Even further down under

posted by John Winn

In the autumn of 1929 an MCC team travelled via Australia to play four test matches in New Zealand, the first such matches between the two countries. This established a pattern for future tours  that was to last until quite recently, whereby visits to NZ were added on to a much longer and more arduous trip round Australia. Typically these 'away' series were of just two , sometimes three matches. Hammond's 46/47 side played only one test.

The 1929/30 tour was led by AHH Gilligan and his group of eight amateurs and six professionals was far from representative of the sort of team England would have sent had the games in Australia included any test matches. Even though MCC played only state sides in Australia, Wisden's short account of the tour devotes more space to the games in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane than it does for the tests  across the Tasman Sea. The first test was in January at Christchurch and resulted in an eight wicket win for England in a low scoring match in which no batsman on either side reached 50. The second test was drawn and the third ruined by rain so a fourth was added to the itinerary which was also drawn. GB Legge hit 196 on the first of the three days which almost ensured England would take the rubber.

The 1950/51 MCC side went to New Zealand on something of a high after recording their first post war test victory over Australia, Australia's first defeat since Sir Leonard's 364 at The Oval in 1938. After games against Otago and Auckland, FR Brown's men took on NZ at Christchurch in a four day test. The allocation of a fourth day acknowledged the Kiwis' efforts in drawing all four tests in England in 1949. In that fine summer three day matches were unlikely to have brought victory for either side.

The Christchurch match produced 'much dreary cricket' according to Wisden and the fault lay with 'a lifeless pitch'. Throw in a Bailey century (his only one in tests) in which his first fifty took 270 minutes and you have a cure for insomnia. A Bert Sutcliffe century took New Zealand past four hundred before declaring eight down and at close of play on the third day England still trailed by 100 but a stand of 117 between Bailey and Doug Wright put them in a position from which they could not lose. After twelve hours the innings was declared closed leaving NZ 133 in deficit.

It is not clear from either Wisden or Cricket Archive how much time remained at this point but only 13 overs were bowled before the match was concluded. New Zealand felt confident enough to open with MacGibbon and Hayes who had batted at six and 10 respectively in the first innings and they faced Compton and Washbrook. The former was no stranger to bowling in test matches but the Lancastrian took only 11 wickets in a first class career lasting more than twenty years. He missed the second test as the result of a back injury sustained bowling these four overs. Compton was removed from the attack after just two overs to be replaced by Reg Simpson.  To my surprise Cricket Archive reveals RT took seventy wickets in his career and in this match his four overs left him with figures of two for four, his only test wickets. England's attack was completed by three overs from
 Hutton. Whether it was relief at not facing Bedser and Statham (his first test) New Zealand's topsy turvy batting order soon found itself 29 for 3 at which point normal service was resumed with the entrance of regular opener Verdun Scott* who saw them to 46 for 3 at stumps.

The second of the two tests was played a week later at Wellington and in bitterly cold weather
 England won by six wickets with Tattersall taking six wickets in the New Zealand second innings. The first day had been lost to rain and with water having got under the covers batting was not easy but the winning runs were hit by skipper Brown with just ten minutes to spare. Thus, on the 28th of March, ended a tour that had begun with a match in Colombo on October 1st.


To finish. a reminder that the 2014 season of Jim the Cat meetings begins at Pudsey St Lawrence this Friday (January 10th) with David Leatherdale, chief exec of Worcestershire CCC the guest speaker.

* Scott's unusual first name may reflect that he was born at the time of battle of Verdun in 1916, the longest single battle of WW1, A talented footballer he switched to Rugby League and was part of his country's team that visited England in 1939. He won his one test cap in the match that was played before the tour was cancelled due to the outbreak of war. He played in all four cricket tests on the 1949 tour.