Of the new hands Noble is a wonderfully deceptive bowler, having the peculiar knack of making the batsman believe the ball is going to pitch outside the leg stump, and then down goes the off wicket. Slow to medium pace, and if the wind helps his swerve is very marked; and although Tread he can mike the ball curve just as much without the wind, that is not my opinion after playing hin anal the ground in Australia. He also bowls a hanging hall that does not come slong quite as fast as the others, which is very effective, He fine free bat and has done big things in that department of the game, but I should not care to prophesy about his baton our wickets, if difficult, fowell is another bowler about Jack He me's pace, and his best ball is the one which comes very quick off the pitch with enough break to beat the bat: that was the sort of ball he would keep up his sleeve for us on the Sydney ground, and he certainly should make the ball break back on our wickets, but he bowls a trifle shorter than the others used todo. As a batsman he is a colossal hitter.
Charles McLeod as Giffen's substitute, when we were last out, asa batsman did more than Giffen would probably have done against us, the great pace of the! ground suiting his style of play, as he used to get half his runs to leg by playing forward with a slanting" bat, and Tom Richardson was more than surprised at the manner in which balls on the off stump used to fly to the leg boundary. He watches the ball well and gets his runs along the ground, but I shall be surprised if he does not turn out to be a better bow er than bat on our wickets, for he keeps a} good length outside the off stump and is Just the nasty pace on a difficult wicket.
Laver has a style of his own, but that does not prevent him getting runs: he was never very successful against us at Melbourne, but then his opportunities were few: he is a very keen cricketer, although T have not seen him bowl: he has got good men out in Inter-Colonial matches.
Trumper delighted us with his free and graceful style as a batsman, and appears to be an English rather than an Australian player, when he is at the wickets, He is very young yet but might easily prove to be one of those who can play on any wicket after he has settled down to the game in our country. He isa very fine field and has the distinction of having made one of the best catches ever seen on the Sydney ground.
To sum up, if we have a fine summer then, in my opinion, they ire a very fine lot indeed, but if we get more wet wickets than fast ones then I do not look upon hem as so formidable. T hope for their kes that the big matches at least are played under conditions favourable to both sides, with, of course, the wish that we come out top without desiring our visitors any harm.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.