AUSTRALIA HAS ADVANTAGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 June 1934, Page 5

AUSTRALIA HAS ADVANTAGE

FIRST INNINGS LEAD > GRIMMETT—O’REILLY IN FORM [BY CABLE PRESS ASSN. COPYBIGHT.] (Recd. June 12, 10 a.m.) LONDON, June 11. The Test match was resumed in hot brilliant weather. The attendance was 20,000, with half a mile queue waiting to pass through the turnstiles. The wicket was faster than previously. Hendren hit two twos in Wall’s first over. Wall dismissed Pataudi in the second over, he being nicely caught at. second slip by McCabe. Pataudi was tedious and uncomfortable. He batted for 80 minutes. Five for 145. Ames was in 20 minutes before scoring. The Australians’ fielding today was much improved, Brown, Bradman and Darling making several excellent saves and snappy returns. O’Reilly kept both batsmen in check. Hendren was looking for runs, but was unable to connect, on Grimmett. Ames lost his wicket at his first attempt at a big hit. He gave Wall a catch at square leg. Six for 165. Hendren had a close shave and cocked the ball towards Darling. With the wicket becoming more difficult, Hendren was most uncomfortable often dangerously chopping Grimmett. Geary defended stubbornly and ocr casionally took liberties, and helped himself to fours. As a result the score began to mount more rapidly and put the onlookers in bettei - heart. , Chipperfield was given a few overs, ( but he was inaccurate. Hendren took two fours off him in quick succession. ] The partnership raised 50 in 30 min- f utes, which was a severe setback to j Australia. i <

A telegraph messenger rushed on the ground with a telegram for Chipperfield and the game was held up. Woodfull ordered the boy off. Chipperfield thrust the message in his pocket, unread. Hendren and Geary now settled down. Two hundred and three runs appeared in 285 minutes. Fours were all too frequent for the Australians. Grimmett and O’Reilly returned at 226, after McCabe and Wall’s brief use of the new ball, but Hendren and Geary continued the stubborn defence until lunch. Geary 1 ' was shaping better than some recognised batsmen. He cut and drove Grimmett for fours in the same over. Australia appeared to be failing to drive home the initial advantage. The crowd after lunch exceeded Saturday’s ground record of 30,100 and the gates were closed. The 250 took 350 minutes. Runs were coming freely, Geary reaching 50 in 90 minutes. The partnership was worth 101 in 125 minutes, when O’Reilly was again called on. He bowled Hendren with his first ball. Taking the middle and off stumps with a ball turning from the off. Hendren batted 220 minutes and gave a chanceless powerful onside admirable display, after a pool - start. He hit nine fours. The tot,al was 7 for 266. No runs were added when Geary jumped out to drive Grimmett and Oldfield made a fine stumping. Geary was in for 115 minutes and hit ten fours. He showed some noble hitting, in a good fighting knock, chanceless, though fortunate in the early stages. O’Reilly in 'the next over bowled . Verity neck and crop, three wickets , falling in three overs without addition , to the score. The last pair added two. , then Grimmett easily bowled Fames, . making four wickets in four overs. The innings lasted only 45 minutes after lunch, and 385 altogether. Grimmett and O’Reilly bowled splendidly

throughout. Australia’s fielding was of high class. McCABE’S BRIGHT BATTING. Ponsford and Woodfull ret-opened at 3.20, with Australia 106 ahead. Woodfull glanced Fames’ third ball for two, but the fifth swung in completely deceiving Woodfull, whoso leg stump was uprooted. 1 for 2. Brown, who followed, was fortunate snicking the last badly to the fence. Fames was making the ball lift, and keeping the batsmen on the defensive. Ponsford had a narrow’ escape from chopping Hammond into his wicket before the same bowler, pitching one in a worn spot, bowled Ponsford round his legs. Two wickets were down for thirty-two. Bradman began quietly, then drove and hooked Hammond for successive fours. Brown was more attractive than on Friday, though Verity almost bowled him. 'Bradman played .several flukey strokes, but the pair were together at tea, at which time the total was two for 61. Hammond and /Fames reopened. The third ball of the latter's third over was a very fast one of good length. It rose sharply. Bradman failed to play it in time. The ball snicked off the shoulder of the bat and he was neatly caught at the wicket. The forty minutes total was 3 for 69. McCabe began brightly though the worn spots on the wicket clearly worried both batsmen. McCabe swung Mitchell for two consecutive fours, and also drove Geary to the fence, but Brown quietened and was unable to get Geary and Mitchell away, thanks largely to the excellent fielding. The hundred occupied 115 minutes. Brown at thirty-three should have been stumped off Mitchell, Ames fumbling. There were frequent bowling changes, but McCabe continued finely, passing Brown’s score, though McCabe had seventy-five minutes less batting. McCabe hit the first six of the match, a. fierce pull from Mitchell. He also collected two fours in the same over, and reached fifty in even time. Brown was tedious. McCabe, with a delightful variety of strokes, played the best, innings of the match. So far he has batted eighty-five minutes, and given a brilliant display. He hit a sixer and thirteen fours. The innings so fur has lasted 165 minutes. Fames has

