Test Cricket.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 83, 13 June 1921, Page 5

Test Cricket.

ENGLISHMEN'S SMALL SCORE. AN ENORMOUS CROWD. - ( Press Association— Copyr 'tit, Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. Loudon, June K. The weather for the -o■ ond tos< match between Australia, au-1 England was unsettled and overcast wttn alternating sunshine. The crowd was enormous. Ryder was twelfth man, Holfie'd.' Mayne and Collins "°t playing. Haig. Tennyson and Dipper took the place of Mead, Hearne, and Fry. The Australians, on taking the field, received a great recept'on. Douglas (England's captain) won the toss, and put England in. Gregory opened front the nursery end. and in view of his Bristol display Pipper accompanied Knight to the wickets. Both started confidently, hitting briskly to both sides. Twenty were madia in a quartei of an hour, with D : pper scoring twice as fast as Knight. The hall dismissing Dipper was niped quickly from the on low down. Play had then b"eu proceeding half-an-hour aind Armstrong, who wr,s howling a fine length, had five men forming a semi-circle on the oil side. At this stage play was held up. ow : ng to the arrival of the Kin^. The crowd was disappointed because Hendren had Pi short life. He walked across to an off ball, which whipped behind him and shattered the wicket. This was a sensational opening, au<l in view of the Woolley broke a long period of scoreles play by getting a singl-. through the Australian steel legside wall, which shot was cheered as though it was a boundary. The new partnership realised four 'n a quarter of an [ hour. Gregory replaced MacDonald* at the pavilion end ft twenty-nine. Later Armstrong bowled three successive maidens. Woolley hit a beautiful slip boundary at Gregory's wspense, making the total thirty-four for an hour's play. The Australian fielding now reached a h ; gh standard, but the dullness of the play was partially relieved by the respect Douglas was showing Armstrong; he wag merely blocking. Woolley wa« more aggressive facing Gregory, whom no drov straight to the boundary. Amusement was caused when Armstrong played Andrews, at silly point for Douglas, and wag renewed when after three-quarters of an hour Douglas hit Gregory nicely to the square leg boundary—his «eeond scoring stroke. Fifty appeared ' in eighty minutes.. Douglas was cutting a sorry figure, patting the ball mostly, and he scored eight in an hour. i Wbdttef YMH - S ball from Gregory whistled over the bails. Gregory was faster than at the ooening of play, rising a. foot above th 0 stumps, Woolley having many narrow escape?. McDonald relieve;i Gregory at sixty-one, scored in a hundred minutes. The baiting continue! lifeless, the crowd finding rela-satrou and amusement in the Doughs-Arm-strong duel. Just before lunch Donglas decided to break the monotony and drove McDonald straight t<; trie pavilion. Woolley followed by hitting him to leg for two. Douglas brought up the century m 130 minutes, cutting Mailey for two. Douglas was dismissed by a beautiful brill he attempted to drive, playiag across it, and a careful innings ended a partnership which, at this stage of tin' game, was very valuable. Woolley brought up fifty by ai glorious square cut to the ropes off Mailey, the fifty being made m 150 minutes. Evans survived an appeal for caught behind the wickets, but lie knew nothing of the next ball tvlrch shattered his stumps. Gregoiy replaced McDonald at 139. Tennyson was never, happy; he walked out to Mailey and was easily stumped Three wickets bad fallen in au hour after lunch. Pellew, who was fielding grandly, failed to hold a; ball milch Haig drove to the off just above his head when Haig wa s two and Mailey was the bowler. H;fg went out in the following over. The ball which dismissed Parkin went straight between his legs from the off. Strudwick's life was short, but happy. He twice pulled Mailey to leg to the ropes and then hit a soft catch to short leg, all in one Over. After Durston's ;;ppeaia«'V Woolley, being anxious to reach the century, opened his shoulders with the last man in, and lost his wicket through stepping out to one from Mailey. Woolley received a great ovation for a beautiful innings, having batted 100 minutes. England's innings lasted 210 minutes and produced 137, Durston opened the bowling against. AustruPa from the nursery end, and Bardsley and Andrews both commended baitting brightly—.Bardsley with graceful cuts and leg shots, while Andrews started by driving Douglas. Thesn, faftpr delightful square cuts off Durston, who was bowling off the wicket, Andrews attempted to hit a ball whi.di should have been, ignored, and was easily -aught, with the innings -mly ten minutes old. Bardsley .ui-l Macartney immediately settled down to brilliant cricket, treating both bowlers with scant courtesy. Bardsic-y hit

poetic boundaries through the slips, cutting and driving beautifully, white' Macartney bit Douglas twice' to%li© square leg boundary ill cue Ofer. These and perfect cuts \\"ir P biudlyinpplaudcd, and fifty appeared in twtutyfive minutes. Parkin relieved DisugIna at fifty-six, and turned him t ihe rop~s behind the #i kefc, and then drove him fctraighjgf..r four. There was no improvement in the bowling, the batsmen havingno difficulty ju placing the ball. M&cartney r s characteristic innings Hosed in a manner similar to Andi#ws, after he had batted for mii'utes. *

