THE FIRST TEST

Southland Times, Issue 21895, 22 December 1932, Page 6

THE FIRST TEST

GREAT UMPIRING BARRACKING AT SYDNEY GROUND CHEERFUL “HILLITES” (From Our Correspondent). Voicing the pleasure he felt in listening to the barrack of the “Hillites” during the recent Test Match at Sydney., Mr D. Parry, of Bluff, said:— “Although people over there seem to continually talk and think cricket, attendance at the ground is treated in a holiday spirit. Indeed, generally speaking, the holiday spirit seems to be the keynote of Sydney crowds. Good humour prevails on all occasions . and there is no suggestion of malice in the remarks passed even when barrack is most pronounced. “There is a delightful impartiality about this barracking (just as there is about the applause). No player is immune. One of their own men is just as likely to- be the butt of their witticisms as is an English player, but in either case only a man with a soured outlook or a total lack of humour could take exception to the jests roared across the ground. Remembered afterwards, the gags may seem commonplace; but heard in the correct atmosphere and surroundings—as, for instance, those obtaining at a Test match —they fit in perfectly and add enjoyment to the occasion; and this is understandable when it is remembered that the great bulk of spectators, male and female, young and old, know the game from A to Z and therefore understand also the point of each remark.

“One thing which strikes the visitor is the rapidity with which the whole crowd notices certain happenings. One might be tempted to ascribe this to a kind of mob telepathy until one remembers he is amongst an immense crowd of experts. Then it is all plain. One incident will serve as an illustration. When Woodfull and Jardine went on the ground and tossed the coin both merely glanced at it and turned away. A man near me said Jardine won. Immediately about fifty people in the vicinity confidently stated that Woodfull had done so. And they were right. Apparently they were familiar with some little characteristic of the Australian captain which supplied the due. That will give an idea of how cricket and cricketers are known to Sydneyites. The Great “Yabba.” “On the first day of the Test the barrack was new to me and I enjoyed it immensely. Among all the voices one was outstanding. It was powerful, but by no means unpleasant, and seemed to be produced with little effort. I had not heard of “Yabba” then, but that night at a talkie show he appeared in a newsreel and gave a brief talk from the screen, to the delight of the audience. He stated that he had not missed an important cricket match for the past 46 years and didn’t mean to miss one for the next 46. I knew immediately who owned the voice among the Hillites.

“A player with an unusual name is a ‘win’ for the crowd and his name is soon twisted. Thus Jardine has become “Sardine” and Verity “Variety,” while on the first day Pataudi was ‘Potato’ and on the second ’Gandhi.’ Whenever he heard himself called by the name of the Indian leader Pataudi raised his cap to the crowd. That evening a newspaper stated that he disliked being labelled ‘Gandhi’ and the sporting spirit of the crowd was evidenced by the immediate dropping of the nickname. Pataudi became ‘Rajah’ and remained so to the end of the game.

“Every movement in a match _is watched intently and any unusual incident excites comment. Once when Voce was bowling he tripped and fell over the wicket. Of course there was a delighted roar; and a voice from the Hill asked if Voce was wearing Maurice’s boots—an allusion to Tate’s sizeable feet. When Larwood went on to bowl he carefully stepped out the distance for his run. As he started off to do so the crowd with one voice began to count his steps. At twelve he stopped and gazed at the crowd. The counting immediately ceased and there

was a hush; but as he resumed his stepping out it started again—‘thirteen, fourteen’ and so on till the distance was measured. Then the bowler began vigorously to mark the place with his boot. ‘Don’t go down in the mine, old man,’ came the voice of Yabba; and the sally caused a big laugh, the crowd remembering that Larwood is an exminer. (Wall by the way, bowls from the same mark). During the SutcliffePataudi partnership the latter would walk up and have a few words with Sutcliffe and this too provoked comments from the evergreen Yabba, such as ‘Don’t bother telling him, Potato, he knows already,’ or ‘Tell him after the match, it’ll keep.’

“When Sutcliffe settled down into a barren patch of batting, barracking of both bowlers and batsman became frequent and free, Yabba, of course, leading in criticism. The comments from the crowd were the brightest patch in the afternoon. Sutcliffe, batting stolidly, received a lot of advice and information. He was ‘wanted on the telephone’ or at the gate or in fact, anywhere but at the wickets. He seemed content all the time to merely pat the ball back to the bowler. Yabba stood it for a while and then: ‘Now, now, ’Erbie, don’t get reckless!’ he cautioned in a mock anxious voice; a simple remark, but there was a lot in the way he said it. Grimmett also received advice from Yabba, such as: ‘That’s right, Clarrie; just keep ’em there while I go for Ironmonger.’

