Cricket 1908

2 2 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. F eb . 27, 1908. menced batting on a perfect wicket. Fielder and Barnes, who opened the bowling, gave England a good start, for at 11 Trumper was bowled off his pad by the former, and at 35 Noble was caught in the slips off Barnes. When 50 went up in 56 minutes Crawford aud Rhodes took up the attack, and shortly afterwards the latter was allowed to bowl an over of seven balls, off the last of which Macartney scored a 4. McAlister, when 9, had a narrow escape, playing a ball from Rhodes on to his wicket without a bail falling: the ball went for three byes. Macartney reached 50 in 95 minutes and 100 were made in 118. Fourteen runs later, when the third wicket had added 79, McAlister was out to a fine catch low down in the slips for a lifeless innings of 28: he batted 95 minutes and hit three 4’s. Macartney played an admirable and stylish game without a chance, and was fourth out, at 140. In scoring 75 out of 129 in two hours and a-quarter he hit nine 4’s and showed strong defence. When Armstrong was caught at the wicket half the side were out for 160. Hill, owing to his indisposition, went in much later than usual, but scored only 5 before meeting with the same fate as Armstrong. The 200 went up in 204 minutes, and immediately afterwards Hartigan, when 6, offered a hard chance to Hutchings in the slips off Fielder. At 215 Ransford, who hit six 4’s, was bowled for an attractive 44 made out of 75 in 65 minutes. Hartigan and Carter then made a useful stand, and sent the 250 up in 255 minutes. The pan- added 58 for the eighth wicket in three-quarters of an hour by the most attractive batting of the day. Carter, who had been missed when 23 by Braund at slip off Fielder, was then l.b.w. to Hutchings’ fifth ball, and with the score unaltered Hartigan was bowled off his glove. The latter hit five 4’s in his masterly display and made strokes freely all round the w icket: he scored his 48 out of 82 in 75 minutes, and had every reason to be satisfied with his first innings in a Test match. When stumps were drawn the total was 279 for nine. During the day the attendance reached 6,476. Next morning Saunders soon succumbed, the innings lasting 290 minutes and realising 285. Fane changed his bowling with sound judgment, and the fielding was always good. England should have lost their first wicket very quickly for Hobbs was missed by Noble at point off O’Connor, who started the bowling with Saunders, before he had scored. It "should be stated that Hill was too indisposed to field, being in bed with influenza, and that his brother, L. H. Hill, substituted for him. Noble went on to bowl at 30 and Armstrong 7 later, but the 50 went up without loss in an hour. Eight rims later, however, Hobbs, who had hit two 4’s, was caught at the wicket. With Gunn in the play slowed down, the bowling being very accurate and the batsmen unwilling to take risks. At 98 Fane, after batting for 110minutes, was run out through a smart return by Trumper ; he hit three 4’s in his valuable 48. The 100 were made in two hours and, owing mainly to the free and vigorous batting of Hutchings, the third wicket added 40 in 30 minutes. The player named was then brilliantly caught and bowled by Macartney off a low and very hard hit. The next ball proved fatal to Braund, and with his departure four men were out for 138. With Hardstaff in, Gunn played brighter cricket, and once got Armstrong to leg for 6. The 150 were made in 153 minutes, and Gunn reached his half-century in 100. At 194, however, the last-named, who timed the ball well and hit a 6 and three 4’s, was bowled by O’Connor for 65 made . out of 136 in 130 minutes. Rhodes and Hardstaff, who was shaky at the start, but improved later,, then kept together until play ceased, when England, with half their wickets in hand, were only 26 runs behind. Cotter’s bowling was much missed, and the fielding was occasionally at fault. During the day 14,294 were present, and the takings amounted to £733. Fielder, who - contracted a chill, spent Sunday in bed, and when play was resumed the next day Hill was still too unwell to take the field. At noon the temperature was 99 in the shade and 147 in the sun, and later in the day 102*2 and 150 respectively. When the sixth wicket had put on 83 Hardstaff was bowled in trying to place to le g : he hit nine 4’s in his flawless innings and made 61 out of 139 in 127 minutes. Five runs later, at 282, Rhodes was caught at the wicket for 38 made out of 88 in 85 minutes—a very useful piece of batting. Crawford quickly made his presence felt, and, whilst he hit, Barms played steadily. 