BATSMAN OF CLASS

Evening Star, Issue 21639, 7 February 1934, Page 12

BATSMAN OF CLASS

W. A. BROWN'S ABILITY William A. Brown, the young New South Welshman, is a batsman of very high class (says a writer in the ‘ Sporting Globe’). There can be no doubt about it after the magnifioent innings he played against Victoria in the shield game in Sydney. One should say that he must go to England with the Australian team —indeed, to omit him would be little short of a tragedy. (Brown was selected.) On what they had seen of him in his two appearances in Melbourne, Victorians were a bit sceptical about the high claims made on his behalf by admirers in Sydney. They realised that lie must have batting ability, but his displays in Melbourne did not cause followers of the game there to rank him so highly as they did in Sydney. I must admit that 1 was one of the doubting Thomases, but 1 went to Sydney for this shield match with an open mind, determined to watch him very closely. The result is that I have come to the definite conclusion that in him we have a batsman who is destined to become a champion in a very brief period. It was not the fact that he made a great score against the Victorian bowling that impressed, but the way in which be made the runs. 1 have seen many great innings in first-class crichet, and while most of them will remain in the memory for their brilliance, I have never seen a sounder one than his. Few men who make a century score do so without giving one or more direct chances, let alone making false strokes. This innings of Brown’s was one of the exceptions. Not until he had reached 1.31 did he make a mistake of any kind, and that was to give an unaccepted chance in the slips. Apart from that you would not need the fingers of one hand to indicate the number of times that he did not do just what he intended with the ball. Not a false, or even a weak stroke; never a ball hit in the air, never a snick, and never the slightest uncertainty as to how the ball should be met. The certainty and the confidence with which ho played every ball during his five hours at the wickets was remarkable.

With nn upright stance, and never the semblance of a crouch, he met every ball with the full face of the bat, timed it perfectly, and placed it cleverly. I liked particularly the wav he got behind and over every ball, and the way he followed through with his stroke. I liked, also, the apparently cool manner in which he met the bowling. He never seemed in the least hit flustered. I liked the way he sent the ball speeding through the covers, the way he cut it late and square, and the way lie turned it to leg. often picking it off his pads or his hips with the daintiest of shots. He has all the strokes, and with his upright stance and the. way he follows through with his stroke he is an attractive batsman to watch. Needless to say, his footwork is good ; were It not so he eoidd not have looked as comfortable as ho did throughout his big innings. Yes, Bi •own looks the goods, and the Iviglish trip should be a certainty for him now.