The Australians think out their matches great deal better thin we do or ever did; far more fuss is made over a Test match in Australia than is the case with us in England; and the players must get-well-nigh tired of answering questions put to them about the coming match. Three of the team, one from each colony, select the side to do battle for their country in each Test match, and, with all due respect to our M.C.G. or any other selection committee we have to-day, their method is in front of ours. The players themselves must be the best judges as to who should and who should not play, and the present system of selecting an English side can be improved upon. T hope the time is not far off when three players certain of their place in every match will be invited to the meeting held for the purpose of selecting the team, and the Selection Committee he guided to A great extent by the views of the three players; for it will always be a far more dificult, task for us to select our side than for the Australians to select theirs, who have compared to us, so few from whom to choose; for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th elevens of England, I feel sure, would have little trouble in defeating Australia's second team, but their first eleven stands out head and shoulders above their second eleven, which cannot be stid of our first eleven of to-day; indeed there are plenty of good judges who would take six to four against our second eleven beating our first.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.