300 went up in 306 minutes, and it was not until the eighth wicket had added 38 in 40 minutes that Barnes was caught by Armstrongoff a fastreturn at 320. Humphries showed strong defence and, although making only 7, stayed in whilst 43 were put on for the ninth wicket. Crawford, who gave the best display on the side, was then bowled for a faultless innings which contained eight 4’s : he hit hard whenever oppor­ tunity offered and made his 62 out of 86 in 110 minutes. At the same total Humphries, after batting 65 minutes, was run out, leaving England with a lead of 78. Barnes and Fielder were, as usual, entrusted with the attack when the Austra­ lians opened their innings, and the success with which the former met must have delighted his comrades. With the total at 7 he caused Trumper to play-on without having scored and at 38 bowled Macartney for a single figure : at this point he had taken two wickets for 10 runs. Fifty went up in 68 minutes, but at 71 McAlister was l.b.w. : he had made 17 of the 36 added for the third wicket in 48 minutes. With Armstrong in a better stand was made, and Noble reached 50 after batting 130 minutes. The former, having made 34 out of £6 by sound cricket, was out to a fine catch in the long- field, and when play ceased Australia, with six wickets in hand, were only 55 runs on. Noble carried out his bat for 63. It should be stated that before stumps were drawn Fielder left the field owing to indisposition, his place being taken by Young. The attendance during the day reached 5,617, and the receipts amounted to £272. On Tuesday morning play recommenced in a temperature of 101*2 in the shade. With 2 added Noble was caught at third man for a splendid and faultless innings of 65 out of 135 in 168 minutes. He hit four 4’s, showed strong defence, and played a most valuable game for his side. With Ransford and O’Connor together the 150 went up in 193 minutes, and as the pair scored freely Crawford and Braund went on. The sixth wicket added 44 in three-quarters of an hour, and then Ransford, who hit four 4’s and gave no chance, was caught off a mis-hit. A run later, at 180, O’Connor, who had hit three 4’s and made 20 out of 53 in an hour and a- quarter, was bowled, and at this point Australia, with three wickets in hand, were only 102 runs on. As it happened, the association of Hill and Hartigan changed the whole aspect of the game, but the Englishmen had only themselves to blame, for the latter, when 32, was missed by Fielder at point off Crawford, and Hill, when 22, was dropped by Barnes at mid-off off Rhodes. It was a bright and attractive partnership, for runs came readily as soon as the pair had settled down. Hartigan reached 50 in 102 minutes and 100 in 184, whilst Hill’s times were respectively 102 minutes and 188. The former’s success in his first Test match was heartily cheered, and Hill’s fine score, which was wonderful considering his indis­ position, was no less warmly welcomed. During the afternoon the temperature reached 106.7 in the shade and 151.7 in the sun. The attendance reached 3,900, the receipts amounting to £179. At the end of the day the score was 397 for seven wickets, Hill being 106 and Hartigan 105. On the fifth morning the wicket was found to be slightly worn at one end, but not enough to trouble the batsmen. Fielder was still suffering from a severe cold, Young, as on the previous day, being his substitute. At 423 Hartigan was caught at point, having helped to add 243 for the eighth wicket—the most remunerative partner­ ship in Test match cricket. He scored his 116 out of 244 in 250 minutes, hit a dozen 4’s, and made many fine strokes. In addition to the chance early in his innings, he was missed when 110 by Barnes at mid- off off Crawford, and when 112 should have been stumped off Barnes. Carter gave Hill much assist­ ance, but he was dropped by Braund at slip off Craw­ ford when 26. When the ninth wicket had put on 78 Hill was out to a fine one-handed catch at mid-on. He made his 160 out of 321 in 320 minutes by the pluckiest cricket, and hit eighteen 4’s : he hit hard, placed well, and showed good judgment in running. Saunders was out 5 later and then the innings, having lasted 560 minutes, closed for 506, leaving England 429 to win. Carter hit three 4’s and showed capital form in making 31 out of 83 in 80 minutes. Fielder’s absence was severely felt, and the great heat—shade temperature 111*4, and in the sun 156*9 —was doubtless responsible for some of the dropped catches. O’Connor and Saunders opened the home attack, and Hobbs, when 1, was hit in the stomach by a ball from the latter and obliged to retire. Fane was bowled at 8 and Hutchings at 9, whilst at 15 Gunn was caught at cover. O’Connor had now taken