BATTING FAILURES

Evening Star, Issue 26042, 5 March 1947, Page 5

BATTING FAILURES

PROCESSIONS ON BOTH SIDES COMPTON SAVES ENGLAND INTERESTING FINISH PROMISED (By W. J. O’Reilly, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 4. When play resumed to-day Yardfey opened with Wright and Bedser, tnereby making it quite obvious that he was pinning full faith on Wright’s ability to complete the demoralisation of the remaining Australian batsmen.

England could have used the new ball early in the morning’s play, but Wright was bowling with so much hostility, and Bedser making scoring so difficult, that Yardley had no reason to worry about it. From the _ first ball he bowled, Wright exploited his leg-break, pitched, on and about the off-stump, to the best advantage. This ball turned sharply and quickly off the pitch, and at times reared dangerously. Hamenco was missed by Ikin from a fairly easy chance off this particular ball, snicked to the i wide shortly-gully-slip, but lkin, repenting his error, caught a magnificent catch from Hassett a few minutes later. It was a match-win-ning effort. He dived and took the ball with his left hand stretched at full along the ground. From then on it was a quick-mov-ing procession of batsmen out to and back from the wickets, each man failing to produce an effective answer to the medium-paced, leg-break bowler. McCool was caught at wide-gully-slip; Tallon sent out an extremely welljudged, lofted shot to Compton at deep square-Jeg, the fieldsman not having to move forward or back to take the catch. Lindwall, deciding that attack was _ the best method, crashed an off-drive to Smith, fielding short at extra cover, and was out. The left-hander, Tribe, to whom Wright’s bowling should have come less dangerously, started off to even up the scores in quick time. He hit nine runs off one over from Wright, but when that bowler rearranged his field for him in the next over, he, too, repeated Tallon’s gesture by hitting a comfortable catch to the outfield at deep mid-on, who had been placed there carefully for the purpose. When Toshack finished, full of running but short of speed, in stealing a second run to allow Hamence to keep the strike, the Australian innings closed 27 runs short of England’s total. ENGLAND, TOO.

It was grand bowling that caused the collapse. Some dismal critics were inclined to blame the anaemic batting for a “ dull ” display of cricket, but to me Wright and Bedser, bowling magnificently on a wicket which really ought to happen occasionally in testmatches, provided cricket of the highest quality.

Yardley ordered the heavy roller to be used, and sent Washbrook and Fishlock to open. With a goodlength- in-swinger, Lindwall dismissed Fishlock lbw first ball of the innings. From then on the English procession began. Washbrook, Edrich, Ikin, and Yardley were beaten by the slow legbreaks of McCool, who bowled excellently. Edrich batted very confidently until he swung at and over a highpitched ball from McCool. Tallon brought off the stumping. Having tried desperately hard to run himself out off the first ball he received. Ikin was stumped by Tallon off the second, thereby earning his “pair of spectacles’’ for the match.

Tribe still remains an enigma. Bowling to-day under conditions which were ideal for his type, he spun the ball quite a lot, but failed to take a wicket or to worry anybody but his captain. Bradman quite obviously expected the left-hander to be his chief wicket-taker. He tried him first with four on-side fieldsmen, then with five, and later changed him from the Paddington end to the Randwick, but the English batsmen refused to do anything but play him confidently. Bradman rang the bowling changes during the last hour- in trying to dislodge Compton’s partners, but Evans first, and then Smith, stuck grimly to their post. Toshack was asked to bowl only two overs during the afternoon. ' COMPTON’S CLASSIC INNINGS. Compton played a classic innings. To him the spinning ball was something that either had to be ignored or played with the middle of the bat. Even though McCool turned the ball dangerously, Compton was never in doubt, nor did the wicket look dangerous^when he was batting. „

He carried the English innings through from a position where defeat seemed inevitable to an overnight total of 144, which, with three wickets to fall, gives England

a reasonable chance of victory. Australia already has to score 172 runs to win. All 10 Australian wickets fell for 127 i-uns from the time that Barnes was dismissed in the first innings. The pitch most likely will deteriorate further yet, as England will surely use the heavy roller to-morrow morning. If Hutton is fit to bat tomorrow, enthusiasts can look forward to an extremely interesting finish to this great test match. •