A retrospective report from Uday Rajan - July 24, 25, 26, 1902
CricInfo report
|
ENGLAND vs AUSTRALIA, Test 4 A retrospective report from Uday Rajan - July 24, 25, 26, 1902 CricInfo report |
|
Played at: Manchester, Dates: July 24, 25, 26, 1902
England lost this Test by 3 runs after putting Australia in to bat on a rain-affected wicket.
Pre-Match Drama: Lord Hawke, chairman of the England selectors, and his two colleagues, chose only 11 players for this match to ensure that Archie MacLaren would lead out the team they wanted. For some reason Jessop was dropped. At the end, they added a reserve, Fred Tate of Sussex (father of Maurice), ``confident that not even MacLaren would pick him''. MacLaren was apparently furi- ous with the team, and responded by playing Tate instead of Hirst, England's most reliable allrounder. This was the only Test Tate ever played, and he played enough of a role in it for it to be later known as ``Tate's Test''.
Test Highlights:
* The wicket was too wet to help the bowlers before lunch, but was expected to dry out by the afternoon. England's plan was to ``keep Victor quiet until lunch''.
* At lunch, Australia was 173/1 (Trumper 104*). Trumper became the first batsman to score a century before lunch on the first day of a Test (since joined by Charlie Macartney in 1926, Don Bradman in 1930, and Majid Khan in 1976).
* After lunch, as expected, Rhodes and Lockwood exploited the drying wicket to dismiss Australia for 299. England then collapsed to 44/5, and recovered to 70/5 by the close.
* On the 2nd morning, F.S. Jackson played a commanding innings. England finished 37 runs short on the 1st innings.
* Lockwood was inspired in the AUstralian 2nd innings, and dismissed Trumper, Duff, and Hill with only 10 on the board.
* When the score was 16, Darling skied the ball to deep squareleg off Braund, and was dropped by Fred Tate.
* Darling and Gregory put on 54 runs, before the innings folded completely, and Australia was all out for 86, leaving England 123 to win.
* England began their 2nd innings on the 3rd morning, after more rain. They had reached 92/3 before Trumble and Saunders brought about a collapse. Fred Tate came in to bat at 116/9, with 8 runs needed.
* Before Tate reached the middle, it begain raining again, and the players had to come off.
* Play resumed after 45 minutes. Tate edged Saunders' first ball for 4. He survived the next two, but the 4th kept low to bowl him.