LARGE DEFICIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22620, 7 January 1937, Page 10

LARGE DEFICIT

AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK COMPARISON OF PLAYERS BRADMAN AND HAMMOND (By ,T. B. Hoblts—Copyright in all countries. Reproduction in whole or in part forbidden.) (Received January (>, p.m.) MELBOURNE, Jan. 0 Six hundred and cighty-nino runs stood between England and the "ashes" when it started its colossal task in the second innings immediately after lunch. It is just easy to describe it as an impossible task for such a total has never before been compiled in the last innings. Australia had a big lead with which to start its second innings, and one always finds in a case hko that that things go right for the batting side and it continues to pile up runs. 'When you have runs to get it is a different proposition. Little accidents will happen. Also, the wicket, although in a real I v wonderful condition considering it has been played on for four days, cannot be quite the same as it was tor the lirst innings. So, il England gets anything above 350 it will not be dis—graced. England did not escape Tuesday s gruelling unscathed. Voce damaged an ankle and could not tako the field today. Barnett threw his arm out slightly, while Leyland is suffering from his old shoulder injury. I should not have been surprised to sco Robins' arm come right out with all the throwing he did. He gave a marvellous fielding display and must have been as tired as Bradman last night. Bradman Indisposed Bradman has a cold and he did not field in the second innings. It has settled on his chest. Ho told me that if it had been a close fight he would have gone on the field, but, as things were, the risk would have been foolish. He played before lunch just as if he must have felt it was too much effort to hit the ball, but 1 believe if ho had wished lie could have stayed there as long as he liked. Bradman only thrice attempted really big hits. One hook went to long-on for two, while a terrific off drive off Hammond did not bring him a run because it went straight to extra cover, where Robins stopped it in heroic fashion. The third was the cause of his downfall. Verity had been withheld for a long time, but when ho came on and bowled over the wicket, Bradman tried to hit him over the heads of the near fieldsmen. He skied the ball wide of mid-on, where Allen safely held a very difficult catch as lie was running away from the ! wicket with his back to it. ! 1 did not know Bradman was ill yes- ; terday. I knew it was not quite old I Don and called it a fighting innings, which was nearer the truth than I imaginedEveryone in Australia was buzzing with excitement over the big score last i night, there being no other topic of conversation.. A heated controversy has | arisen among the people who are at- | tempting to compare Bradman with i Hammond. I am sorry, for they are 1 two entirely different batsmen, each | great in his own way. There is truth | in the old tag —comparisons arc odious. Wickets Fall After striving all yesterday and capturing only one wicket, England secured two with two balls to-day. Allen, who j was still putting plenty of vim into his deliveries, got McQabe leg-before under the new rule and Darling played on the next ball. Darling was trying to cut, not at all a good shot to attempt off the first ball, because it was not wide enough to cut. Runs seemed of littlo account, although each was another screw in England's coffin. When England started batting it soon had some luck. Worthington tried to hook one from Sievers. He mistimed badly and gave Fleetwood-Smith a chance at forward short-leg, which was not accepted. England secured its best first-wicket start in the tests to date, but it was nothing to shout about, as it beat the 27 scored at Sydney by only two runs. Then Barnett was out leg-before to O'Reilly, who had twice appealed against him for the same thing in the previous over. It looked a clear case. Worthington was not timing the ball well and at 65, in playing forward to Ward, he was caught in the slips. In spite of this, by the tea adjournment England had scored at a rate of practically a run a minute for a total of 98. Hammond scored liberally off Fleet-wood-Smith and made some splendid shots off Ward. Fleetwood-Smith was not able to drop the ball at the same length to Hammond as lie did to Leyland, whom he troubled a few times. I think he must have an inferiority complex when bowling against the Gloucester man. McCabe, who captained the side in Bradman's absence, soon put a man on the boundary at extra cover to block Hammond's shots. Batsmen More Confident Probably no wicket has been so good in the fourth innings as this one, considering that 840 runs had already been scored on it. The batsmen played rather more freely this afternoon. Was it because they felt there was nothing hanging to the game? Completing a really excellent 50 in 75 minutes, Hammond made what looked to mo a careless stroke to Sievers and was bowled. Leyland has played cautiously so often this tour that I think he has temporarily lost the off-side shots for which he is famous in England. Most of his runs were scored on the on side. It might almost be said that the game, from Australia's viewpoint, went according to plan. I wish England had fought a little harder this afternoon. I know the position was hopeless, but it was hardly an excuse for the side crumbling up. Fleetwood-Smith was erratic, but he bowled several excellent balls.