Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

started, but whatever plans he might have had were thrown into disarray by illness, injury and lack of form. The tour began with a victory over Western Australia by an innings and 180 runs, but Duckworth broke his finger and was unable to continue keeping wicket. Wyatt, briefly, and then Joe took over behind the stumps for the rest of the match. Ames was already out of action with back trouble, so Fagg kept wicket in the drawn match against the Combined XI. MCC then set off for Adelaide with Leyland, Ames, Duckworth and Robins ill or injured. They were soon to be joined by Wyatt who broke his wrist in the match against the Clare Country XI. Tom Wade, the Essex wicket-keeper, who was holidaying in Australia, was co-opted and kept wicket at Adelaide and Melbourne. South Australia were defeated by 105 runs. A draw with Victoria at Melbourne followed. The first defeat of the tour came at Sydney where New South Wales were victorious by 135 runs. The next match against an Australian XI was just saved: MCC, with two wickets left, still needed 11 runs to avoid an innings defeat. The final match before the Test Match was against Queensland. Twenty-eight runs behind on the first innings, the tourists redeemed themselves by making 528 for eight, with Barnett and Fagg putting on 259 for the first wicket. The match ended with Queensland 273 runs behind with one wicket remaining. How had Joe fared in all this? None too well must be the unfortunate answer. Perhaps there was a reason. Early in the tour, the captain, Gubby Allen, had criticised Joe (who had by now played in 162 first-class matches) for hitting the ball in the air and had ordered him to ‘keep it on the ground. If you do that you cannot be caught out.’ Clearly, Joe found it very difficult to curb his natural, aggressive instincts and, in trying to obey the strictures imposed upon him by his captain, became unduly cautious and tentative in his approach to the game – especially towards the spinners. By the eve of the First Test he had played in every match and had accumulated a disappointing 282 runs at an average of 25.63. After a shaky start against Western Australia he had made an undefeated 87. He then scored 11 and 30* against the Combined XI and only seven runs in the minor match at Clare. At Adelaide leg-spinner Frank Ward dismissed him for 20 in the first innings and Cotton, a fast bowler, bowled him for three in the second innings. Things looked up in Melbourne where he made 85 against Victoria, sharing a partnership of 143 for the fourth wicket Australian Test Tour, 1936/37 55