THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 4, 1988.
Bradman Out, An Accident:
McCabe Out,
An Historic Catch
(Exclusive To "China Mail" By Air Mail)
C. B. Fry, internationally-known authority on cricket, is writing a series of commentaries on the five Test Matches between England and Austra- lia exclusively for the "China Mail" and "Sunday Herald."
We publish below Fry's account of the second day's play at Lord's. The third and fourth_day's play will be contained in all editions of the "China Mail" in a few days time The first day's play was published in yesterday's issues of the "Sunday Herald.”
C B. FRY SAYS--
England commenced their second day's play with 409 runs 'for 5. wickets on the board, Hammond being 210 and Ames 50 when England resumed their innings.
Lord's Ground, June 25, Have you ever seen the inside of an inverted ant heap. That is Lord's cricket ground to-day.
No; I have it; Walter has Paynter's 216 at Nottingham.
topped
an
He follows, does Walter, with insolent cut off his chest; and next ball McCormick replies by finding 2 bumper. Walter's windpipe with
No; it is his biceps. And Walter is feeling the blow; he is testing his arm; he has to take a pause.
But he soon resumes with unabated command of all his elegant strokes.
**
*
*
It was
At noon the blackboard shows 450 runs, white and bold. straight a drive as you could get with a spirit level by Walter that sent up the figure.
the And I spy Charles Barnett in
showing Edward England balcony Paynter how the stroke is done, Our boys on the balcony look a happy band of brothers..
C. B. FRY
tried his cute late cut at Xavier. His following blade was just a fraction away and he gave a little catch to short slip.
this
A beautifully played innings 83, and I would as soon back Ames as anyone for a century in the third Test match. Total 486 for 9
#
Wright and Kenneth Farnes making immensely merry.
are.
88
The Don has all but caught a mir- aculous catch at deep mid-off. Ho ran after a ball that was yards out of reach, and handled it twice though it were an escaping bird.
The end comes at 12.50, with 494 to our credit, when Xavier bowls young Wright, who was hitting to leg.
Well, it is a great big score for Lord's.
Now our bowlers are urgently re- quired to scintillate.
Wicket Still Sound
The summary of the situation re- A divining cracked his duck's egg, stroke, vaguely in the direction where sides in the state of the wicket. It We have no reason to sup- midon is not. And, mind you, Hedley is appears to be still quite, sound, and a useful and annoying batsman, who true. ere now has walked in No. 1 for Eng-pose that we can scuttle out a strong batting side such as opposes us for a small score. In the shoes of Aus- land.
tralia we ourselves should expect to achieve a big bold answer to the runs now against them.
Mild Catastrophe Hedley is not now using a divining rod; he is using a giant pen. He can write.
He has to deal with O'Reilly now Hedley is not a match for the Tiger, who eats his wicket with a bailer.
This mild catastrophe finds seven wickets down for 472 funs, Ames not out 7; not so bad.
*
*
In our favour is the old adage that a run on the board is worth two. in the pavilion.
35
The Australian bowlers and fielders A severe out- have stood up well to ing; they have never relaxed; they have never relapsed into the lower gears of effort. A good show.
* * * off Enter Wellard. A boundary
Please remember that these Aus- the inner edge to leg. A skyscraper
are familiar with high off O'Reilly to deep mid-on. McCor- tralians
a total To them such
Farnes mick a successful basket. Exit Wel-figures.
We start with Kenneth lard. Bruce Harris says he is not a ours appears a normal project. slogger. He slogged to-day. Total
(pavilion) and a close-up pair of Then the boys see an unexpected 476 for 8.
You will be sorry to hear that catchers under the lee of Fingleton's, sight. Walter plays on to his wicket
straight ball from McCormick. yesterday Walter Hammond, in turn left hip. On the other edge of the Wellerd is on the end to Billy Walter Hammond has made 240 per- ing when sent back for a call, sprain-bat two slips and a deep gully. fect runs when runs were badly wanted his side. How much we do not
know. He does not reveal accidental Brown. The field is orthodox, except
for a close-up gully.. ed.
As he passes in pleasant dignity disabilities; he just goes on. into the historic pavilion, every mem- ber in the pavilion stands up. Ham-
There are clouds overhead, but also permeating sunshine. To-day it will not rain because "Fanny" Walden, the umpire out there, says he knows by rain his left wrist, which is a sure gauge, and does not hurt to-day.
Walden tells me that both Charles Barnett and Edrich hit quite hard the balls from McCormick which evicted them. Charles hit his on to his thigh, and it cannoned up to short leg. Edrich cut his long hop down into his wicket. Yes, and I wish people would not write and talk of the failure, of Hut ton, Edrich and Compton. These suc- cesses, and yesterday was a success, should be welcomed as the work of the whole team. Someone is sure to get out in any particular match, What about the consummate Walter mond at Nottingham, He made only a few.
