GREAT SCORING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21883, 20 August 1934, Page 9

GREAT SCORING

TRIUMPH OF BATSMEN SECOND WICKET RECORDS RUNS COME RAPIDLY BRADMAN MAKES 244 PONSFORD 205 NOT OUT By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received August 19. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, August, 18 The weather was fine and hot when the final test cricket match between England and Australia was begun today at the Oval. There were 22,000 spectators and the gate takings totalled £2409. Many .people waited at the gate all night and there was a queue of thousands at dawn. The ground, materially and aesthetically, was inadequate for the great occasion. The wicket was green, contrasting with the hard, fast, byownish and dried outfield. Woodfull won the toss and the Australians batted first. The teams, which had a quiet reception, were as follows :t— lii ENGLAND R. E. S. Wyatt (Warwickshire). C. F. Walters (Worcestershire). W. R. Hammond (Gloucestershire). H. Sutcliffe (Yorkshire). M. Leyland (Yorkshire). L. E. G. Ames (Kent). H. Verity (Yorkshire). W. E. Bowes (Yorkshire). G. O. Alien (Middlesex). E. W. Clark (Northants). F. E. Woolley (Kent). R. J. Gregory (Surrey), 12th man. In this team Sutcliffe, Allen, Clark and Woolley replace E. Hendren (Middlesex), J. L. Hopwood (Lancashire), W. W. / Keeton (Notts) and T. B. Mitchell (Derbyshire), who played in the fourth test. Gregory replaces M. S. Nichols (Essex) as 12th man.

AUSTRALIA W. M. Woodfull (Victoria). W. H. Ponsford (Victoria). D. G. Bradman (New South Wales). 8. J. McCabe (New South Wales). H. Ebeling (Victoria). W. A. Brown (New South Wales). A. Z. Chipperfield (New South W;iles). W. A. Oldfield (New South Wales). W. J. O'Reilly (New South Wales). C. V. Grimmett (South Australia). A. F. Kippax (New South Wales). L. S. Darling (Victoria), 12th man. Ebeling and Kippax did not play in the fourth test, but Darling (now 12th man) was in the team. T. Wall (South Australia) has been omitted on this occasion. E. H. Bromley (\ ictoria) was 12th man in "the fourth test. Clark Dismisses Brown Bowes and Allen opened the bowling, but Bowes was displaced by Clark at 20. Clark bowled fast round the wicket with a three-man leg-tra.p. His first three balls were well outside tho off stump, but his fifth swung in beautifully anc} took Brown's off and middle stumps. Bowes then took Allen's end. Bradfrian opened badly, but he and Ponsford Bonn commenced to put on runs and with Allen and Hammond on they enjoyed a spell of comfortable scoring. When the total was 57 Ponsford gave a chance off Allen to Wyatt at sqriare-log. The 100 was reached in 90 tninntes. Clark returned at 105. With one ball he struck Ponsford painfully on his thigh, but the latter continued to bat admirably. The score at the luncheon interval was 123 for one wicket. Impressive Rate of Scoring Ponsford at 68 was dropped at second slip bv Woolley off Bowes —a difficult riglit-liand chance. Two hundred appeared on the board in 160 minutes. Tho batsmen scored at an impressive rate in spite oi changes in tho bowling. Ponsford'ss fifth test century was compiled in 170 minutes, and Bradman reached his 100 in 165 minutes. Ponsford was hit three times by Chirk, Mho was again bowling with great zest and swinging the ball awkwardly.

Runs continued to come freely, the bstsmen exasperating the fieldsmen with cunningly placed singles. Ponsford bt 115 had his third escape when Wyatt

at mid-off dropped him off Verity. Woolley again dropped Ponsford one run later off Allen. When the partnership had yielded 236 it beat the second wicket test record of Woodfull and Macartney established at Leeds in 1926. Thus the same pair in successive tests shattered the second and fourth wicket records. The 300 took 235 minutes and at the tea adjournment the score was 311 for one wicket. The bowlers now were looking the worse for wear. Ponsford and Bradman established their second successive test partnership of 300 in 225 minutes. Run-getting now seemed ridiculously easy, Ponsford driving Bowes as though he were a slow bowler. Wyatt bowled for the first time in the current test series at 387, coming on with Verity. Scoring four off each bowler Ponsford raised the 400 in 300 minutes.

Four Hundred Runs in 285 Minutes Bradman reached a magnificent and chanceless 200 in 280 minutes. In the same over the batsmen broke their own test record partnership of 388 established at Leeds. . Hitting two pathetic successive full tosses from Leyland to the boundary Bradman brought the total of the colossal partnership to 400 in 285 minutes. After that runs came at an more devastating rate. Bradman jumped out and hit Verity for the first six of the match. Ponsford became cautious on approaching his first double century in a test, which he achieved in 330 minutes.

Ten minutes before the close of play for the day Bradman, in bending and trying to hook a short ball from Bowes, failed to connect and was well caught behind the wicket. He had batted 310 minutes and given no chance. He hit one six and 32 fours. His partnership with Ponsford realised 453. Ponsford and McCabe quietly played out time. Ponsford so far has batted 345 minutes and hit one five and 19 fours. Details of the score are:— AUSTRALIA.—First Innings Ponsford, not out 205 Brown, b Clark 10 Bradman, c Ames, b Bowes . , . . 244 McCabe, not out 1 Extras 15 Total for two wickets . . . . 475 Fall of Wickets.—One for 21, two for 474. Bowling Analysis

Overs Mflns. Runs Wkts. Bowes . 21 1 110 1 Allen 18 1 110 0 Clark . 22 3 77 1 Hammond 9 0 36 0 Verity , 2.5 3 79 0 Wyatt4 0 21 0 Leyland 3 0 27 0