Lives in Cricket No 18 - FR Foster

with Warner and had arrived only an hour before toss-up. Had he spent time with his players he would surely have gauged their feelings and realised Barnes was his new-ball ‘ace’. On taking the field England seemed to have little forward planning, nor did they know what fielding positions to take. Little wonder Australia reached 447 in good time. Trumper obtained his final Test century; not one of his best, but the kidney complaint, soon to prove fatal, was perhaps already affecting him. Best knock came from Test debutant Roy Minnett. He scored 90 in 111 minutes and when finally caught by Foster off Barnes, the catcher expressed regret at robbing him of a debut century. Neither Foster nor Barnes bowled well, and the former took his only two wickets at the end, when he at last had Barnes as his partner. Douglas had shown himself an action skipper, but woefully lacking in psychology. In reply England had lost five for 142 when the youngest members of the side, Hearne and Foster, came together to add 89 in 62 minutes. Foster scored 56 from 76 balls, with nine fours – electrifying cricket on his Test debut – and he and the more sedate Hearne were largely instrumental in enabling England to reach 318. Australia’s second innings saw superb bowling from Foster, dismissing Bardsley, Hill and Armstrong and later returning to deal with Hordern and Carter, ending with five for 92 in 31.3 overs. Despite Foster’s effort, England started their second innings needing 438, and the task became even less realistic with the early demise of Hobbs. With time immaterial they did manage to grind on until the sixth morning but after Foster fell to Hordern’s leg-spin (for the second time) for 21, they gently subsided to a 146-run defeat. Apart from Douglas’ indifferent captaincy, the ineffectiveness of Barnes (four for 179 in the match) was disappointing, as also was the fact that their three most experienced batters Hobbs, Rhodes and Gunn failed to build on good starts. Strudwick had problems with Foster’s leg-theory while Rhodes was now of no account as a bowler. But there was Foster whose fine half century, when badly needed, and match figures of seven for 197 marked a debut of which most cricketers would be proud. Christmas was spent in Melbourne, Warner going to bed, but the rest enjoying as traditional a Christmas day as possible in a private hotel room. The Second Test started at Melbourne on 30 December. Douglas, Foster, Hobbs and Rhodes met in Warner’s hotel room and Warner immediately suggested to Douglas that Barnes, and not the captain, should open the bowling. Douglas initially disagreed, pleading that he bowled best with the new ball, but was finally persuaded. Thus a disgruntled captain, but the launch of a new ball pairing which was to play a pivotal role in regaining The Ashes. Kinneir saw his Test career brought to a close; Rhodes moved up to partner Hobbs and fast bowler Bill Hitch came in, a logical step given the lack of an effective fourth bowler at Sydney. Behind the wicket Strudwick, suffering a slight back strain was replaced by Tiger Smith, experienced against Foster and a better bat. Australia won the toss on a lovely morning and no doubt Under the Southern Cross 57