Famous Cricketers No 54 - Stan McCabe

greatest innings that he ever saw. The great English bowler Sydney Barnes described it “as the finest he had ever seen”. Warner said his “driving was magnificent”. Cardus, ever a McCabe fan, wrote, “McCabe demolished the English attack with aristocratic politeness, good taste, and reserve; his boundaries were jewels and trinkets which he accepted as though dangling them in his hands … He cut and glanced and drove, upright and lissom; his perfection of touch moved the aesthetic sense; this was the cricket of felicity, power and no covetousness, strength and no brutality, opportunism but no meanness, assault and no battery, dazzling strokes and no rhetoric; lovely, brave batsmanship giving joy to the connoisseur, and all done in a losing hour. He blinded us with fours in an over fromWright, his innings became incandescent, with consummate judgment he kept the bowling; Fleetwood-Smith was almost as much a spectator as I was. Moving cricket which swelled the heart … One of the greatest innings ever seen anywhere in any period of the game’s history.” McCabe’s only other century during the summer came against Oxford University where, after being dropped twice before getting to 11, he scored 110 with 20 fours, it was described as “Brilliant even by his standards”, and lasted 105 minutes. For the rest of the tour McCabe was very inconsistent (18 innings with scores under 20). Out of the mainstream batsmen, he finished seventh in the tour averages, with a third of the average that Bradman had. He was out many times to poor shots off long hops or mis-hits. At the end of the tour McCabe scored a quick 91 in 75 minutes against an England XI after a missed stumping by Levett off the bowling of Wilkinson for 39, later he was to take 22 in an over off the same bowler, the innings included 17 boundaries. As a bowler, he took 14 wickets during the tour with some good performances, 4-28 against Northamptonshire, 2-6 off 6 overs and 2-14 in 7 overs against the Gentlemen of England, which included the wickets of Wyatt, Hammond and Wellard. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 144. Australians v Worcestershire, Worcester, April 30, May 2, 3 (Australians won by an innings and 77 runs) b R.T.D.Perks 34 541 4 0 16 0 268 1 5 1 13 0 196 2 145. Australians v Oxford University, Christ Church Ground, Oxford, May 4, 5, 6 (Australians won by an innings and 487 runs) b D.H.Macindoe 110 679-7d - - - - 117 6 3 12 1 M.M.Walford c M.G.Waite 75 1 146. Australians v Leicestershire, Leicester, May 7, 9, 10 (Australia won by an innings and 163 runs) lbw b J.E.Walsh 0 590-5d 212 1 215 147. Australians v M.C.C., Lord’s, May 14, 16, 17 (Match drawn) b C.I.J.Smith 33 502 - - - - 214 2 7 2 22 1 D.R.Wilcox b 87-1 148. Australians v Northamptonshire, Northampton, May 18, 19, 20 (Australians won by an innings and 77 runs) c W.E.Merritt b R.J.Partridge13 406-6d 13 4 22 0 194 18 8 28 4 H.W.Greenwood b 135 D.Brookes lbw G.B.Cuthbertson b W.E.Merritt lbw 149. Australians v Hampshire, Southampton, May (25), 26, 27 (Match drawn) did not bat - 320-1d 3 0 9 0 157 150. Australians v Middlesex, Lord’s, May (28), 30, 31 (Match drawn) b W.T.Nevell 9 132 7 4 16 0 188 not out 48 114-2d 3 1 7 0 21-0 151. Australians v Gloucestershire, Bristol, June (1), 2, 3 (Australians won by ten wickets) b R.A.Sinfield 0 164 78 did not bat - 25-0 107 1 152. Australians v Essex, Southend-on-Sea, June 4, 6 (Australians won by 97 runs) c D.R.Wilcox b J.W.A.Stephenson 4 145 5 0 9 0 114 c D.R.Wilcox b M.S.Nichols50 153 3 1 8 0 87 1 153. AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND, Trent Bridge, June 10, 11, 13, 14 (Match drawn) c D.C.S.Compton b H.Verity 232 411 21 5 64 0 658-8d c W.R.Hammond b H.Verity 39 427-6 25