THE ENGLISH CRICKET TEAM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15704, 25 August 1911, Page 6

THE ENGLISH CRICKET TEAM.

The Marylebone Crioket Club apparently has not yet reached, the end of its troubles in connection with the selection of tho team which is to visit Australia this year. Tho inability of Fry and Spooner to undertake the tour meant a serious loss to the batting strength of tho sido as well as to the attractiveness of the team in the eyes of Australians, and Jessop’s refusal of the invitation is equally regrettable. His unorthodox, hard-hit-ting methods would have been enjoyed by players and spectators alike, and his splendid work in tlio field would have been of great value to his side. Without him, of course, the English batting still remains strong, and it is possible that the selectors will fill the vacancy by choosing a bowler. Tne captain of tho team, according to a recent cable message, has been regretting the lack of a goixl leg-hrealc bowler—a valuable asset on Australian wickets—and the statement suggests that J. W. Hearne, the brilliant young Middlesex player, lias not received the invitation whjch it was rumoured bad been sent to him. Ho was considered last season tlio best leg-break bowler in England, and his inclusion would meet Warner’s principal objection to the constitution of the team. F. R. Foster and Woolley, who have joined the team, are both new to Australia, and if Hearne were included with them tho three young bowlers would be warmly welcomed. Tho Australians will miss such well-known players as Hayward, Hirst and Lilley, and they will bo sorry that they aro still to be denied the pleasure of seeing giants of the game like Fry and Spooner, but they will be compensated to some extent for their disappointment by the large proportion of new blood included in tho team. Probably the Australians will not have cause to lament, as they have been inclined to do sometimes in the past, that their victories are unsatisfactory and their defeats galling because they havo been opposed to sides not thoroughly representative of English cricket. Since it is the virtue of youth in cricket to save runs as well ns to make them, the new international champions may prove quite as formidable opponents as their illustrious predecessors have been.