M.C.C. TEAM

Evening Star, Issue 22209, 11 December 1935, Page 4

M.C.C. TEAM

AN AUSTRALIAN'S IMPRESSIONS A few impressions of the M.C.C. team as seen, in their Adelaide match are given below. They are written by one of the soundest judges of the game in Australia. Ho says that Barber and Holmes, of whom he has seen nothing, will improve the team in batting and probably in fielding. THE BATTING. I liked Hardstaff best, with Parks and Human next. Hardstaff times his onshots beautifully, has a fluent style, and is already a “ Test ’’ batsman for Australian wickets, particularly as he is one of the two outstanding fieldsmen. Parks, short and nuggety, can punch trie ball square with the wicket. Not distinctive enough in any ’ one branch to get test honours, but may get them as a useful all-rounder. Human has great wrist power, and anything at all short is a certain boundary. 1 should- place him next to Hardstaff, but for one faulty defensive shot on the leg stump. I expect him to get out often to a ball that comes through fast and low to nick the leg stump. Smith, reminiscent of Woolley in build and style, was all at sea in timing. His English deeds make him a much better bat than he looked here, and he probably, was well below his best. Mitchell-Innes and Lyttelton, are similar in build and class. They seemed eager to establish a dashing reputation, but signally failed. Langridge, batting, is like a 50 h.p. engine drawing a toy train. His 14 stone hits a 6oz ball a yard or two five balls out of six. Of Powell, Sims, Baxter, and Read, the two foremost are Hair bats, but are not likely to average 20. The last two are bowlers only. Generally ? there was little to support the claim that the team is dashing —45 an hour was their average to inexperienced bowlers in first-class cricket, who, all the same, bowled extremely well. Between the wickets they are as they are in the field—about three very good, the rest ponderous. THE BOWLING. Read is perhaps a trifle faster than Wall. He takes a lot out of himself with a plunging 20yds run that ends in a leap, and, as often as not, a no-ball —only sometimes called. In this game the keeper got from him one catch and the slips none. His few wickets were poor calibre batsmen. Baxter seemed really more hostile with fast-medium swingers. With a new ball he has three close on the leg, side, like Hirst. He got more- wickets in the slips than Read, and can bowl twice as long. Sims I think the most effective slow bowler England has sent out—likely to be much more so than Freeman or Mitchell, who failed here. ' He is tall, ends with windmill action, and delivers the ball directly above his bead. This gives him a very accurate length and no little spin. He appeared expensive in the first innings, but no one ever mastered him, and in the second' innings he had them all under the whip, notably Bradman,