation in the breasts of the English players. The most refreshing feature of tho record is the fact that the score was made in 10] hours, but there is something appalling in century-making hourly for ten hours.” ‘Sporting Life,’ in an editorial, says:—“ Victoria’s huge score is the culminating point _of a succession of large scores, making it obvious that the standard of bowling in Australia is possibly lower than it has been for half a century. If an English team were now touring Australia it is very improbable that they would lose tho ashes. Our own bowling may not be as strong as wo would like, hut our Australian friends and rivals are in much direr straits.”

The ‘Daily Telegraph’ says: “Victoria’s new record hammers homo the lesson of modern tests between Australia and Britain that tho old balance of tho game has been destroyed in firstclass games. The greater part of the crowd goes to see batting. If the people like this sort of thing it will bo provided, but some will regret tho past.”