The Australians in the first test match played the bowlers who had performed so well in England in 1896, with the addition of C. McLeod, but in subsequent matches they played Noble and Howell, and these two bowlers have the knack of variety in their bowling, and this, combined with the pace of Jones and the admirable steadiness and break of Trumble, made a combination of bowlers that on good hard wickets has never been surpassed. It is the future that troubles us; where are our bowlers? In old days we could get one first-class bowler a year out of Nottingham alone, but the supply seems to have come to an end; but from somewhere must come some bowlers of variety of pace, break, and head, or the old country must be content to take the lower room. But if 1899 should turn out to be a wet year a very different tale may have to be told.
Taking both countries, and excluding the Manchester match in 1890, abandoned on account of weather, fifty-one test matches have now been played, of which England has won twenty-six, fourteen in Australia and twelve at home, Australia nineteen, of which all but three were in Australia, and six have been drawn.
The leading averages in batting in all the series, in both countries, of test matches from 1880 to 1898 inclusive may prove of interest at this stage, but of course we exclude the players who only played in comparatively few matches, and we limit the number of innings to a minimum of twelve. The averages are as follows:—
| Batsmen | No. of Innings | Times not out | Total runs | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. S. Ranjitsinhji | 12 | 2 | 692 | 57·8 |
| F. A. Iredale | 18 | 0 | 705 | 39·3 |
| C. Hill | 12 | 0 | 467 | 38·11 |
| A. Shrewsbury | 36 | 4 | 1,277 | 35·17 |
| A. E. Stoddart | 28 | 2 | 996 | 35·16 |
| A. C. MacLaren | 22 | 2 | 769 | 34·16 |
| A. G. Steel | 17 | 3 | 586 | 34·8 |
| W. G. Grace | 32 | 4 | 1,079 | 33·23 |
| W. L. Murdoch | 27 | 3 | 885 | 32·21 |
Like all tables of averages the above is misleading. Players like Grace, Murdoch, and Shrewsbury played in the days when runs were not so easily got, and their performances may rank on a par with those of MacLaren, Ranjitsinhji, and Hill, and, of course, there have been many innings played against equally good bowling, but not in matches of England v Australia. No innings of greater merit has, however, been played than Murdoch’s innings of 153 not out against England at the Oval in 1880.
THE CRITICS
With regard to the merits of the English and Australian bowlers, we think there are few English cricketers who would deny that Spofforth is the best bowler ever seen on English grounds, at any rate in modern times, and yet the statistics show that he is not at the head of the average list.
The following is the list of the first twelve bowlers:—