CRICKET.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 14 June 1926, Page 5

CRICKET.

FIRST BIG MATCH. ENGLAND AT THE WICKETS. BAD WEATHER CAUSES ABANDONMENT OF PLAY. BV CABLE—I’EESS ASSOCIATION—COBiEiUHT. LONDON, June 12. " The first test match in the great struggle for the ashes between England and Australia opened inauspiciously before a crowd of 20,000. England' went first to the wickets, and liad scored 32 runs without the loss of a wicket when a thunderstorm baused the abandonment of play for the day. The opening batsmen were Hobbs and Sutcliffe, the former having reach--19 and the latter 13 when play ceased. There was heavy rain overnight. The morning dawned fine, but later there was a. light drizzle. The wicket was covered overnight, but the outfield was soft. The crowd began to assemble a couple of hours before the advertised time to start. The ground filled rapidly as trains and charabancs arrived from all parts of the country. The Australian team is: Andrews, Bardsley, Collins, Gregory, Macartney, Mailey, Oldfield, Richardson, Ryder, Taylor and AVoodfnll, with Grimmett as twelfth man. England' won the toss, and. Carr decided to bat. At 11.20 a.m. a heavy shower delayed the start, which was eventually made at 12.12 p.m. on an easy wicket. ■ The copious use of sawdust was immediately necessary. Hobbs took the first over from Gregory, and opened the score with a single' to leg. Sutcliffe followed with a single through the slips off the same bowler. Gregory was kicking badly, hut developed a better pace than he had yet shown. Macartney had a perfect length and had Sutcliffe guessing in the second over.

A boundary came from Hobbs off a no-ball from Macartney. When the score was 17 a risky single off Gregory saw Hobbs nearly run out by a. smart return from Richardson, the batsmen dodging each other on. the run. _ j Hobbs was careful and characteristically attractive, and played the bowling superbly. He cut well and made some powerful .leg strokes. Sutcliffe was more sedate and more orthodox in his strokes. The fielding was clean and the picking up smart, Taylor, Andrews and Bard'sley being prominent. After 47 minutes’ play a heavy, almost tropical, shower compelled an adjournment. The rain continued till 2.30 p.m. Frequent inspections of the wicket were made during the afternoon by Carr and Collins, but at 5.30 p.m. it was decided that play must be abandoned for the day. The crowd waited patiently while the inspection of the wicket was made. Twenty thousand were present when Carr and Collins made the final visit. They appeared unable to agree, and decided to ca-11 out the umpires, whose decision was that no further play was possible. The position bad resolved' itself into a contest between the two captains, in which Collins won the day. . Half an hour’s play on the soft wicket would have been invaluable to

England. On the. contrary, GolUns, with a depleted team, could not afford the risks that were likely to accrue from the slippery ground. _ During the closing consultation at the captains the spectators vociferously demanded a continuation of play. One wag shouted: “Send for Armstrong, but they accepted the final decision with the utmost good humour. TOPIC OF THE HOUR. ASPECTS OF MATCH DISCUSSED. LONDON, June 11. Every London newspaper makes the test match the feature story of the day, every available aspect being discussed at length. The consensus of opinion is _ that England will win if the players will go after the bowling, while several say that all eyes will t>e on Root, England s dark horse.” Mr Sydney Smith, interviewed, said: “You can take it from the horse's mouth that there is no coughing in the Australian stable to-night.” He added that no rigid discipline was imposed as a preparation for the game. The men could retire as they liked, provided they were on parade in good time. Hundreds of people are parading outside the Australians’ hotel in the hope of catching sight of the heroes within. The pitch will be covered overnight, while a police patrol will he on duty all night long to guard against accidents. Collins, speaking at a luncheon at York, said: “England’s test side does England credit. In fact, the Australians do not like the look of it because it has practically eliminated the tail which England possessed for years.” Bosa-nquet, writing in the Dispatch, says: “Everything was going our way when down comes a thunderstorm. _ It was fine to see Hobbs and Sutcliffe opening with all their old confidence and mastery. They played the bowKng with ease and confidence. A difficult wicket is now our only available chance of victory with the limited time for matches.