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by
ALEX BARRAS.
CHAS. MACG1XX, a brilliant all rounder. Help
THE first of the two matches to be played between a strong South Australian eleven and
Western Australia has-certainly proved a cricketing triumph for the local team. In actual
fact Western Australia won the match on the first innings. The entire three days' play have
been extremely interesting from every point of view. Batting, bowling and fielding of a high
standard have been the order of the day, and the result of the game swung in the balance
for practically two hours on the second day-Monday.
Facing the South Australian total of 248, Western Australia was given a wonderful
stert by Charlie MacCill and Allan Jeffreys. Sixty-nine runs were on the board before the
Subiaco opener lost his wicket to Frank Ward. Dave Watt came in to play a charming innings
for 18 runs before he too fell a victim to the Test bowler.
Four wickets then fell quickly, but firstly Merv Inverarity, then Ossie Lovelock and
later Tony Zimbulis came along to play sound cricket, so that the South Australian total
was passed, lt was great cricket, and the ovation the local batsmen received from the crowd
was richly deserved.
Now, all eyes to the second game-and more power to our local eleven.
A WEST AUSTRALIAN
TRIUMPH.
DON Bradman had no hesitation in
batting on Saturday, when he won
the toss. The pitch looked as easy as
.ny pitch could possibly look, and the
South Australian openers, Ken Ridings
and Tom Klose, found little difficulty in
getting behind the opening swing attack
of the local team. Ken Ridings, who
Eas obviously modelled himself on his
skipper, played most attractively, and
never looked like getting out. This
youngster has all the attributes of a
Test opener. Coupled with a sound de-
fence, he has a wide range of strokes,
treing particularly strong on the off-side
of the wicket. He went along his steady
way, although he lost Klose and Ron
Hammence in quick succession-the lat-
ter out to a magnificent catch by Love-
lock, one hand and wide on the leg-side.
With the arrival of Bradman at the
wickets, Ridings opened out, and he
played- a series of beautiful square cuts.
Incidentally, this was the brightest patch
In the South Australian innings. Brad-
man and Ridings gave a fine exhibition
of placement and running between the
wickets. Singles were taken from balls
pushed, not only between fieldsmen, but
sometimes directly to them. - Decisive
calling-and confidence in each other
were the features of this display, and
because of their skill, there was little
that could be done about the matter.
Bradman-although not the youthful,
exuberant Bradman that we all know so
well-gave a perfect display of batsman
ship in his classic innings of 42. Not one
stroke was misplayed or edged, and His
eventual downfall surprised the entire
fielding team, as much as lt must have
surprised himself. Anything that I write
of Bradman would be redundant, as
everything that can be said of bim has
already been said. However let me em-
phasise that there has never been a more
orthodox batsman in the game than
"Don." With the passing years he has
become an even greater batsman than
ever before.
Four Wickers to MacCili.
With the dismissal of Bradman and
Ridings, it appeared certain that South
Australia, in the face of really fine bowl-
ing by Charlie MacGill, would have to
fight grimly to reach the 200 mark. Merv.
Waite and Dick Gibson, although each
reaching the thirties, never appeared safe
when facing the North Perth bowler.
MacGill was spinning the ball from the
CHAS. MACG1XX, a brilliant all rounder. Help
CHAS. MACGILL, a brilliant all-
rounder.
off at a good pace,, and Waite in par-
ticular was lucky to survive the early
overs. Jack Kierse, not as polished as
the majority of his teammates, then
came along with a handy 23. This
youngster hits the ball with great power,
many of his drives giving fieldsmen little
chance. However, Kierse fell a victim
to the new ball, and the South Austra-
lian innings did not last much longer.
The bowling honours went to Charlie
MacGill, who took four wickets for 49
runs off 18 overs. He appeared inef-
fective with the new ball, but from the
moment he decided to spin the ball he
had nearly every batsman in trouble. To
him fell the honour of getting Brad
man's wicket and it was a fitting honour
for a good job well done.
Ron Halcombe and Gordon Eyres
toiled hard on a pitch that was about
as responsive as a Hebrew money-
lender. I dont think Halcombe got one
ball over the top of the stumps all day.
We, who know Halcombe's capabilities
in this direction all too well, were all
the more aware that something was rad-
ically wrong with the wicket. However,
the Claremont speedster picked up a
couple of not over-expensive wickets, and
in the circumstances must have felt sat-
isfied.
