ALL SET FOR THE FIRST TEST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 800, 19 November 1954, Page 6

ALL SET FOR THE FIRST TEST

HE first England Australia cricket Test is only a few days off now, and though no MCC side had been selected when we went to press The Listener asked Lance Cross, NZBS Sports Supervisor, if there was anything we could tell our readers about some of the "new boys" on this tour. Mr. Cross said the most interesting figure in the team is Appleyard, a right-hand batsman and versatile offspin bowler, who took 200 wickets in his first County season in 1951, went down with tuberculosis, but is now_back at the top of his form. The former Test bowler, Bill Bowes, he said, had described Appleyard as "for sheer bowling ability .. . the best bowler in the world." Another of the new bowlers, Tyson, is rated the fastest since Larwood, and Mr. Cross said it would be interesting to see how he would stand up to Australian conditions-especially to Aussie crowd reactions to his 30-yard walk back from the wicket to start his tun. He might also have trouble with umpires, as he has an even more pronounced drag than Lindwall. Peter Loader, medium-fast right-hand bowler, was third to his MCC teammates Statham and Appleyard in English County averages during the past season, and was recently described by Rex Alston as having good control of Variation’ of pace for one so young, a really fastball as well as a well-dis-guised slower one, and an _ ability to make good use of the new ball. Mr. Cross said that of the other bowlers, McConnon is a promising opener with a swift off-break which he is able to lift very sharply; he» is also a useful right-hand bat. Among the batsmen the interesting newcomers are Wilsen and Cowdrey. Wilson, ‘a strong and aggressive left-hander-the only one in the team-is also a brilliant field close to the wicket. Cowdrey, said Mr. Cross, was recognised

as one of the most stylish and talented batsmen in Eng-land-a player with the stance of Walter Hammond and the same ability to coverdrive with ease. Mr. Cross _ said he thought it unlikely that the reserve wicketkeeper, Andrew, would play in a Test, but he should do much to take the strain off Evans in State matches. The array of talent in the

team as a whole, he added, should make it the strongest England side since the war, The Commentators Test broadcasts will be -handled principally by *the Australian Broadcasting Commission, which has a team of four commentators under the direction of Bernard Kerr, Federal Sporting Supervisor for the ABC. Mr. Kerr, it will be recalled, was a member of the team that covered the last two series of Tests between the MCC and Australia. Members of this year’s ABC team will be Arthur Gilligan, Alan McGilvray Charles Fortune and A. G. Moyes. Arthur Gilligan, who captained the English team which toured Australia in 1924-25. came from England with this year’s» MCC side on his fourth visit to the Commonwealth. He was a member of the broadcasting team for the 194546 and 1950-51 Tests in Australia and the 1938 Tests in England. Alan McGilvray has been an outstanding commentator for the ABC for many years, and apart from his broadcasts in Australia will be remembered for his work when the Australian team was in England in 1948. A former captain of the New South Wales eleven, his technical knowledge of the game is recognised wherever cricket is played. Charles Fortune, a broadcaster with a very colourful style, was the South African commentator who toured with his country’s team in 1952-53. He has recently returned to Australia under contract to the ABC. A. G. (Johnny) Moyes, who is specially well known for his analytical summaries, was a noted cricket journalist before he took up broadcasting, and has written several books on the game. Visiting Australia for the BBC are John Arlott and E. W. Swanton, who will share summaries of the games. John Arlott’s dry humour, witty asides and broad Hampshire accent have made him

one of .the most popular of all cricket commentators in the years he has been doing this work. He also knows the game as a player, having been "permitted," as he once said, to field for his home county as 12th man. E. W. Swanton, well known as a sporting writer in England, was heard from Britain during the last Australian tour in summaries and between overs,

Always forthright in his opinions, Swanton declared after seeing Trueman play in the West Indies during the recent English tour that he could not be considered for the Australian tour, Apart from his broadcasts from the scene of play, Swanton is sending back to the BBC a series of radio Cricket Letters. The Broadcasts An announcement on NZBS cover of the first Test was made in last week’s Listener, but for those who missed it here are the details again. On each day of play from November 26 to December 2 YA and YZ stations will broadcast the last 15 minutes of commentary of each period of play, and the fiveminute summary which follows. These broadcasts will be at 2.45 p.m. 5.15 *.m., and 7.15 p.m. The day's scoreboard will be given in full, also from YA and YZ. stations, after the 9.0 p.m. News, and will be repeated from the Same stations next morning at 7.18 a.m. -after the Weather Forecast. In addition the YA and YZ stations will broadcast frequent progress scores during the day, and progress scores will also be heard from the ZB stations and 2ZA. Listeners who are able to tune to the Test broadcasts for longer periods may_ hear full commentaries from Radio Australia each day, from the start of play to stumps. Hours of play in the first Test are 1.30 to 3.0 p.m., 3.40 to 5.30 p.m, and 5.50 and 7.30 p.m. N.Z. time, and each period of play is, of course, followed by a five-minute summary. Radio Australia Test broadcasts are heard on 17790 kilocycles and 15320 kilocycles, and also from.5.10 to 5.42 p.m. on 15200 kilocycles, and from 6.0 p.m. to stumps (including the scoreboard) on 9580 kilocycles. Special cricket tour broadcasts in the General Overseas Service of the BBC will include E. W. Swanton’s letters, describing both cricket and the general. activities of the MCC tourists. Up-to-date announcements on broadcasting arrangements for the other Tests both from the NZBS and Radio Australia will be made in later issues of The Listener, Ss * To help those who will be listening to keep the placing of the field in their mind, we reprint on page 22 Russell Clark’s pictorial diagram of the field. y