NOT A GOOD TEST

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 8, 2 October 1937, Page 18

NOT A GOOD TEST

n.z. against england matches should finish three days not long enough The final Test match with the New Zealanders again proved how necessary it is to afford adequate time for a finish to be reached,says a London correspondent. The old gentlemen of Lord's, who insist that a game should be decided witliin three days, protested that they should not be blamed for the weather. But cricket is always dependent on the weather, and the fact that only half-an-Txour's play was possible on the first day was beside the point. This was the seventh of the last eleven Tests to be drawn, and the facts, as well as the curcumstances, tell that, whatever was possible 30 years ago, three -days are now no longer adequate. It was suggested that an England team with greater thrust and penetration might still have defeated the New Zealanders, but their chance of forcing a win was always remote. The pitch at one period was responsive to spin, but it was never deadly, and against batsmen whose chief enemy was the clock they could not capture the wickets quickly enough to allow the necessary runs to ba scored. It was complained, too, that the England batsmen did not score quickly enough, but it Was ignored that the New Zealanders set their field to keep the runs downs, and that the bowiers adopted the same policy. I think, too, that it ought to have been taken into account that the side from the start were set to accomplish what was at least out of the ordinary. The batsmen were always hurrying and forcing, and it is reasonable to presume that in several cases greater success would have been achieved if the conditions had been more normal. The rate at which a first-class player scores depends to a large extent on his temperament, and there were men in the England team who were conyxelled to adopt methods which placed them at a disadvantage.

New English Players. In my view the three Tests with the New Zealanders have not been ajxroper test for England, nor have "" they served as a preparation for the visit of the Axxstralians next summer. This is at least true in regard to the batting. As I'have pointed out the men have often had to play in an unnatural style, but from what has been seen I think the Australians may expect to a largely new England eleven. Hardstaff has at last established himself as a depedable scorer, having cured himself of rashness at the start of an innings. Hutton has advanced considerably, and though he is still in the state when his strokes are made with a caution that seems excessive, he shows the greatest promise of the opening batsmen. The 19-year-old Corhpton is another fine discovery. He is a player who is always looking for runs with a wide range of shots, and iri this, his first Test, he created a big impression in making 65. His dismissal was most unfortunate. . In stopping a drive by Hardstaff Vivian accidentally turned the ball onto the stumps, and as Comton was out of his crease in backing up he was run out. The bowling remains the major problem, and I am afraid is likely to do. The strained back which kepi Kenneth Farnes out of the match was unfortunate, and, though Gover worked tremendously hard, he was played fairly easily. The form of Matthews, too, did not suggest that he is the stock bowler required to succeed Tate; but I think he might have been more successful on a faster pitch.