SPIN BOWLING.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20330, 13 June 1934, Page 1

SPIN BOWLING.

Field Day for O’Reilly and Grimmett. FEATURES OF THE TEST. “ O’Reilly, seven for 54.” That will be ranked as the outstanding feature of the first Test match, which Australia won so very decisively. O’Reilly did not come into the limelight until the last series of Tests in Australia, when his wonderful accuracy and ,'oramand of length and flight made him the most successful and the most reliable of the Australian bowlers. In the first Test in that series he took three for 117 in England’s innings of 524, in ythe second he took five for 63 and five for 66, being one of the main factors in Australia’s fine win. in the third he took two for 82 and four for 79, in the fourth four for 120 and one for 65, and in the last Test three for 100 and none for 32. In ihe five Tests he took twenty-seven wickets at an average cost of 27 runs. Even with the assistance of the fourth wicket, the bowling of O’Reilly and Grimmett must have been superlatively good. It is a remarkable thing that Australia has developed bowlers of the type likely to succeed on English wickets, while the main strength of the English attack lies still in the fast bowling, which generally meets with relatively greater success in Australia.

According to the cabled accounts of the match, Australia could always produce what w r as wanted at the moment. In the first innings Chipperfield came to light when the others haj failc-H. and in the second, when runs were wanted fast against good trundling, M’Cabe was there to get them in a hurry. Chipperfield must nave lived right up to his reputation of being the finest slip field in Australia. Jardine says that Austral-'a were lucky. The Australians mode the runs as well as winning the toss; they produced the exact type of attack, apparently, to do most good, and they held most of their catches, some of them brilliantly. That might be luck from Jardine’s seat in the stand, but from a long distance it would appear to be sheer good play. Jardine’s own estimate of the value of winning the toss was 100 runs, and in their victory the Australians exceeded that by far. The English selectors will be in a quandary. It is possible that they may include a new fast bowler to back up the good work of Fames, and in that case the choice should fall on Nichols or Bowes. since Larwood s dignity is holding him out of the Tests. It must have been surprising to the Englishmen that Verity did not do better. Of the batsmen, Leyland, Pataudi and Hammond were below expectations, but might not fail on a second occasion.

There should not be many changes in the Australian Test side. Darling and Woodfull were the only batsmen who achieved little, and it would l_e hard to drop Darling, while Woodfull’s captaincy is a great asset, and he is liable to collect the runs at any time. It is apparent that the O’Redly-Grim-mett combination will be the mainstay of the attack in the r.ext few Tests, at least. Ebeling might have a chance, but Wall is a hard man to displace, and with M’Cabe and Chipperfield as Woodfull should have no trouble in keeping the sting in the attack. It is unlikely that both Ebeling and Wall will gain places. Bromley is a player who merits a Test trial, and before the series is over someone may have to stand down to give him a chance. So far Kippax has not impressed. When ever Oldfield wants a spell Barnett will be a thoroughly reliable substitute

In the whole of the Test matches, Australia have now won 52 and Eng' land 51, while 27 have been drawn.