The play was not so bright after Macartney's' departure. Haig replaced ed Durston at ninety-nine. Peflew sent up the century in fifty-six Ainutes with a hit to the deep leg banndr.ry. The batting contrast provided by the two toam 3 was remarkable; whereas England labored Australia went for the bowling. Bardsley ,pas like the rock of Gibraltar, and crisp boundaries in all positions, while P.'llpw punched the ball to jwie ropes with delightful vigor, and sgnt Hfi : g past cbverpoiat to *fhe ropes. m

Pellew's scoring rate was one %er minute, and both batsmen were cetnpletely masters of the situation. One hundred and fifty appeared in ninetyfive minutes. Parkin relieved Woolley at 176, but he, like his predecessors, found Bardsley's defence impenetrable. '<****

The sun was becoming hotter as the afternoon advanced and the fieldsmen were working under Auscgglian conditions; Taylor passed the "English total with a beautiful drrp* to the on boundary, off ParkinlSten minutes before time, after hejfhad been batting two hours. Burjitlrty was eighty-eight. He then -galfe a difficult return to Parkin crowd applauded the let-off. Jf

Scores•— England.—First Innings. $

Dipper, b McDonald „.... £t It Knight, o Gregory, b Armstrong 7 Hendren, b McDonald T 0 j Douglas, b McDonald || 34 Tennyson, st Carter, b Mailey .."* ' 5 j Evans, b McDonald Jf 4

Haig, c Carter, b Gregory *j 9 Parkin, b Mailey | 0 Strudwick, c McDonald, b "Wbolley, st Carter, b Mailey ...j| 95 Durston, not out .. 6 Extras ..„...>... 14 Total y.y,j.lk '•• 187 Bowling analysis: Gregory Wok 1 wicket for 51 runs; McDonald, mior 58: Armstrong, 1 for 9; Mailey, 4 for 55. Mailey took four wicketS for twenty-two in twenty-six balls **and bowled one bye. Australia.—-First Innings, fg Bardsley, not not 1 83 Andrews, c Strudwick, b Durstof 9 Macartney, c Strudwick, b Durstoii 31 Pellew, b Haig 1 43 Taylor, not out jg 15 Extras .—••••5 5 Totul (for three wickets) ...fj|l9l ENGLISH COMMENT. * London, JuM 12. The newspapers declare England was outclassed at Lords on a perfect wicket. Some critics reg«fti"*the failure as worse than at Notting&m, where the wicket helped the bowfers. They contrast the slow and cramped English batting Iwifh the contemptuous ease with which the Australians flogged the bowling. A total of 22,378 paid for to the test match. m " ; i WARNER CRITICISES ENGLISH. (Received 12.25 p.m.) g Loudon, June 3,2. Warner, in the Morning Post,£*ays the British bowling lacked disjinctiou. The fielding compared mosS; unfavourably with the Austraiians'ldisplay. Even Alfred buaw, couldlfSnot beat Armstrong's record of nine funs for eighteen overs. The bowlingSwaS unchanged for an hour and tfe-ee-quarters. The great want iugthe English bowling at the present iima is length, which is the basic priiwipl« i of all bowling. t McLaren, in the Daily ExpjßßMj ' says the authorities at Lords hitfkrt< used no patent top-dressing for Sieii wickets, but left tho rain and silt M do.their work alone. But Stei Durston felled Armstrong, it&rai clear that watering was needeS tat tame the pitch. It wa s a dent on Saturday that every bit* | the devilment that it naturally pos sessed had been kept undfeTSy i most generous application It killed Gregory, and also mad* Douglas, Durston, and Parkin im potent. For once in a lifetime thi batsmen could trust the wic|et | play no pranks. i t THE EIGHT-BALL OVER, ► , I Press Association—Copyright, Austw uan and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received 12.50 p.m.) % London, tfunel 12. The Observer's cricketing expert say the eight-ball over will never | accepted by Marylebone, as being p« vocative of unfinished games, especia ly in the case of English cricket, o* ing to the prevalence of time-wsstin{ Strokeless batsmen would infaii ly handicap and tire unacclinaatiss English bowlers in Australisi. adopted in Australia, it flhouldj stall in abeyance in matches visi 1 ing teams on the ground of fai| pl»: