Johannesburg, Dec. 11.
In preparation for the forthcoming series of Tests against England, the South African Cricket Board has invited W. W. Wade, of Natal, R. A. M. Williams, of Natal, P. G. Van Der Byl, of Western Province, snd R. Evans, of Border, to attend, the trial match here between December 16 and 19.
Wade and Van der Byl are rising young batsmen, Williams is a wicketkeeper, and Evans is a bowler.
With the date of the first Test, December 24, rapidly approaching, cricket enthusiasts ip South Africa now spend most of their time discussing the Union's chances of keeping the "rubber," which has not been won by England since F. T. Mann's team visited South Africa in 1922-23.
It is generally considered in South Africa that the M.C.C. has sent out its strongest side for 50 years. For the first time, England will be represented by the full strength of its home eleven, with W. R. Hammond leading a model team—the sort of side that the student of cricket would pick from the formula of the text book.
It is expected that the -home players will reply mostly on spin bowling to foil the M.C.C. batting stars. Louis Duffus, a leading South African critic, says that one reason why South Africa may rely on spin bowlers is the responsiveness of the wickets.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.