ENGLAND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14015, 21 September 1909, Page 4

ENGLAND.

A. O. Jones, 125 not out, for Notts. F. L. Fane, 116. Essex. D. Denton, 100, Yorkshire. W. It. Rhodes, 108, Yorkshire (2nd match). * J. Sharp, 106, oth Test (The Oval). A. E. Knight, 163, an Elevcu of England. J. W. H. T. Douglas, 102, an Eleven of England. C. L. Townsend, 127, Gloucestershire. P. F. Warner, 127 not out, Middlesex. SUMMARY QF THE TQVR3. Matches i ear, Played. Won. Lost. Dr'n 1878 18 T 12 1880 87 21 4 12 1882 38 23 4 11 1884 32 18 7 7 1886 30 9 h 22 {«* 40 19 14 1 JfgO 38 18 16 9 J896 31 19 6 9 ]gS • ?» 23 2 14 190 a ..,.,...„.,. j$ 13 4 21 Vrtal ... 481 926 88 IGT BATTING HONOUKS GO TO RANSFORD AND BARDSLEY. i r Wh .* n J he 1909 Australian Eleven left for England, the Sydney Referee commented a follows :— "Taking one consideration with another, it is a very solid team all round, and, barring accidents, one feels quite hopeful of its international prospects. Compared with the 1906 team, it has the confidence of a far greater number of Australians, and Its doings will be more keenly followed than w*re those of Mr. J. Darling's last team." These conclusions have proved accurate, says Tho Dominion, and the laurels of the tour have gone to the players under the leadership of M. A. Noble, who retained "The Ashes" for Australia. In spite of the wet season, the batting has been up to the best Australian standard, and the fielding has been keen and reliable ail- through aa compared with tho 1905 combinatibn. The batting honours have been carried off by the two young left-handers, Ransford and Bardsley, who have eclipsed all previous records for an initial visit io England. Excluding tlic first visit of 1878, when Charles Bannerman headed the averages, V.- Ransford is the second batsman to top the batting list on bis first tour. Tlie other occasion was in 1893, when U. Graham performed the feat. Of the remaining tours, W. L. Murdoch was on top on four occasions — 1880, 1882, 1884, and 1890— G. Giffen 1886, P. McDonnell 1888. S. Gregory 1896, J. Darling 1899. V. Trumper 1902, and W. W. Armstrong 1905. With the exception of Murdoch, no batsman has obtained the pride of position more than once, and men of tlie calibre ol Noble, Hill, Lyons, Iredale. and H. Trott have failed to reach the coveted position of the veteran*. W. W. Armstrong has repeatedly shown bis worth with tbe bat, but he has not equalled his 1905 performance. V. Trumper came with a late run after many disappointments. M. A. Noble, while hardly so effective with tlie bat . has made up the deficiency |>v hi* splendtd leadership, which has silenced many of his critics in the early stage of the tour. P. A. M'Alister, the Victorian captain, has batted consistently without .doing anything sensational. His many Australian admirers who considered he should have been chosen earlier for a Home tour will no doubt b» satisfied with hi« success. HaHigan. the Queenslander. has not found thr "ickets to his liking, and he has overdone bis forward play. C. (J. Macartney has mnde several useful scores, and has Droved ore of tho safest fields on tbe side. A. J. Hopkins was out of the running for some time owing to an accident. S. E. Gregory reserved his batting powers for tlm tests. Of the bowlers.the manager. F. Layer. would have secured more wickets but

for his accident in the Fifth Test. Layer has always performed better in Eng- ' land than in Australia. W. V. . Arm1 strong has again undoubtedly proved the all-rounder of the team, but m the ii uior matches was ueli supported by Whitty and O'Connor. C. 0. Macartney and A. Cotter took part in the big cricket with more success than the two South Australians. The former player has put up a creditable allround performance for a first tour. Tho number of drawn games h;!t> only been exceeded on one occasion, viz., 1886, which can be accounted for by the number of matches spoiled by raiu. This is the first tour of an Aus traliHii Eleven under the auspice* o< the Hoard of Control, which body i now on a firmer groivtid than formerly. The financial aspect of the tour will no doubt be awaited with interest.