Toss: England. Test debuts: Australia - W.H.Cooper, E.Evans, G.Giffen, H.H.Massie; England - R.G.Barlow, W.Bates, E.Peate, R.Pilling, W.H.Scotton, A.Shrewsbury. (W.E.Midwinter made his debut for England, having previously played for Australia.) The departure of the steamer which was to take Shaw's team to New Zealand was delayed by the steamship authorities from the morning of January 4 till 3.45 in the afternoon in the hope that this very important match might be concluded. But all to no purpose, as the heavy scoring all round necessitated the game being drawn when the Australians had scored 127 out of 283 required to win. The Englishmen had the advantage of batting first on a splendid wicket, an advantage which was increased when the weather became uncertain after the opening day.

Altogether no fewer than 1,049 runs were scored for the loss of 33 wickets, giving an average of 31.26 runs per wicket. Ulyett, Selby and Bates played splendidly for England, but in some cases the visitors' scores would not have been so large had the Australian fielding been as good as usual. Horan was by far the highest scorer for the Colonists, and the merit of his splendid innings was enhanced by the fact that it was made without a chance against the best professional bowlers of the old country. The result of the match was a fairly even draw, the home team wanting 156 to win, with 7 wickets to fall

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