The Cricketer Magazine – June 2018

ABOVE

Cambridge

batting against

the Australians

at Fenner’s in May

LEFT

The former

Worcestershire

and Derbyshire

bowler Fred Root

had a column

in the Sunday

Pictorial – a

forerunner of the

Sunday Mirror

the game in Australia and raise the
morale of its followers who had not seen
a Test match since 1937. With a lethargic
and unthreatening bowling attack to rely
on, captain Wally Hammond, 43 by then,
regarded the Tour as a glorifi ed public
relations visit.
By extension, 1948 was probably still
at least a year too early for any kind
of rebuild of the England side to have
gathered speed, as Plum Warner’s
editorial from this same issue of
The Cricketer concedes.

So far this summer we have been
favoured with fi ne weather and cricket is
now in full swing. The Australians have
been ‘liquidating’ our counties, except
Yorkshire, when the wicket was sticky, in
most uncompromising fashion, and there
is no question whatever that they are a
powerful and well balanced side. Their
batting strength on good wickets, at any
rate, is tremendous and we cannot believe
that such natural and accomplished
players would not, with more experience,
adapt themselves to slow and di cult
wickets should the rain come.
We have heard it said that their bowling
on fast true wickets is not to be regarded
with apprehension by an England XI,
but under such conditions it will surely
possess the merit of accuracy and variety
with two really fast bowlers in Miller and
Lindwall as an opening attack. Miller,
a glorious all-round cricketer, will no
doubt be used sparingly by his most able
captain as his back is apt to give trouble
at times, and if any accident should befall
Lindwall – and strains and pulled muscles
are everyday occurrences in these days
after the rigours and privations of modern
warfare – they might be hard put to it.
However, they have other and fi ne
bowlers and we believe that on any
wicket their attack will be up to a high
standard backed up as it will be by
fi elding and wicketkeeping of the highest
class. What an array of batsmen they
have!
Leaving out the incomparable Don,
there are Barnes, Brown, Hassett, Miller,
Harvey, Morris and it is probable that in
their best XI, Lindwall, who has made
his century in a Test match, may fi gure
as low as No.10 in the order of going in.
This is enough to cause our selection
committee, and our bowlers, sleepless

nights; and though this may sound

ominous indeed to our chances of

success, it is a wise policy to appreciate to

the full one’s opponent.

Optimism on our part would be folly,

but at the same time pessimism is

not warranted. We have a strong and

experienced lot of batsmen and an

experienced wicketkeeper, and two

bowlers of the necessary class and

stamina; and we stress the word stamina

in these days of indi erent fi elding. The

Test Trial at Birmingham may bring forth

the man, but at the moment there does

not seem to be anyone who is an obvious

choice. Fifty years ago and more, the

famous Yorkshireman Tom Emmett

used to din into the ears of the Rugby

boys “length, length, length, as the fi rst,

second and last principle of fast bowling”,

and we exhort the present generation

to follow his advice. A great deal of our

bowling today is short of a length and

the worst people in the world today to

bowl short to are the present Australian

team who are complete masters of the

late and square cuts and the hook, which

they make with unfailing certainty. Go

to any match today and the number of

balls of indi erent length would make

the masters of former days turn in their

graves. Accuracy and meticulously

careful placing of the fi eld will be found

to be sound tactics – “make them fi ght

for every run”.

Buy our

iconic

covers

Visit

shop.thecricketer.com

or call

0203 1981 359

thecricketer.com | 

FROM THE ARCHIVE | CRICKET LIFE