The Australians are once more on our shores and their team will compare most favourably with any previous combination that has visited our country. During the last month, not a few have asked questions regarding the strength of the fourteen layers to visit us,—namely, Trumble, icLeod, Worrall, Johns, and Laver from Victoria'; Gregory, Iredale, Kelly, Noble, Howell, and Trumper from New South Wales; and Jones, Hill, and Darling from South Australia. It will be noticed that nine of the fourteen are well-known to all followers of the summer game, the five new members visiting us for the first time being C. McLeod, brother of R. MeLeul, a member of a former combination, How ell, Trumper, Noble, and Laver. Leaving Trott these are the men decisively the x Test match took place in Australia; and although we were defeated, critics had a lot to say very moderate strength of our ct when we left Tilbury for Australia as being as goodes any that had sailed before its it certainly was yood enough to defeat, the Rest of England at, Hastings, when from start to fi of a serious the case in these testi nil if our opponents were not quite the best lot the Rest put into the field, the same excuse could he urged for us, sine K. 8. Ran sinhji and N. F. Druce, who played in all 'Test matches in Australia, were unable to represent A. E. Stoddart's XT. Tt is always as well to look back and "remember what the members of Stoddart's XT did in the summer they left England, All, without exception, that is to say' of the bats: men, scored freely, yet when in Australin so many failed, and if the climate can he ungod as an excuse, against that can be put the excellence of the wickets. Nothing will induce _me to believe thnt the cause of our severe defeats was due to anything but the fact that the Australian bowlers were too clever for us, coupled with the fact that Trott knew to an inch where to place his men for our strokes, and handled his as only a great captain can do.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.