THOSE CRICKET TESTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 49, 13 March 1937, Page 14

THOSE CRICKET TESTS

sHORTER LENGTH ADVOCATED SIX DAYS, SAYS WOODFULL QUESTION OF HARRIS OPINIONS FOR AND AGAINST. Shorter Tests were suggested recently by G. O. Allen, the English captain. W. M. Woodfull said in reply that he considered six days were suffiqient for a Test Match in Australia. The hours of a four-day match in England were equal to five days in Australia. In his opinion, the number of playing days in Tests in England should be extended from four to five, and the hours of play made the same as in Australia (noon to 6 pjn.). In England, now, the hours of play on the first day of a Test were from 11.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on the remaining days. "X am convinced that these hours are almost inhuman," said Woodfull. "A team has to toil for two and a-balf hours unhroken before lunch in cricket that entails the utmost concentration. This might follow a day of strenuous fielding. "1 hope that the Board qf Control will have a heart-to-heart talk with Marylebone Gricket Cluh about this before the next Test rubber in England. "I think that six days would be a wide enough limit to make a decision practically certain, and would make it out of the question for any side to plan at the end of the first day to play for a draw, as could be done when Tests in England wero limited to three days. Board Menjber's Vlew. Dr. R. L. Morton, a memher of the Board of Control, declared there was little to be said in favour of a timelimit, but a great deal more against it. "It is more important to reach a decision than risk drawn games," he said. "The side batting realises that the

longer they stay at the wickets the better for them, but it is on the other side to get them out. It cuts both ways, and it's all in the luck of the fco ss. "If matches were limited to six days — and few go beyond it — we might find on occasions that the whole six days had been wasted for the sake of an hour or two to dismiss the tail end of a team that is virtually beaten." Sheffield Shield matches were losing interest because they were limited to four days. This was especially evident in Sydney, where the followers of cricket, he believed, desire to see the Shield matches played to a finish. Victorian Presidenfs Relief. The president of the Victorian Cricket Association, Canon Hughes, said he could not see Allen's point. "Our batsmen dp not dawdle or waste time deliberately," he added. "The end of a game without a timelimit may sometimes be dull, but on the other hand the fixing of a limit frequently results in the unsatisfactory position of an undecided Test match. "The desire to get runs to win a match that is played out to a finish is far greater than the temptation to dawdle." Board Chairman's Opinion. The chairman of the Board of Control, Dr. Robertson, said it was the opinion of the board tha* the matches should be played to a finish. "It is not correct to say that timeless Tests have slowed down the game," said Clem HUI. "Some players may have done so occasipnally, hui it is not the general rule." He urged five-day Tests in England, anu no limit in Australia.