FIRST TEST MATCH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6871, 15 July 1909, Page 5

FIRST TEST MATCH.

ENGLAND’S EASY WIN. BOWLERS IRRESISTIBLE. IEOJI OUE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. LONDON, June 4. The Australian cricketers of 1900 are not covering themselves with glory, and their easy defeat by England .in the first test match, coming on top o£ their previous reverses, suggests that the combination is really very mediocre in batting except perhaps on dry wickets. At Birmingham some of the men shaped as though they had never played on a slow wicket. As to the bowling, it looks | weaker than that of any Australian eleven that has visited tho Old Country. If tho present summer turns out wet, Whitty, Nobio and Armstrong may prove good enough to give the team a lair percentage of wins, but if we have a nor. mal summer the howling looks like letting tho Australians down badly. As to the Birmingham match, it n ay be said that the result followed the expectation of most of our cricketing E Tl?’ first day’s play was limited to three quarters of an hour. Noble, having won the toss, sent in Cottar and Bardsley, with orders to force runs, i.ut; after surviving an appeal for leg before in Hirst’s opening over, the fast bowier , gave a dolly catch off Blythe to xlll®, at in id-off, only five runs being then on j the board. Armstrong came in next, but only to lose Bardsley, who fell to a| marvellous catch in the slips off Hirst j by the English skipper, MaeLaren. I Trumpor then joined Armstrong, and! the pair bv cautious cricket carried the score to 14," when bad light caused nearly ; half an hour’s interval. On returning to the wickets the Australians again pro- , tested against the light, the cause being ■ the background of dark coats of the oc- 1 eupants of tho pavilion,' there being neither bowling screen nor cleared space at that end. The Australians have good | cause to remember the absence of that ■ particular sight screen, for it was here in 1902, that Rhodes, howling from the pavilion end, took seven wickets runs, and with Hirst routed the colonials for 36 paltry runs, the lowest total on record in test matches, Australians miss that sight screen. It is one of the things that they hav© always been, ac- ; oustomed to in Australia, viz., sight 1 boards at each end. The latter they have come to regard as a batsman’s birthright, and it certainly seems inconsistent with reason to have a large board at one end (thereby admitting its necessity) and non© at the other. On resuming, Armstrong and Trumper carried the total to 22, ere play ceased for the day, but the latter had a couple of very narrow escapes from being run out, and once Hirst nearly bowled him off his pads. On Friday a warm morning: sun had made the pitch somewhat difficult, and the batsmen' were compelled to watch the ball very closely. Trumper, after "pottering about" for some time for three runs, tried to hit Blythe to the boundary. The effort was fated, for he did not get hold of the ball properly, and sent it hard and low to Hirffi; at midoff, the Yorkshireman making a fine catch. Armstrong, after making a very careful start, now made an effort to liven things up, but when the_ score 1 board showed a total of 46 and his own share was 24, the Victorian was beaten and bowled by Hirst, who quite deceived him With a ball which broke tremendously. Five runs later Hansford was bowled by Hirst, and at 58 another disaster befol the Australians, Noble, who had made. 15, giving Jcssop an easy catch at cover-point. The tale of disaster continued, for Carter, after nearly being caught and bowled by Blythe, was leg before to Hirst for a' cypher. O’Connor aided Macartney to add a dozen, but an appeal for leg before by Blythe brought about his retirement. Macartney, who nad previously oeen missed by Hirst, tried to force matters, but after being again let off, this time in the long field by Fry, was nicely taken low down in the slips by Maclaren, and the innings was

all over at twenty-five minutes to one, for the moderate score of 74. The Australians only batted in all two hours and a quarter, Hirst and Blythe bowled unchanged, each bowling twenty-three overs, which, curiously, was the total number sent down in the record innings ,of 36 seven years ago on the same ground- Blythe, despite the two unac--1 ceptod chances, was credited with the lion’s share of the spoil, though the averages were almost identical, namely, Hirst four for 28, Blythe six for U. ENGLAND’S BAD START. The Englishmen started the innings in a sensational fashion, for, from the very first ball sent down by Macartney, Hobbs was given out Ibw—a fate he is likely to, meet with pretty often if he continues his present defensive methods. Then at 15 Maclaren was bowled by what was praoticaly a full toss from Macartney. At the same total Fry departed, having completely misjudged a perfect length ball from "Mac” which curled in from tho off and took the middle peg. Then Jones and Tyldesley became associated, and by good cricket carried the score to 61, when both were dismissed, Jones caught at the wicket and Tyldesley bowled in making .a shockingly bad attempt to. lift O’Connor to tho boundary. Jessop and Hirst were now together, and ‘‘the croueher” put together 22 in as many minutes, whilst Hirst was pottering about for 7. Jessop fell in an attempt to leg Armstrong and let in Rhodes. The two Yorkshiremen. seemed quite unable to do anything with the bowling, and runs were very slow in i coming. Hirst, after scoring 15 in nearly [ an hour was out at 103, and Liliey del parted at 107 for a duck, a fine catch by | i tans ford at Jong-off bringing about his dismissal. At 116 Thompson was run | out, and with the score at 121 Blythe lost his wicket, leaving Rhodes to carry out his bat for a very slowly compiled 15. Generally speaking there was nothing ! striking about England’s innings, for ; with due regard to the fact that Armstrong’s bowling was exceptionally line, there was no excuse for the side stay- ‘ ing at the wickets for nearly three hours ■ to score 121.

