THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1929. THE TEST AND THE ASHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20147, 7 January 1929, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1929. THE TEST AND THE ASHES.

England has won the third test, and with it the rubber, the ashes, or whatever the decision in this series of matches may be called. The spirit of hope with which the English cricketing public has followed the team's fortunes has its realisation. The rejoicing will be great, and nobody need grudge the winning side or its supporters one jot of the jubilation they wili feel at such a victory, clean cut and decisive, with the crucial match won in dramatic circumstances when conditions of play might very easily have turned the result the other way. At Brisbano the first success was gained overwhelmingly. At Sydney, though the Australians fought harder and more stubbornly, there was again a decisive win. As was fitting, the third test match had an exciting finish, with wickets falling rapidly while a narrow margin of runs remained to be scored. A fourth innings on a pitch which should assist the bowlers powerfully tries the essential fighting qualities of a team to the utmost, and it is a crowning feature of England's victory that the batsmen rose to the occasion as they did. Another feature, one which will appeal to all who have followed the cricket history of recent years, is that the old famous partnership, the Hobbs-Sutcliffe combination, emerges with the lion's share of the credit in the final race to victory. There have been more spectacular achievements in the tour, but their stand when the wicket was at its worst has a solid merit that cannot be over-shadowed.

England wins, therefore, and the supremacy wrested from the Australians, after a long tenure, in the last test series is retained. The success of the winners is simply summed up; their batsmen were able to cope with the Australian bowling, their bowlers showed that the supremacy of the bat is not unchallenged. It was remarked at the end of the test matches in 1926 that Australia should begin immediately to rebuild the team with younger material. The implication was that supremacy had been lost by a team of veterans, all past their prime. This was not an accurate estimate of the last touring side. It was true, however, and this year s play has confirmed the truth, that bowlers had not been developing to take the place of those who had passed their prime. The controversy over the selection, which has been heard as each test match approached, has almost all been over the choice of bowlers to face the task of breaking up England's formidable batting. The various shifts and expedients have not satisfied the critics because they have not been successful. Yet, with all the things the selectors were advised to do done, would Australia have reversed the verdict decided at Melbourne on Saturday 1 It is, to say the least of it, very doubtful. The plain fact is Australia is facing the experience of decisive defeat, and that not out of its order, judged by the ordinary run of athletic success. When England regained the ashes in 1926 it was indicative of a return to strength following the lean time after the war. Australia, too, was slipping from the heights attained during the same period. The results in this series are just a further stage in the process, a development of the feature that makes sporting contests, international or any other sort, worth while. They would be a dreary business if one side always won. The cricketing enthusiasts of England, therefore, and the whole public which follows the fortunes of the game, are entitled to their day of satisfaction. How deep the feeling is can be judged when the Prime Minister cables his cordial congratulations to the leader of the team. The tide of feeling might perhaps be judged out of proportion, the result of a gam'e, or a series of games, being all there is at stake. It is one of those occasions when allowances must be made, and moro than usual understanding granted. Almost every game which is given any importance in the world of sport has been cradled in the British Isles. Cricket has been taught to all those countries which play it by the English people—not, in this instance, the British people. It holds in English regard a place given to no other form of sport. Followers and pupils have beaten English or British sides in other sports; the result has been accepted philosophically. Defeat at cricket has also been suffered with sufficient fortitude, but the long and disas-

trous series experienced in recent years has undoubtedly been felt more keenly than any other could be. Want of success in cricket led to the question, not asked lightly, whether the national stamina was not on the wane. As the depression was becoming exaggerated, the joy at finding that an English team can still win test matches, and win them as. thoroughly as has just been done in Australia, naturally tends a little to the extreme. But it will be an invigoration, too, that will do good even when the first fever of enthusiasm is past. Everyone should be able to rejoice with England in this hour of success, and nobody need trouble about reservations at the present time.