Gordon Eyres rarely got one past the
bat, the pitch also being of no assistance
to his style of bowling.
Tony Zimbulis, used sparingly, kept a
fairly good length to get two wickets,
while Dave Watt also picked up a handy
wicket.
Altogether the West Australian attack
did a magnificent job in the circum-
stances, and to dismiss a team as strong
KEN RIDINGS, an impressive opening batsman. Help
KEN RIDINGS, an impressive opening
batsman.
as South Australia for 248 runs must
be counted, as a very fine performance.
The keeping of Ossie Lovelock set a
high standard for the rest of the team,
and the players rose splendidly to this
standard.
The West Australian Innings.
Tuesday proved itself to be a trium-
phant one for Western Australia.
Charlie MacGill and Allan Jeffreys gave
the team a splendid start, and it was
their fine batsmanship that convinced
the other nine players that Grimmett,
Ward, and company could-and would
be overcome.
Allan Jeffreys played the best knock I
have ever seen him play. With the ad-
vent of Grimmett and Ward at the bowl-
ing crease, there were many who antici-
pated his early downfall, but, not only
did he display sound defence against
this spin attack, but he played many
delightful strokes. Three times he swept
Grimmett to the leg-side fence with the
surety of a Walter Hammond; and he
also played Ward with confidence. His
innings of 36 was a most pleasing one
from all points of view.
Charlie MacGill was, however, to steal
the show by playing a magnificent knock
for 78. Bight from the first ball bowled
to him, MacGill was supremely confident,
and even the advent of the spin attack
seemed to increase his confidence. Pacing
Grimmett for the first time, one might
have expected him to become extremely
cautious, but MacGill jumped into the
bowling, driving with terrific power. His
square cutting and driving off his back
foot also left little to be desired. He
looked certain to reach the century, but,
endeavouring to lift Grimmett to the
outfield, he mishit, and was caught in
the covers. The match was a wonderful
outing for the brilliant North Perth all
rounder.
It was left to Merv. Inverarity and
Tony Zimbulls to bring victory to their
team. Going in when things looked
black, Inverarity played a true captain's
innings. Most of his runs came from
beautifully-placed cuts, and neat on-side
placements. Accompanied by Ossie Love-
lock, runs were slowly added to the
score, but, when 13, Lovelock hit all over
a short one from Grimmett, and was
bowled. Zimbulis, surviving an easy
chance to Gibson at square leg, used his
feet splendidly, being particularly severe
on the on-side. The Inverarity-Zimbulis
partnership brought a splendid victory
to Western Australia, and too much
cannot be said of their grand display.
Mervyn Inverarity again demonstrated
that he has an ideal "big match" tem-
perament, and the manner in which he
rose to the occasion in this game will
not quickly be forgotten. Inverarity, both
when batting and fielding, is the personi-!
fication of neatness, and is an ornament
to the game.
Tony Zimbulis remained not out with a
creditable 42 to his name. I would ven-
ture to suggest that .there are few better
batsmen in the game than Zimbulis, and;
that he might do very well to give this
phase of his play more thought.
Although Dave Watt made only 18
runs, his innings caught the imagination
of everybody present. There is no better
stroke player in the game, and it came as
a general disappointment when he lost
his wicket when apparently well set.
Frank Ward Heads Bowling.
The South Australian bowling honours
went to Frank Ward, the test leg-break
expert, and lightly so. Ward bowled
with splendid spin and control through-
out the entire day. He extracted a great
deal more life from the pitch than Grim-
mett, turning the ball at times almost at
right-angles. In his overs there were
very few loose balls bowled, and bats-
men were rarely given the chance to help
themselves to gift runs. Ward's figures
for the innings were as follows:-26.3
overs, 105 runs, six wickets.
Clarrie Grimmett did not find the slow
wicket to his liking, and only three,
wickets came his way. However, the
veteran needed careful watching, and
he was never off the "spot."
Merv. Waite found himself in a similar
position to our own medium-pacer, Eyres,
and he was used mainly to get the shine
off the ball for the spinners. Tom Klose
and Dick Gibson-both left-armers-were
accurate without being unduly hostile.
Kierse used the new ball at the com-
mencement of the West Australian in-
nings, but he, too, found it difficult to
beat the bat.
