Gubby Under Pressure

wicket is worn. Today, as is often the case in Adelaide early in the season, the ball will turn but even then I had to get the only wickets which mattered. I think the batting failures have been due to the difference in the pace of the many wickets on which we have played and poor nets for practice.’ Harris reported, immediately after the match, that Allen ‘called the side together and told them that the form all round was not good enough.’ Presumably this ticking off did not include Hammond who had found a rich vein of personal form with four consecutive first-class centuries. For the rest Allen had, again according to Harris, asked them ‘to ponder deeply about the game and what was really wrong with their form.’ Meredith confirms Allen’s concerns at this time and indicates that it was not confined to one outburst: ‘Allen’s response to his batsmen’s loss of confidence was to ask for more practice. He called several meetings demanding a harder approach, with less drinking and socialising.’ Allen makes no mention of any off-field high jinks in his letters, apprehensive no doubt, that if Warner should read of it, MCC might think Allen was failing to keep control. 6 At Melbourne: 6, 7, 9 and 10 November, 1936. ¹ MCC 344 [C.J.Barnett 131, J.Hardstaff 85, J.Frederick 6-65] and 36-3: Victoria 384 [I.S.Lee 160, R.G.Gregory 128]. Match drawn. Rain curtailed play on the second and fourth days. Lee and Gregory added 262 for the fourth wicket in the Victoria innings. 7 At Sydney: 13, 14, 16 and 17 November, 1936. ¹ New South Wales 273 [S.J.McCabe 83, R.H.Robinson 91, W.R.Hammond 5-39] and 326 [A.G.Chipperfield 97*]: MCC 153 [C.J.Barnett 70, H.Mudge 6-42] and 311 [W.R.Hammond 91, M.Leyland 79, W.J.O’Reilly 5-67]. New South Wales won by 135 runs. MCC lost their last four second innings wickets for nine runs, the last falling with three minutes play left. Allen’s diatribe does not appear to have had the desired effect, for in the next two matches the team went from bad to worse. Against Victoria in Melbourne they scraped a draw while always looking the weaker of the two sides, and then crashed to their first defeat in Sydney against New South Wales. Allen’s next letter was from Sydney and briefly reviewed the games against Victoria and New South Wales, the latter still in progress, and contained his first reference to suffering from some poor umpiring decisions. ‘I have bowled well so far and caught some remarkable catches. Leg is going wonderfully well thank goodness. Our batting against the leg-spinners, Frederick and Mudge, neither of whom can bowl at all, has been just laughable. Fishlock leaves a gap and gets bowled out by a huge leg break every time. He lacks brains I fear. Hardstaff will not get to the pitch of the ball. Fagg is out of luck. Barnett has played very well and was given out today when well passed the wicket. I never saw a worse decision and what annoys me most is that the umpire had his finger up long before the wicket was put down. It may easily cost us the match as he was playing O’Reilly splendidly.’ A week later Allen elaborated on what he considered an undeserved defeat by New South Wales, with only two balls remaining. He laid the blame squarely on the umpires who gave O’Reilly the last four wickets with outrageous lbw The cricket 37