CRICKET CHATTER.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 274, 7 February 1929, Page 8

CRICKET CHATTER.

Archibald Jackson is, with one exception, the youngest player that ever figured in a Test match between J England and Australia. Jackson is | 19 years of age, and last season he scored a century in each innings South Australia. He has now made four centuries in succession against that State. T. W. Garrett is the youngest player to have represented Australia. He played in the first two ever contested, when Australia tackled Jim Lillywhite’s 1876-7 team in Melbourne. Tom was born in July, 1858, and was thus in his 19th year when selected. He is one of three survivors of the first Australian team to visit England. Australian “ shirt-front ” wickets are made as follows: A week before

the match the grass is cut as short

as possible and the ground well watered, the water being allowed to run till it remains in a sheet upon it. While the ground is still moist but with no water about, ’a 3cwt roller is used till the surface “works.” After

this process, which usually occupies half an hour, the pitch is well spraywith a hose to wash off the mud, which has been worked up, down and around the roots of the grass. It is then left until it is free from stick • iness, and then a roller weighing 35-

ewt is used until the pitch is perfectly smooth. As soon as cracks hegi.i to show, which is usually the following day, the heavy roller is again used to close them up. From now on it is rolled for about haLf-an-hour i every day, until the start of a match, by which time it is as hard and impervious to water as a brick. According to E. H. Bowley, the Sussex professional now coaching in Auckland, McDonald (Lancashire) is still the greatest fast bowler in the world, despite Larwood’s successes in Australia. Bowley recently extolled Allcott’s captaincy while on tour, bn+ ihe Auckland skipper crashed badly before the home crowd against Wellington. South African cricketers, like the Springboks, are leaving nothing to chance. The team commences a tpur

of England in May next and so that the side may become accustomed to grass wickets, members have been playing in Natal for six weeks. Deane, the captain, has recently made some interesting comments on the tour which are somewhat outstanding. Deane favours 16 players, as 15, he holds, are not enough for an arduous tour. In his opinion the South African side is stronger than the one which drew with England in the last series of tests, while he holds the English team, despite its Australian successes, is no stronger. How much Deane is “ playing to ” his team it is hard to say, but he addresses the following arguments: It

was not the English bowlers which troubled the Africans, but the batsmen. Of the bowlers Tate is a waning force, while Larwood is the only new player to come to the front. Of the batsmen Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hendren, Woolley and Jack Hearne were

at the top of their form in 1924, but now all are on the wane or have disappeared from test-class cricket. Whether Deane’s inferred prophecy will come to pass remains to be seen, but most critics and cricketers would lay big odds against the South Africans winning the rubber, and some even against them winning a test match. Deane’s most novel suggestion is that the test team should be picked on the boat and immediately announced to all players. His idea is that it would give better teamwork. His suggestion flies in the face of all cricket history and appears to be the desperate gamble of a man facing a hopeless chance. The history of all tours shows that many stars in their own country have been failures under the different conditjons met with on tour. For instance, George Hirst, perhaps the greatest player the world has seen—Warner holds this view—and the only man to have scored over 2000 runs and taken over 200 wickets in one season, was practically innocuous in Australia. Conversely several players have improved out of all knowledge while on tour. Regarding team work this after all rests mainly on good captaincy, and its fundamental is esprit de corps. Tim Wall, of Port Adelaide, is regarded by Clem Hill as a likely Test player. He bowls a ball and has the decided asset of being a reliable batsman when the call is 1 most needed. At one time Wall indulged in a run of more than 20yds, but he has now cut this down considerably. Wall gets plenty of pace off ’ the pitch and has a dangerous swing.