VICTORIA’S FIRST

Evening Star, Issue 25940, 4 November 1946, Page 3

VICTORIA’S FIRST

BATTING FAILURE

MILLER AND HASSETT HOLD THE FORT

(By Arthur Mailey—Exclusive to ‘Star.’)

MELBOURNE, November 2.

Victoria’s early wickets 'crashed badly to-day, blit Miller and Hassett became associated: when; the score was three for 38, and carriedm the total to 102 before being sepa-, rated. The bowler who caused tnis. initial breakdown in /Victoria's batting was Douglas Wright/ a min of Kent/who caught Tamblyn and Haryey off his own bowling for 14 runs..

Victoria was rather lucky in such; a position to have two of.Austsalia’s most efficient cricketers, Miller and Hassett, to depend on. The shortest tftid the tallest batsmen’ in the -Victorian, team started as though they meant business.' Both used ..their feet to Wright /and succeeded ..eventually in- having’/him taken away from the bowling crease; and Voce, who, too, was bowling remarkably well—in fact 1 showing hi* best form since reaching Australia—was next to go on. -Although the'-rate of scoring was nob fast, it was satisfactory. 1 Later, Wright came back at the other end, and had Miller;cauglit off - his bqwling. It was a very;valuable partnership, but Victoria was far from being in a- good, position, with- four; down for 102. WRIGHT’S PERFORMANCES. Quiet, unassuming, Wright, who faced a barrage-of'banter in YVesteru Australia because of his floating approach to the wicket, seems to have found a more satisfactory approach. Ha is just a little faster than the‘average slow bowler—probably bowls, at a. pace between Grimmett ’and O’Reilly, and turns the ball nicely either way, but' mostly. from the Ie«;. - Wright; will get an occasional drubbing in this country before the tour - ends, and,' like a; sensible chap, he is prepared for it. Tn between times, however, and parti-, cularly when the pitch takes spin, he’ will give the batsmen a little-quore trouble than they will cause him., ■ , Hard-working Bedser was the least dangerous of all the bowlers to’-day. His length and direction were good, but the flight of'the ball/was’straight and regular, and did ;not. cause the batsmen any concern, up to tea time at any rate, when Johnson helped Hassett ,in another partnership. Then* the Victorian . captain was’ caught off a short-pitched' ball from Ikin.' - Johnsonand Barnett held the fort .for .an ’hour or so, and then Johnson crashed; and: so it went the whole day.

' CAT AND MOUSE. The situation resembled a' cat tantalising a mouse. J ust when ’ the Victorians, badly mauled ’ and groggy, t tried to steal- away sand- collect":, their wits, the cat’reached-forward ,' qujetly. - but firmly,...gav.e,. the;..mouse another nudge, and brought it back to the old address. ' Hassett battled 81 . minutes- for; his 57 runs, and showed glimpses’of.liis old form. He was somewhat subdued, perhaps by .the seriousness of the occasion, . and by the fact that the-English bowling had never lost its aggressiveness. Miller, too, was steadier : than usual, although 'he played, L thought, one shot which was the gem of the match. It was a beau- - tiful off-drive, which hit bat and pickets almost simultaneously. ENGLISH ATTACK CONVINCING. ' England’s attack was. easily the most convincing of the tour, - but with the. • exception of Miller and 1 Hassett, very few of the batsmen presented .any . real , opposition. Wright bowled as well as he was allowed td' bowl. -The batting of the last four or five batsmen .was poor, and well below .Victorian, standard. Apparently the Victorian selectors banked on>an attack . which in numbers exceeded the English at- ; tack, but few of the bowlers were able to offer any opposition with the/.bat. Johnson was the exception. Voce put more vigour into his bowling than he - did at Perth, and might; have been more successful with a little more luck.

The pitch is covered, consequently there is little . likelihood of- stickiness. The attendance was over 15,324; and the takings £l,lOO. , ‘ 't ■