THE THIRD TEST MATCH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 316, 15 January 1908, Page 3

THE THIRD TEST MATCH.

AN UPHILL GAME. THE AUSTRALIANS' MARVELIvOI'S RECOVERY. 397 FOR SEVEN WICKETS. A RECORD FOR TIIE EIGHTH WICKET.

Received Jan. 14, 9.15 p.m. Adelaide, January 14. The Test match was resumed in broiling weather, with a shade temperature of over 107. The attendance was 1300 und the gate £173. Noble (B3) and O'Connor (4) faced the bowling of Fielder and Barnes, the total being 133. Only two runs were added when Noble cut a ball from Fielder into the hands of Gunn. Noble batted 1 hours 50 minute*, and his innings was marked by dogged determination. Hansford opened quietly. Presently O'Connor got eight off one over of Barnes', and Hansford did the same to Fielder, 150 going up in three hours 13 minutes. At 156 Crawford and Braund bowled. The score rose steadily, but at 179 Ransford mis-hit Braund and was easily caught at mid-on. He was in for 45 minutes. He shaped nicely. One run more and O'Connor was beaten by Crawford. His useful innings lasted an hour and a-quarter. No more wickets fell before lunch, ■when the total was 199—Hartigan 12, Hill 6.

Fielder and Barnes had charge of the attack after luncheon. Hfil drove Fielder to the boundary, making the total 200 in 248 minutes. The same bataman drove Barnes to the boundary. Hartigan got eight in one over off Fielder. Twenty-five run* were added in a quarter of an hour. At 224 Rhodes replaced Fielder. The scoring was steady. Crawford relieved Barnes at 233. In his second over, Hartigan, who was 32, cocked up a ball. Fielder, running from the third man, over-ran it, and al-

lowed it to pass through his arm. Tho next ball was driven for four. When Hill was 22 he drove a ball from Rhodes straight to Barnes at mid-off, only to see it dropped. He also gave Fane, at cover, a difficult chance. At 25D Braund replaced Rhodes. Runs came freely from Hill, Hill driving two balls to the boundary, fiutchings and Barnes were ordered

>m at 276. Four byes off the former gave the Australians a lead of 200. Hill, when 39, snicked a ball from Hutchings to Braund's left hand, but it was too hot to hold, and sped for four. The over fielded ten runs. Hartigan reached 50 in 75 minutes. IDU followed him shortly afterwards, the task having occupied 102 minutes. Three hundred wa6 hoisted in 3336 minutes.

At the tea adjournment the total was 300—Hartlgan 64, Hill CO.

Crawford and Rhodes bowled after tea. Hill, by a fine drive, hit three off Rhodes, and passed Hartigan. By a leg glance a quartette off Crawford made him top scorer of the match.

The runs now came rapidly. Hartigan again passed Hill, and kept in front of him. Three hundred and fifty went up after six and a-half hours' batting. The batsmen ran numerous smart runs, and these induced overthrows.

Fielder and Braund were brought on again, and runs came rapidly off the latter.. With three and one off Braund, Hartigan reached the century in his first test match, and the crowd gave him an immense ovation.

•Presently the Englishmen were behind 300, and the partnership had produced 200. Directly afterwards Rhodes reHived Fielder, Tfill cut his first ball for fonr, making his hundred, which had taken him 188 minutes to compile. He, too, was ovated.

The eighth wicket Test match recordof 154 had long since been passed. Crawford relieved Braund just before the finish, but the batsmen took no risks, and played out time. Hartigan was in 3 hours 29 minutes, and played a great innings, defensive, yet forceful. He hit eleven fours. Hill, who began streakily, finished irreproachably, although twice daring the afternoon he was so overcome by his exertions that he had fits of retching on the field. He got thirteen fours.

The faulty fielding gave the Australians a chance, which they seized. The fielding, considering the heat, was energetic and fair, apart from the couple of bad bangles. AUSTRALIA. First innings 285 Second Innings. Noble, c Gunn, b Fielder . • 65 O'Connor, b Crawford .. .«» 20 Hansford, c Rhodes, b Braund ». 25 Hartigan (not out) ... «. ..108 Bill (not out) 105 Extras , 18 '* Total for seven wickets .. .. 397

■The Englishmen scored 363 in their innings, leaving them, as the score stands at present, 320 to get in their second essay at the wickets in order to pull off the match. The chances are that the number (320) will appreciably increase, judging from the way in which me "tail" men are shaping.

The following will play for Carnng-ton-road seniors in the match against Sew Plymouth at Carringtonrroad on Thursday, play to commence at 2.15 p.m. sharp:—Fred Robertson, Perham, Benbow, Wallace, Richards, King, Martin, A. McEwen, Avery, Jordan, and Healy.

Thus St. James's Budget on manner* of cricket crowds:—-"Some misgivings were felt by those well acquainted with Australian crowds as to how Jones's team, which is a trifle younger and less experienced than most of these visiting elevens, would be affected by the behaviour of the Sydney spectators. Other tea ma have suffered a good deal from their strong and freely expressed partisanship. Braund and Rhodes have probably a vivid remembrance of the yelling and hissing that swept over the ground in one of the test matches of 1903, when Crockett gave Hill run out, a verdict fully confirmed by those who were in tlie l»est position of seeing. And this display of bad manners unfortunately originated, not in the cheap seats,, but in the members' pavilion itself. At a subsequent test match the refusal of the umpires to re-start the game directly rain had Btopped upset the temperature of the spectators. They did not swarm indignantly round the pitch like a certain crowd at Lord's last summer, but they chanted 'Crock! Crock! Crock!' When play l>egan, they threw the bottles which had contamed the principal part of their lunch on to the cycle track and shouted, 'One! Two! Three!' as Rhodes strode up to the wicket to bowl. It is a tribute to the Yorkshlreman's imperturbability that this did not affect his pitch in the least. Thig year the crowd has on the whole been less aggressive." It ia difficult to find anything in crjeket history comparable "with the score of the Jlasterton B team (referred to in yesterday s telegrams), says the New Zealand Times. In 1887 the Oxford I niversity team were dismissed l,v the SLC.C. for 12 runs but Oxford had one man absent. In a firHt-class county match in 1001 Yorkshire narrowly missed bating this record when they dismissed Nottinghamshire for 13 runs. The M.C.C. succeeded in getting the Australian eleven of 18!)0 out for 18 at lord's. Gloucestershire last year put up a great performance when they dismissed th< representative eleven of Northamptonshire for 12 runs in the fiwt innings. Dennett was the de-

stroyer, taking eight wickets for !) runs, and he followed this up in the second innings with *veu for 12—a total for thp match of fifteen wickets for 21 run?.