AUSTRALIA’S UPHILL EIGHT. Australia had an 'uphill task before them when they went in again at five o'clock. Their batting order was again varied, Noble and Macartney opposing tho attack of Hirst and Blythe. In the latter’s second over, Macartney was log before with only four on tho board, and Noble, after nearly playing on to Hirst, was at 16 caught by Jones, who took tho ball from a decidedly hot drive, effecting the capture with his left hand very low. It was indeed a wonderful bit of work—a real “A. 0." fielding tit-bit. Two for 16 saw the visitors in by means an enviable position, when, with over an hour to play, Hansford, who had gone in first wicket down, was partnered by Gregory. At 30 Thompson relieved Blythe, this being the first change in tho English attack in the match, but the manouvro was not attended with success, and the score rose more rapidly, 50 being reached in fifty-five minutes. Hansford should have been easily run out for -»5, but Liiky did not Hike a return from Hobbs, and Gregory might have been similarly dismissed. Rhodes luwL a turn with the ball, but the colonial pair had put on 51 in three-quarters of am hour ■when,'bad light caused play to'cease for the day; Australia being 20 runs on with eight wickets in hand. On Saturday, though rain had fallen intermittently throughout the night, the pitch, when play was resumed seemed perfectly easy, and the early batting of Rafisford and Gregory suggested that England might have to work hard to avert defeat. Eor some time the batsmen were masters of the situation, and when at halfpast 11 they were still together and Australia was 50 runs on, things looked quite serious for tho Old Country. Then came A DRAMATIC CHANGE

which entirely turned the fortunes 61 the day. Blythe and Hirst were bowling well - enough; but MacLaren must have been thinking about a change ■when Gregory, emboldened by his success in twice putting Blythe to the .boundary, attempted to lift him there again, mishit, and skied the ball in the direction of short leg. Thompson ran

several yards, and managed to effect a really clever catch. This was the pre* cursor of a series of Australian disasters, which, with a brief break during the final partnership only ended with the close of the Australian innings. Tn rapid succession Trumper, after being missed by Hirst from a bad return, was splendidly caught off that bowler's next ball at short-leg bv Rhodes. Blythe bowled Ransford off his pads with a "breakback," and Armstrong, driving half-heartedly sent the first ball he received into Jcssop's safe hands at coverpoint. Carter made a single and then fell to a fine catch by Hobbs, who ran in from long leg, and Bardsley skied one over the bowler's head to Thompson, Cotter 1 who had been hitting fiercely and seemed likely to make a good score if he could get anyone to stay with him, was the next to go. He lifted one from Hirst right over to the pavilion rails, but Tyldesley was waiting for it, and though he nearly fell over the barrier in making the catch the Lancastrian held it safely. -With only Whitty to come, the end looked very near, but the last partnership proved a difficult one to dissolve. O'Connor especially played well, and it was not Until another twenty minutes had gone by, and another 26 runs added, that Lilley caught him and brought the innings to a close at twenty-five miuutes to 12 for 151.

As on Friday, Hirst and Blythe shared all the bowling honours, and this time with exactly equal analysis, each dismissing five batsmen for 58 runs. The innings extended over two hours and three-quarters, and the Englishmen wore loft with 105 to make —a much smaller number than seemed likely at ono point. ENGLAND VICTORIOUS. Maclaren changed his batting order for England's second innings, ’ and gave Hobbs and Fry a chance of atoning for their failure the previous day, Armstrong and Whitty shared the attack, the lengthy Victorian opening to Hobbs. The latter lost no time- in opening his score with a 4 to the off, and- then Fry broke his duck with a single, both thus escaping the unenviable "spectacles.” Fry was not too comfortable and might, when he had scored only 3, have been taken at mid-on by O'Connor, who - slopped, but failed to hold a hard drive. On the other hand, Hobbs batted with confidence, and in quick succession out and legged Armstrong for 2 and 4, and after cutting Macartney to the boundary, put Armstrong away to the ring for another 4, Noble changed his bowling without effecting any good, and in 35 minutes the English score was 43, out of which total Hobbs had made 33. After lunch Fry woke up a bit and scored freely from Whitty, who was displaced by Macartney at 63, whilst Armstrong i gave way to O'Connor at 74. Fry, who had never been at ease with Armstrong, quickly show r ed his appreciation of O'Connor by driving and legging him for 4's, whilst Hobbs completed his 60 with a fine off-drive from the same bowler. Noble put on Macartney, whom Hobbs promptly hit for three 4's in on© over, and sent up the 100 just ninety minutes after the opening of the •innings. Ho missed a fourth shot for a boundary and it was left for Fry. to win the match for England with a mighty square leg hit.