Stiek to your team and tell them you have confidence in them, one and all. No member of a team fails when
the team as a whole succeeds.
*
*
**
An Even Mind
a
#
*
*
Verity The Heir!
►
•
*
Cracking The "Tiger"
Lunch For None Twenty-five minutes to go The question arises whether Leslie Ames will hurry up successfully on- the interval. We have the It is as though a living king has ough to score a hundred before the Fingleton and Brown.
He deserves it. handed on his sceptre to a chosen heir. innings is ended.
The heir is Verity, who at once He is at present cracking Tiger O'Reil- shows us how a water diviner works ly with straight drives, some inter his wand. And he nearly works
acepted, some not. tiny catch to short-leg.
The O'Reilly is bowling away and the bowling away. He figures in Note that McCormick has taken the throes of delivery- as a giant starfish wickets of our first four batsmen. He of waving arms and legs. What a
bowling with redoubled vigour now bowler!
Nor, mind you, is-this-match-over. yet awhile. It is a four days" match; Australia contains a lot of runs, of all sorts. In success, above all, weis
should keep an even mind.
Walter Hammond and Leslie Ames are now just where they can gain us they a winning position. We hope will. But the wicket has if anything improved, and Edward Paynter tells me he believes it will last, Good for heaps of runs, were his words.
* **
Clifford Bax. tells me that yesterday Walter Hammond scored 70 before lunch, 70 bofore tea and 70 before dinner. A most symmetrical player; I hope he maintains his sym- metry till tea. time this afternoon.
Australia takes the field; and we may well recall how, grand a show of fielding Australia gave us yesterday. Nothing dramatises a match as does fielding that is superb.
Poise That Counts
Watch Walter Hammond walk to the. wicket amid resounding cheers, and note one reason why he plays so be- autifully; every time his foot takes the ground his weight, is precisely over it, and he is poised for his next stride. No feature counts more than poise.
Poise explains that lovely off-drive ho has just made off McCabe, which brings him to face O'Reilly from the
we are
into pavilion end.. And so the game again.
#
Our heroes of yesterday are shap- ing as though there had been no in- terval;
You at Lord's see now why I class Leslie Ames as one of our three best England batsmen. Study his
calm
facility, impeccable style, and preciss "timing"=="A" mod batsman.
** Now after four overs he has to faco McC
inci
But the from Leslie a No other,
Topped Paynter s
481thore la applause, probably for some equation of a statistic
* *
*
he has sent sway our champion.
before usual
I wish our fast bowlers would bowl at Brown's off-stump at firat, and at Fingleton's off-stump at first. Both are clever manipulators of the ball that veers towards their legs.
At 1.20 the total is 16, equally divided.
The answer about Leslie Ames Oh! Pretty Hedley Verity has "no." When he had reached 88
is
he
Neither of our fast bowlers as yet looks like trouble for Australia; the wicket is too clean. But we know that Farnes takes time to work up his swing, and to clinch his precision of length.
OLD LIQUEUR BRANDIES
FOR
THE CONNOISSEUR
B. B. PALE OLD
F.O. V. (Finest Old Vintage)
GODET FRERES 1852
ROUYER GUILLET 1865
EXSHAW'S V. F. O. (60 years old)
NAPOLEON 1814
Wellard I would prefer from the pavilion end.
leg
The prospects are that our break bowler Wright will prove our best card.. The two hours after lunch will be a vital period. They will shape the game. -
Wright-bowls his first over before lunch, in vain-so far. -
26 for no wicket.
Wright At Work
just
After the refreshments we soon have Wright at work. He is bowl- ing from the Nursery end, with, as they say, the slope of the ground in favour of his leg break; but the slope is an illusion, the turf of the pitch is quite flat.
Farnes continues from the Pavilion end; he is brewing up. He is faster than this morning. He sends in a fast good-length ball which inflicts something like a kidney punch gentle William Brown.
Quite unintended.
The Australian pair of initiates seem confident. They are making their strokes without hesitation. Lack of con- fidence is not an Australian trait, No. 11 usually fancies himself for score. Why not? A bowler ought know all about batting
The first 50 Australian runs have been collected without pain ́actly 40 minutes. V
I cannot say our bowling has pre- sented any apparent quality of peril, and I am rather afraid the wicket is not going to assist us, "COccasion- ally Farnes, now bawling much fat teri onuses the ball" tö·bounce; ” but
CALDBECK, MACGREGOR & CO., LTD. not enough to matter.
Wright in steady enough, but not as springy from the pitch an have seon him,
ntinued on Page 21)