COLTS BRING DISASTER

NZ Truth, Issue 1215, 14 March 1929, Page 14

COLTS BRING DISASTER

DrQpped Catches Give England A Good Lead FAULTS PROVE EXPENSIVE

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Melbourne Representative)... Prom the standpoint of the Australian cricket enthusiasts, the tragic aspect of the 519 score knocked up m England's first innings of&he tfifth Te|£was that the visitors , were, made a present'of at least 3|Q rurisj ■ HOBBSi' was dropped;;; by Hornibrook off Fairfax, ;.;wheiv eighty, he then went ori;.and made 142.^ i - Ueyland- was dropped • by , Fairfax, off Ryder, when thirteen and then he compiled 137; , and when Hendren. who made 95, was 71, Oldfleld missed the easiest of chances of stumping, him

: In addition to all this, the HendrenLeyland partnership, which put on 141 runs, .should .have been; broken fifty runs earlier, when the Australian fieldsmen were ■ glvehl- 'ra' ; heaven-sent chance to. r\in,'Leyland,. out" a,nd failed, to take advah ta§e 'of: itr '■'"' '"'" '"' ."' ""', That was the, position just on missed opportunities alone.< 7l£ we -.take into account runs- '■-.'* g^yjen .f/-aw£y v: vjthrough faulty fielding and 'lack- of ''anticipation... which enabled the batsmen to steal short runs, the total ' of . which England was made a present, would not be far short of 250 runs. ■ •". • .; It indicates what happens when some colts are put into a Test team for the first time. They, must be' given their opportunity, of course, even if their' 'side has to pay somewhat dearly for it. :Newcomers Iwere WWall t . the: South Australian fast bowler, Hornibrook, the Queensland left-hander, and Falr> v fax, the New South Wales all-rounder. ' Wajl justified; his inclusion by taking th& wickets of Jardine and Hammond quite 'cheaply, and on the first day bowled particularly well. He looks like a distinct- find: ■ , ; ,

Hornibrook was patchy and appears tq be past his prime. Fairfax has'distinct possibilities as a bowler, and -if he maintains his reputation as a batsman, should be assured of a. place m the next Australian eleven. His fielding was inconsistent, for he missed the easiest of-, catches off Leyland ■ and dismissed Hammond with a wonderfully spectacular dive,' snatching the ball just before.it reached the ground. ■ Everyone was pleased to see '. Hobbs reach the contury m what ' will be his last Test m Australia, but he should have been out at eighty. JLeyland's century was a monument of patience and stolidity. The Australians started their, innings well and Jackson had the hardest luck m the world- to be run out when thirty. He slipped just when moving off and a delay of seconds cost him his wicket.