RECENT CRICKET TESTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21145, 1 October 1930, Page 7

RECENT CRICKET TESTS

MR WARNER’S BOOK ISSUED. “THE FIGHT FOR THE ASHES.” FINE TRIBUTES TO WOODFULL. (United Press Association.) (By \ Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, September 29. Mr P. F. Warner, in his book, “ The Fight for the Ashes, 1930,” which has just been published, says that there is no need for despondency about English cricket. He suggests the eleven for the 1932 tour on which England must concentrate immediately as Duleepsinhji, Hammond, Sutcliffe, Wyatt, Leyland, Ames, Allom, Peebles, Robins, Allen, and Crawley. Warner deals exhaustively with every first-class match in which the Australians were engaged, in addition to the tests, much of which was prepared from the Morning Post, from which extracts were cabled to New Zealand during the tour. He pays glowing tributes to Woodfull’s, captaincy and personality. “ There was never a more popular or better liked Australian captain in England. His characteristic walk, charming smile, and general de' tneanour made him many friends. It would be impossible to imagine a nicer captain. He was one for whom the eleven would do anything.” Summing up the individual players, other than Bradman and Grimmett, whom he lengthily praises, he says that Kippax is the stylist of the team, M‘Cabe is the finest straight driver, and is going to be a great batsman. Jackson was somewhat disappointing here, but genius is inherent in him. Fairfax is one of the best all-rounders. He has a lovely bowling action, and is most difficult to dismiss' from the wicket. “ Hornibrook has beautiful action and a length which is not always what is l expected from a left-hander. Oldfield is the greatest wicketkeeper in the' world. While a’Beckett is not a great fieldsman, his fielding on the whole is good,. without being exceptional. His slip fielding is his weak point.” 1 Warner approves of four-day tests, and a limitless fifth test if necessary. The covering of the wickets before the start, he says, places an over-great premium on the toss, and makes the game too artificial. ' It destroys somewhat the element of uncertainty. He deplores attacks on the selectors by certain writers, who appear to have lost all sense of proportion. Such misguided criticism lowers the dignity of the press, which in the past has done a great deal for cricket. Unfortunately cricket is in grave danger of being “ stunted.” It upsets cricketers when they find, if they miss a catch or make a duck, that tliey are treated as though they had lost the British Empire. Summing up England’s personalities, Warner discusses Chapman’s captaincy in the first test. No captain could have done better. There was a marked falling off at Lord’s, though at Leeds he was himself again. At Old Trafford the captaincy dropped GO per cent, below the first test standard. “It is difficult to account for the variation. I am, indeed at a complete loss to explain it. Chapman seemed to have "lost his tactical sense, and did not associate himself mentally and physically with the howlers.” The writer proceeds to criticise Chapman’s interview with a newspaper when he was dropped, “I fancy everyone regretted it, no one more so than Chapman, when his feelings had cooled down. Subsequently Chapman wrote for the same newspaper a ‘ fair and temperate description of the test,’ but one had the impression that he was being.used as a.‘stunt,’ a position which his best friends depro cated sincerely. That the office of the captaincy of English cricket suffered temporarily some loss of dignity and prestige cannot be doubted.” He regrets Wyatt’s ill-luck in having Duckworth, off form, and concludes: “If Duckworth had caught one, or at any rate two, of the three catches, England might have won the match.”