Good Work in Field. “The backing up and other branches of fielding were fine to watch. One little piece of headwork in the field lingers in mind. It was during the Mc-Cabe-Wall stand. McCabe was playing like a machine and monopolizing the bowling. The last ball of an over would go for a single each time and he would then get the strike at the other end. Once, however, he put the wood on and the ball travelled well out. The batsmen ran three and the fieldsman could easily have preevnted another; but instead of picking it up he trotted beside the ball and a fourth run was taken—thus leaving Wall to. face the bowling. But the stratagem failed; for Wall saw out a maiden over. “The striking impartiality of the crowd was shown when McCabe hit the only six of the match. It was a beautiful stroke and the crowd roared with delight, while Voce (who was bowling) was asked how he liked it. Then it was seen that Voce also was applauding the shot and he was given a rousing cheer. That typifies the spirit of the game over there. One thing the onlookers will not tolerate is the blocking of their view, and when McCabe was batting those down near the pickets surrounding the playing area felt that the fence prevented their watching all the strokes. They soon made an improvement by pulling off the pickets. The officials took the situation philosophically. ‘lt will make a bit of work for someone,’ was their comment. “Any little occurrence that will relieve the monotony of dull batting is received with delight. Even trifling incidents can create a welcome diversion. During Sutcliffe’s innings one of the police on duty at the ground sought to have a rest in a good position and sat down beneath the sight board behind the bowler. Sutcliffe objected to his presence there and the intruder was forced to shift. The sight of a policeman being moved on caused great joy among the Hillites and he was barracked unmercifully.

“The umpiring in the Test was very thorough,” Mr Parry continued, “so

much so that it is hard to realize mistakes may be made. The bowler is watched from the time he begins his run till he delivers the ball, and then the umpire immediately bends down behind the wicket like a wicketkeeper and watches the. batsman. In the case of a run being made and the return coming to the bowler’s end for an attempt at a run out, the umpire gets round to ‘square’ so that he can judge if a batsman is over his crease as the bails are lifted. Throughout the game this procedure is strictly carried out, the umpires being alert to all points of the game. It must give the players a feeling of confidence; as incorrect decisions must be very rare. Another thing which deserves mention is the umpire’s habit of repeating his signals to the Hill after making them to the pavilion. A Cricketer’s Paradise. “Sydney is a cricketer’s paradise,” Mr Parry said with enthusiasm. “The game is discussed in the street, shops, trams and everywhere else. Along the streets a running comment on the play is heard from loud speakers and groups of people are gathered about these eagerly drinking in details. As a final touch, when you are going up to your room at night the lift man turns on a flow of expert opinion as a kind of verbal nightcap. A fine feature is that the desire on all hands is for a ‘fair spin.’ When it came England’s turn to bat, for instance, the weather forecast was for showery conditions, but Sydney people were unanimously hoping for fine weather. ‘We don’t want to win with rain,’ was the comment heard on all sides. This fairness, I may say, is also reflected on the ground when an English batsman is making a stand, however quietly he may be shaping. Barrack will be deafening until the bowler starts his run and instantly a dead hush follows, the desire obviously being not to embarrass the striker as he makes a stroke. It is very refreshing to find this sportsmanship so pronounced after what some newspaper correspondents have led us to believe. “Many a match has been lost through a missed chance of getting a man out, and lots of runs have followed a let off. But surely the heaviest financial loss from a missed opportunity resulted from Ames’s inability to hold a ball when the last man (Nagel) was batting. Nagel went well out of his crease and the ball came to the wicketkeeper. Nagel was so far out that he turned to walk to the pavilion when he noticed Ames still juggling with the ball. The batsman immediately dashed back to safety. At that time Australia still wanted a run or two to avert an innings defeat and these were scored. Stumps were drawn soon after. Had Ames stumped Nagel there would have been no necessity to turn out next day; but as it was both teams had to come out and, of course, all the groundsmen. In wages and other expenses Ames’s fumble cost the cricket authorities over £lOO. The Next Test “Regarding the next Test,” said Mr Parry in conclusion, “I personally cannot see Australia beating England with her proposed team—unless Ironmonger comes to light. In fact, England have a big chance of lifting the Ashes. I think Sydney people also expect the Australians to lose the next match and the selectors have come in for severe criticism on all sides, the general opinion being that drastic changes should have been made. It was widely suggested that fully six of the First Test players should have been dropped and there was nothing panicky about that idea; because to anyone watching the game it was obvious that several of the Australian players had lost their previous form and the time seemed opportune for the trying out of promising young players who abound in the Commonwealth.”