Snowball stumps Australia
History Makers—Part XXVIII
What follows is the latest installment in our series on the inaugural women’s Ashes tour of 1934/35. The previous installment is here.
Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia v England (Second Test Match)
Day Four: 8th January 1935
Close of Play: England 5-301 Dec. ( ME Naclagan 119, EA Snowball 71, ME Hide 34, EM Child 30*, J Partridge 26*) and 2-10. Australia 162 and 148 ( EM Shevill 36, K Smith 27, A Palmer 23, J Partridge 6-96, M Maclagan 2-35 )
Attendance 2593, and the receipts £ 103/8/. Hours of Play: 1:15-6:00
England declared on their overnight score with a lead of 139, asking Australia to bat all day to save the match and the series. Partridge opened from the Randwick End to the out-of-form Australian openers. She began with a maiden; Maclagan bowled the second over from the Paddington End and bowled Pritchard with a well-pitched-up third ball. Pritchard fell for a pair, and Australia failed to add more than 11 for the first wicket in the series.
Essie Shevill took more opportunities to score than in previous innings, where survival had come first. She gave Snowball a stumping chance when she was on 10 but was faultless until she was run out for 36 in 75 minutes. Shevill was supported by Monaghan, who looked uncomfortable throughout her innings, especially against Patridge. When she was stumped with the score at 2-34, Partridge had bowled 11.5 overs, taking 1-14. However, Smith, the most aggressive batter, opened her account with a four to complete Partridge’s over. Archdale brought on Hide, who bowled five consecutive maidens when her following two overs went for fifteen.
Smith and Shevill were, realistically, Australia’s last hope. Even though Shevill gave Snowball a stumping chance when she was on 10, she looked faultless until she was run out for 36 by a combination of Taylor and Snowball.
Archdale asked Patridge to bowl a second devastating spell. She didn’t bowl defensively, giving the batters opportunities to score runs, but England took all catches offered, and Snowball kept wicket immaculately. At tea, with the score 6-105, a draw looked possible.
In the first over after tea, McLarty was stumped. Antonio soon followed, and as Australia lurched to 8-118, an innings defeat looked inevitable. When Rene Shevill was out and hit a wicket, the ninth wicket had fallen on 124.
Determined to make England bat again, Margaret Peden gave the strike to Palmer, who scored 23 in 21 minutes. Palmer fell to Snowball’s fourth stumping of the innings, whilst Partridge had taken 5-63 from her 21.4 over spell.
England, requiring 10 runs to win, reversed the batting order, losing Liebert for a duck and Richards for three, falling to the sisterly combination caught Rene Shevill bowled Essie Shevill. Hide scored the winning single from her first ball.
The series is over, but there is still one match to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. England will play a series of up-country games whilst the Australian players will play in the interstate carnival in Melbourne, from which the Australian team will be selected for the final test.
The scorebook and a wealth of information on women’s cricket can be found at Women’s Cricket History .org.