The fielding of the South Australian
team was. splendid, Ron, Hammence and
Ken. Ridings being outstanding.
As I write this, the third day's play of
the first match is about to start, and I
pause to wonder what is to be the out-
come of today's play. Nothing seems
more certain than we are about to wit-
ness a huge score by Bradman. However,
who knows? Cricket is an uncertain
game.
Don Bradman, 209 Not Out.
The third day's play between Western
Australia and South Australia can be
marked down as the greatest day's cricket
that has ever been seen in this State. For
10 years local enthusiasts have been wait-
ing to see Bradman at his very best, but
TONY ZIMBÜLIS, 42 not out. Help
TONY ZIMBÜLIS, 42 not out.
it was not until Tuesday that all their
hopes were realised. Scoring 209 not out
in 155 minutes, Bradman played the fin
eat innings that I have ever seen him
play.
His pre-lunch batting, when he scored
69 in about 50 minutes, would have
caused the most extreme purist to go into
ecstasies of delight. This was a perfect
display of flawless technique. Not once
was he out of position in playing drives,
pulls, cuts, or glances. The perfect co-
ordination of mind and body permitted
him to be always in correct position split
seconds-at times it seemed minutes to
the fieldsmen-before the ball reached
him, and, in consequence, his stroke play
was absolute perfection.
After lunch the news that "le maestro"
was in a run-making mood caused hun-
dreds more people to pour into the ground.
And they were not disappointed, for
Bradman from then on gave a superb dis-
play of run-making. His pre-lunch ar-
tistry was almost discarded, and he de-
liberately set out to pay every stroke
known-and unknown-to cricket lovers.
His treatment of the new ball-with
the team total at 200-was a revelation.
Gordon Eyres was sufferer-in-chief - at
this stage, for Bradman, picking Eyres's
in-swinger almost as soon as it left his
hand, pivoted beautifully to pull and
glance the ball to the on boundary. A
lesser man than Bradman would have
treated the bowling at this stage in an
orthodox manner, thereby renewing hope
in the bowler's heart. But not so Brad-
man. He immediately inflicted an in-
feriority complex on the bowlers by his
amazing ability to stroke the ball where
ever he desired.
Passing the 150 mark, he then
gave a grand display of pure and simple
hitting. He flogged every bowler unmer-
cifully, and in doing so gave two or three
chances. However, this did not detract
from his glorious innings, and I can say
with surety that, if the champion had so
desired, he could still, be batting today,
tomorrow, and the next day.
There is little else to tell. Charlie
Walker, under "Good Dame Fortune's"
cloak compiled ,a neat 34, while Len
Michael also played soundly for 27 not
out.
It was Bradman's day, and to you,
"Don," go the thanks of players and spec-
tators alike.
A Word for the Bowlers.
Although it is not possible for me to
write that so-and-so, by good bowling,
claimed so many wickets, it is, however,
quite possible to say how the Western
Australians manfully stood up to their
hopeless task. Eyres and MacGill in par-
ticular, deserve great admiration for their
splendid determination to give of their
best. Ron Halcombe, too, tried hard, but
his task was made all the more impossible
by the pace of the pitch. To ask a fast
bowler to give of his best on such a wic-
ket as this was, is asking too much. How-
ever, the Claremont speedster stuck to
his task, and did give of his best.
Except for three or four missed catches,
the fielding of the team was delightful,
Bandy, Watt and Inverarity being out-
standing.
Friday's Game.
The West Australian selectors (Messrs.
A. C. Randell, P. H. Taaffe and A. D.
Drew) decided on Tuesday night to make
two changes in the State eleven. One of
these, however, was forced on them by
the inability of Allan Jeffreys to obtain
leave from business. Arthur Read, the
Fremantle left-hander, takes Jeffreys
place, and should be a capable substitute.
Charlie Puckett has been selected to re-
place Ron Halcombe. Puckett has cer-
tainly earned his place in the team, and
should fit easily into the eleven. Bill
Roach, another Fremantle player-and
also another left-hander-takes Read's
place as twelfth man.
Except for these changes the team re-
mains intact, and is as follows:-
M. Inverarity (capt.), L. Bandy, A. j
Barras, G. Eyres, K. Jeffreys, O. Lovelock, J
C. MacGUL C. Puckett, A. Read, D. Watt,1
A. Zimbulis and W. Roach (12th).
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