Gubby Under Pressure

By the time the team had moved on from Perth to Adelaide, via the one-day match at Clare, the number of fit players had been reduced again. ‘Have had two further disasters. Bob Wyatt has broken the ulna bone in his arm just above the wrist and I am told Copson has slightly strained his leg in exactly the same place as I used to. Tell Plum to point out the importance of 17 men. Barnett’s inside is upset and, if Wade had not been out, we could not have selected eleven men for next match.’ It certainly was a stroke of good luck that TomWade, the Essex wicket-keeper, was on holiday in Australia at that time and available to play at Clare and then in the next two state matches, while Duckworth had time to recover. Wade’s rescue act was not forgotten by MCC, who included him in the special bonus payments after the team had returned to England the following year. The loss of Wyatt by ‘breaking the bone in his arm which will keep him out of cricket for at least five or six weeks’, plus the other injuries at least proved to Allen’s satisfaction that his determination to keep the squad at the original number was the right one. ‘It is funny that I should have said at the MCC meeting, when they wanted the team to consist of only 16 players, “Don’t forget we never had a broken arm on the last tour and we might have four broken arms and two breakdowns at the same moment.” I never thought it would come true.’ Two weeks later, Allen’s decision to send Ames to Melbourne for a medical examination had paid off. ‘The doctor in Melbourne told him just the same as the doctor told me about my tonsils and I should think that has probably been the cause of all the trouble.’ Ames had returned to play against An Australian XI in Sydney and batted for almost two hours while hitting ten boundaries when scoring 76 runs, demonstrating that he had finally emerged from the crisis in style. Robins also returned to action in the same match, although less than 100% fit. ‘Robbie’s finger is better, but I am afraid it is going to be some time before he can bowl properly, but he has restarted in this match as we MUST have him for the First Test.’ At last, after three months of enduring one medical problem after another, there was a blank injury list and Allen could now afford to give his attention to his own fitness problems and make an unscheduled trip to Sydney: ‘I suddenly made up my mind to leave the others and come down here as my right knee seemed out of shape and I wanted a decent doctor to have a look at it. I saw a man called Dr Collins this morning and he said that he thought it would be all right, provided I rested it for a few days, but he said, which worried me a bit, that the external cartilage may be weak. I am not going to tell anyone that, as it might cause alarm and we have enough injuries already. Personally, I think it is all nonsense, as do the two masseurs, both very good, who have seen it and I am sure it will be all right.’ But a few days before the Second Test, Allen was still having his doubts: ‘My knee is a lot better and I only hope to goodness it stands up to the strain of the Test match.’ Entering the New Year, the fitness of the team remained unimpaired until bad luck struck again. ‘Fishlock has now had a bone broken in his right hand and I don’t suppose will play again until we reach New Zealand. However, he still can’t bat and his breakdown will not mean the Ashes.’ Allen seems remarkably unfazed by this loss of another batsman, despite Fishlock’s poor form, even Managing the show 21