two wickets for two runs. Braund and Hardstaff then added 113 in an hour and a-half, but both should have been out at 16. The Notts, player reached 50 in 68 minutes and hit seven 4’s his most praiseworthy 72; he was out to an extremely fine catch in the long-field. Ten runs later Rhodes was caught at long-off, and at the end of the day five wickets were down for 139, Braund being 41. Hill again had a substitute doing duty for him, so during the match was on the field only whilst batting. On the sixth morning Crawford was c. and b. at 146, and 16 later Braund was caught at mid-off for a sound and plucky innings which con­ tained seven 4’s. Hobbs, upon resuming his innings, should have been c. and b. off O’Connor first ball. At 177 Barnes was caught at square-leg, five later Humphries was bowled, and a run later Fielder was held in the long-field, the innings closing for 183. The wicket was certainly not wearing well on the last day, but that fact cannot excuse the collapse of the Englishmen. Hobbs hit out pluckily, and made a 6 and three 4’s, but the others appeared helpless, five wickets falling in less than an hour on the last day for 44. Australia thus won by 245 runs, after having at one time appeared to be almost hopelessly • behind. On the sixth morning the temperature 107*6 in the shade and 151*9 in the sun. The attendance for the match was 35,923, and the receipts £1,745 16s. 6d. Score and analysis:— A ustralia . First innings. V. Trumper, b Fielder ... 4 M. A. Noble, c Hutchings, b Barnes ..........................15 C. G. Macartney, lbw, b Braund ..........................75 P. A. McAlister, c Hutch­ ings, b Crawford ...........2S W. W. Armstrong, c Hum- Second innings. _1 b Barnes ........... 0 c Gunn, b Fielder 65 9 phries, b Fielder ...........17 V. Ransford, b Barnes ... 44 C. Hill, c Humphries, b Barnes .. ................... 5 R. Hartigan, b Fielder ... 48 H. Carter,lbw, b Hutchings 24 J. A. O’Connor, not out ... 10 J. V. Saunders, b Fielder... 1 B 3, lb 5, w 3, nb 3... 14 b 17 34 Total . 285 b Barnes c Hutchings, Crawford... c Hutchings, Braund ... cRhodes,bBraund 25 c Gunn, b Craw­ ford ...................160 c Young.b Barnesll6 not out...................31 b Crawford...........20 run out ........... 0 B 20, lb 7, w 2 29 Total ...506 E ngland . First innings. Hobbs, c Carter, b Saunders 26 F. L. Fane, run out .......... 48 Gunn (G.), b O’Connor ... 65 K. L. Hutchings, c and b Macartney.......................... 23 Braund, b Macartney ... 0 Hardstaff, b O’Connor ... 61 Rhodes,cCarter,b O’Connor 38 Barnes, c and b Armstrong 12 J.N.Crawford, b Armstrong 62 Humphries, run o u t ........... 7 Fielder, not out .................. 0 Second innings, notout ... ... 23 b Saunders ... 0 c Trumper, b O’Connor ... 11 b O’Connor c Hartigan, b O’Connor c Macartney, b Saunders c Armstrong, b O’Connor c McAlister, b Saunders c and b Saunders b O’Connor........... c Ransford, b Saunders 47 B 12, lb 2, w 2, nb 5 21 B 3, nb 1 4 Totai ...................363 Total ... 183 A ustralia . First innings. Second innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Barnes ........... 27 8 60 3 ... ... 42 9 83 3 F ield er........... 27.5 5 80 4 ... ... 23 3 81 1 Rhodes ......... 15 5 35 0 ... ... 27 9 81 0 Crawford 14 0 65 1 ... ... 45.5 4 113 3 Braund........... 9 1 26 1 ... ... 23 3 85 2 Hutchings ... 2 1 5 1 ... ... 7 0 34 0 Fielder bowled three wides and one no-ball, Craw- ford two wides, and Barnes two no-balls. E ngland . First innings. Second innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Saunders ... . . 36 6 83 1 .. ... 21*4 4 65 5 Macartney . 18 3 49 2 .. ... 4 1 17 0 O’Connor ... . . 40 8 110 3 ... ... 21 6 40 5 N oble................ . 18 4 38 0 ... ... 7 1 14 0 Armstrong . 18 4 55 2 ... ... 10 1 43 0 Hartigan ... . . 2 0 7 0 ... O’Connor bowled a wide and five no balls, Saunders a wide, and Noble a no-ball. 12 th M a t c h .— v. TASMANIA, at Laun­ ceston. (See page 13.) 13 th M a tc h .— v. TASMANIA, at Hobart. (See page 13.) 14 th M a tc h . —v. VICTORIA. Played at Melbourne on February 1 st, 3rd, and 4th. England won by 330 runs. The visitors, for whom Jones made a very welcome reappearance, won with the greatest ease by 330 runs after declaring their second ihnings closed with four wickets down. Victoria were very poorly re­ presented and were outplayed from start to finish. Score:— England.—Hobbs, 30 and 115 ; Gunn (G.), 7 and 48 ; Hayes, 30 and 7 ; K. L. Hutchings, 12 and 51; Hardstaff, 122 and not out 12; F. L. Fane, 36 and not out 0 ; J. N. Crawford, 6 9 ; A. O. Jones, 9 Barnes, not out, 7 ; Humphries, 7 ; Blythe, 2 ; byes etc., 7 and 8. Totals, 33S and (for four wickets innings declared closed), 241,