taken 2 for 41. Tfie scores are;— AUSTRALIA —First Innings .. 374 E N G LAN D—F i r s t Innings. Walters, lbw., b Grimmett .. ~ 17 Sutcliffe, c Chipperfield, b Grimmett 62 Hammond, c McCabe, b O’Reilly 25 Leyland, c and b Grimmett .. 6 Pataudi, c McCabe, b Wall .. .. 12 Hendren, b O’Reilly 79 Ames, c Wall, b O’Reilly .. ~ 7 Geary, stp. Oldfield, b Grimmett 53 Verity, b O’Reilly o Fames, b Grimmett 1 Mitchell, not out 1 Extras 5 Total 268’

Fall of tho wickets wore: 5 for 145, 6 for 165. 7 for 266. 8 for 266, 9 for 2G6, i JO for 268. 4 Bowling: Overs —maidens—runs— wickets: Wall 33—7—82—1; McCabe 7 -2-.-7.Grimmett 58.3—24—81—5; O’Reilly 37 —16—75—4; Chipperfield 3—o—l B—o. AUSTRALIA—Second Innings. Woodfull, b Fames 2 Ponsford, b Hammond 5 Brown not out 37 Bradman, c Ames, h Fames .. 25 McCabe, not out 74 Extras ig Total for three wickets .. .. 159 Fall of wickets: 1 for 2; 2 for 32 3 for 69. CHANCE OF VICTORY. LONDON, June 11. The Australian Press Association comments: If bold tactics are pursued to-morrow, Australia, should be one up in tlio tests. The probability' is that Grimmett and O’Reilly, on the wearing wicket, will dismiss England for a smaller total than in the first inning. ■>. Hobbs, writing in the “Star,” says: Australia, is now safe from defeat. If they like to push on quickly they have a. very fine chance of winning. Jardine says: )i has been a lucky match for Australia. Things have run right for them with both bat and bail.

■’ All the critics pay tribute to the fine fighting stand by Hendren and 0 Geary, and describe the day’s play as most exciting, with fortunes fluctuat--1 ing. 1 WIRELESS DISCLOSURE. 3 _____ ' Many listeners to the principal Aus- ■ tralian broadcasting stations while the > cricket Test is in progress at Trent c Bridge fondly' imagine that they can • hear the bat striking the ball on the " ground. What they really hear is pro- ’ duced in the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s studio in Sydney. ■ Listeners to the Australian national ’ stations hear a ball-by-ball description relayed from Trent Bridge, as it is ' heard over the air in Australia and New Zealand. It may best be described as a synthetised ball-by-ball description, and the sound of bat striking ball, and occasional noises of the crowd, are produced in the studio in Sydney. Some of the service in the early morning may be a. relay of the description from Trent Bridge, but the greater part of the service is as described. It is relayed from Sydney to other stations in Australia. The way in which this service has been built up has been described lately by' officials of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. For instance, in the studio of 2BL, Sydney, a staff of experts and clerks, numbering about 12 is gathered for the Test description. In the studio there is a score-board kept by an experienced scorer from the Sydney Cricket Ground, together with a smaller but detailed board, also in charge of an expert scorer. The service from England is mainly of Beam messages, which are tabulated on special forms and handed to the announcer who puts them on the air in the form of a description from the ground. “It has been demonstrated,” says the Australian “Wireless Weekly,” “that this method can be perfected with sound effects from gramophone records, so as to deceive the most expert listeners, and to all intents and purposes listeners to the commission’s description will hear a description direct from the ground.” While the service is being given there are in each of the Australian stations noted cricketers, past and present, to give commentaries on the run of the game, at suitable intervals.