Famous Cricketers No 39 - D.C.S.Compton

168. ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA, Sydney, February 28, March (1), 3, 4, 5 (Australia won by five wickets) hit wkt b R.R.Lindwall 17 280 - - - - 253 1 c K.R.Miller b E.R.H.Toshack 76 186 1.2 0 8 0 214-5 1 169. M.C.C. v Wellington, Wellington, March 10, 11, 12 (M.C.C. won by 214 runs) c J.R.Lamason b R.S.Challies 27 176 160 c J.H.Oakley b R.McK.Murray 32 271-6d 73 170. M.C.C. v Otago, Dunedin, March 15, 17, 18 (Match drawn) c J.M.O’Sullivan b A.W.McDougall 7 385-6d - - - - 340 st I.W.Galloway b L.D.Smith 27 216-9 1 0 4 0 262-7d 1 171. ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND, Christchurch, March 21, 22, 24, 25 (Match drawn) b J.Cowie 38 265-7d 345-9d 172. M.C.C. v Auckland, Auckland, March 28, 29 (M.C.C. won by an innings and 65 runs) not out 97 240 16.5 5 36 7 V.J.Scott c W.J.Edrich 85 1 W.M.Wallace b J.Cowie b R.W.G.Emery c J.T.Ikin G.L.Weir c C.Washbrook C.A.Kent c W.J.Edrich C.A.Snedden st T.G.Evans 6.5 2 13 4 J.Cowie c J.T.Ikin 90 G.L.Weir c J.T.Ikin C.C.Burke c J.T.Ikin C.A.Kent c N.W.D.Yardley SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Tests (Aus) 5 10 1 459 147 51.00 2 2 4 Test (NZ) 1 1 0 38 38 38.00 - - - Other matches 13 20 3 1163 163 68.41 3 7 7 Total 19 31 4 1660 163 61.48 5 9 11 Career 172 268 31 12689 249* 53.54 39 65 123 Bowling O M R W Ave BB 5wi 10wm Tests (Aus) 16.2 0 78 0 - - - - Other matches (Aus) 67 11 233 6 38.83 2/46 - - Other matches (NZ) 24.4 7 53 11 4.81 7/36 1 1 Total (6-ball) 24.4 7 } 364 17 21.41 7/36 1 1 (8-ball) 83.2 11 Career (6-ball) 642 97 } 3188 101 31.56 7/36 1 1 (8-ball) 255.7 36 1947 So much has been written about the golden summer of 1947 and Compton’s important part therein that is is difficult to know how much to describe. After a very severe winter the sun shone and shone throughout the season although the early part of the period under review was not quite as fine. Middlesex had a wonderful year and won the County Championship with some ease. Their batting was extremely powerful and the quartet of Robertson, Brown, Edrich and Compton made over eight thousand runs in the Championship to give them their first title since 1921 after five successive seasons as runners-up. The team was galvanised by the inspired captaincy of R.W.V.Robins and put up some sterling performances. Compton rarely knew what is was to fail with the bat in any match. In twenty-five of his thirty first-class games he made at least one score of fifty. His record in the Tests was phenomenal and he hit 753 runs in eight innings for an average of 94.12 in the five games. He and W.J.Edrich put on 370 runs for the third wicket at Lord’s, then a world Test record. Compton hit 22