THE FIRST TEST

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 June 1938, Page 7

THE FIRST TEST

ENGLAND AT THE WICKETS FAST AND ATTRACTIVE OPENING. CENTURIES SCORED BY HUTTON AND BARNETT. By Telegraph—Press Association. Copyright. (Recd This Day, 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, June 10.

The test match at Nottingham was begun in changeable weather. There were light showers before the commencement of play, but it was warm and sunny when Bradman led the Australians on to the field, amid applause. The teams are: —

England: Hammond (captain), Hutton, Barnett, Edrich, Paynter, Compton, Ames, Verity, Sinfield, Wright, Fames, Yardley (twelfth man). Australia: Bradman (captain), Hassett, Badcock, Fingleton, Brown, Barnett, McCabe, Ward, O’Reilly, McCormick, Fleetwood-Smith, Waite (twelfth man).

The attendance was 18,000 and the receipts totalled £l4OO. Hammond won the toss and decided to bat. McCormick should have had Barnett’s wicket with the last ball of the first over, as Brown fumbled a high left hand catch in the Gully. McCormick'was unloosing real pace when an unusual incident occurred in the fifth ball of the next over. Hutton chopped the ball and it rolled to the base of the stumps but failed to dislodge the bails. McCormick thus had two misfortunes in two overs. BARNETT SCORES RAPIDLY. Barnett, playing confidently, proceeded to score rapidly, with frequent powerful 4’s off O’Reilly and Fleet-wood-Smith, and an occasional one off McCormick. SPIN SKILFULLY SMOTHERED. Both Hutton and Barnett skilfully smothered Fleetwood-Smith’s spin bowling and played O’Reilly resolutely. One hundred runs were up for 85 minutes play, a remarkably fast and attractive test opening. BRILLIANT BATSMANSHIP. By lunch time England had a great inaugural advantage, and, for the first time on the tour, the spin bowling was almost completely collared. A total of 169 in two hours was the result of brilliant attacking batsmanship. Barnett just missed joining the select band of century-makers before lunch. He reached one hundred runs with a 4 from off the first ball after the adjournment. His batting time was only 121 minutes. The spin bowlers continued to receive heavy punishment, the total of 200 being passed in 145 minutes. A GREAT DISPLAY. McCormick and McCabe operated with a new ball, and Barnett was bowled after having made 170. He hit eighteen boundaries, in a great display of punishing batsmanship. He succeeded in his determination to knock the bowlers off their length. A feature of his innings was his superb driving on either side of the wicket. RECORD PARTNERSHIP. The opening partnership of 219 was the biggest ever recorded in a Test match in England. Hutton cautiously approached his century, which was reached by pulling a full toss from Fleetwood-Smith to the boundary. He thus made a century in his first Test match innings. He was out next ball. He gave a more sober - display than Barnett, but his strokes were beautifully produced. He was particularly strong on the onside. His total included fourteen 4’s. HAMMOND’S CRASHING FOURS. After having taken 25 minutes to score one run, Edrich straight drove O’Reilly to the fence, but played a ball into the wicket in the same over. Hammond and Paynter played cautiously, until the tea adjournment. Hammond, whose innings included several crashing fours, played well forward to a leg-break from O’Reilly and was completely beaten. Compton made a nervous start but Paynter was quite confident and was particularly severe on FleetwoodSmith. A total of 300 was raised in 280 minutes. Compton took half an hour to score five runs, but after this he livened up and, with Paynter dealing harshly with the spin bowlers, the scoring accelerated. Paynter jumped out and drove Ward loftily to the boundary, and followed this up with a sixer, off the same bowler. AUSTRALIAN ATTACK FALTERS. The Australian attack late in the afternoon faltered. McCormick was nearly exhausted and Ward and Fleet-wood-Smith were unable to keep a good length. Runs continued to come freely and after 70 minutes Paynter and Compton had established 100 for their partnership. The total became 400 in 340 minutes, and. hard as O’Reilly worked, the scoring went on rapidly to stumps. The partnership then was worth 141 scored in 90 minutes. COMPTON SHOWS REAL QUALITY Compton in the last half hour showed his real quality, driving with great power. Although he came in 55 minutes later than Paynter he almost caught the latter, who thus far had scored a sixer and nine 4's. Compton hit eleven 4’s.

The scores are as follow: — ENGLAND. First Innings.

C. J. Barnett, b McCormick 126 L. Hutton, lbw, b Fleetwood-Smith 100 W. J. Edrich, b O’Reilly 5 W. R. Hammond, b O'Reilly 26 E. Paynter, not out 15 D. C. S. Compton, not out 69 Extras 21

Total. 4 wickets fox - 422 Fall of wickets: 1 fox - 219. 2 for 240, 3 for 244, 4 for 281.

Bowling: McCormick. . 1 for 73; O’Reilly, 2 for 106; McCabe, 0 for 24: Fleetwood-Smith. 1 for 90; Ward. 0 for 108. JOYOUS PLACARDS AUSTRALIAN’S POOR POSITION (Recd This Day 11.45 a.m.) LONDON. June 10. England’s big Test score produced joyous placards in Fleet Street. The Australian Associated Press correspondent says: “At 'the end of the dax Australia is in such a poor position that it seems a draw is the most that can be hoped for. The brilliant partnership between Barnett and Hutton showed England that aggression pays. The Australian bowling never fully recovered from the battering it received at the hands of Barnett and only in mid-afternoon, when O'Reilly triumphanly sent back Edrich and Hammond was there prospect of Australian finishing the day in a fighting position. The selectors’ gamble in playing Ward failed.