The First Centenary Test: Part II
Jim Ledbetter on day one the First Test of the 1921 Ashes
Saturday, May 28
The prevailing mood of pessimism did little to affect the attendance, which gave every indication of being a record crowd at a Trent Bridge Test. Interest was bound to be high after the long absence of Test cricket in England, while locally there had been no meeting between England and Australia at Trent Bridge since 1905, when England had won in convincing style. The Daily Guardian observed that “in Nottingham scarcely anything else has been discussed for days,” while the Journal, aware of the intense interest, warned spectators to bring their own luncheon baskets, to avoid overtaxing the ground’s facilities. Not even the recent break in the good weather with heavy rain on Friday, followed by grey skies and a cool breeze on Saturday morning, deterred the thousands of spectators queuing outside the ground before the gates opened at ten o’clock. Such was the enthusiasm for the resumption of Test cricket after the war that even the coal strike, which had severely curtailed railway and tram services (and forced the Australian team to go to bed by candlelight), failed to prevent a record 21,000 from attending the first day’s play. The Nottingham Corporation also played its part by its easing of restrictions on its tram-services to take spectators to and from the ground.
The first surprise of the day came with the announcement that Armstrong had decided to omit Mailey, his front-line spinner, from his original twelve players. The pitch although soft on top, after the recent rain, was still hard underneath. Even the prospect of further rain failed to deter the Australian captain from relying essentially on his pacemen, with himself as the main supporting bowler. It was a decision which was soon put to the test, as Douglas, after calling correctly, opted to take first use of the pitch.
The opening pair, Holmes and Knight, the first debutant opening batsmen to play against Australia since W.G. and E.M.Grace did so in 1880, made a brisk start to their Test careers, nine runs coming from Gregory’s first over, including two boundaries from Holmes and 18 in the first 15 minutes. Neither of the opening bowlers had been able to get the ball above stump high on the soft pitch, with Carter taking the occasional ball on the second bounce.
It was in such unhelpful conditions that Gregory, in the space of five deliveries, destroyed the England top-order. Knight, the first batsman to go, was partly to blame for his own dismissal, playing at a ball outside the off-stump which he could have left, Carter taking the catch. Tyldesley, coming in to face the last ball of Gregory’s third over, had no such luxury of choice. With Gregory bowling faster than at any time of the tour, the Lancashire batsman was much too late on his first ball in Test cricket and played on. Without a run added to the total, the third ball of Gregory’s next over accounted for Hendren, also still to get off the mark, the delivery cutting in sharply from the off to take his off stump. It was, reported The Times, “one which might have bowled W.G. himself.” Such was the flurry of wickets that the sequence of events differed in almost every match report, so that even contemporary record books still differ on whether Gregory’s three wickets were achieved in four or five deliveries. Thus after only 30 minutes of play, England found themselves in a perilous situation with only 18 runs on the board, three wickets down and Holmes still on eight, all scored in the first over of the day. To add to the home side’s misery, the condition of the pitch had played no part in any of the dismissals.
Homes was joined by the England captain, who had apparently promoted himself above Woolley, in an attempt to retrieve the situation with his own brand of stubborn batting. The gambit appeared to pay off initially as the total crept up to 38 without further loss, with Holmes playing with the utmost confidence. This resistance provoked the first bowling change, McDonald after a very accurate opening spell of seven overs which yielded only 11 runs, being replaced by Armstrong. The Australian captain proved even more difficult to score off, adopting the tactic of bowling just on or outside off-stump to a packed off-side field. If Armstrong was intent of tempting the batsmen into a rash stroke by such a tactic, he was to be quickly rewarded. To only his tenth ball, when he had yet to concede a run, Douglas in attempting to pull “one of the worst deliveries the mind can picture”—a shortish, wide ball outside the off-stump—made what Sidney Smith described as the “worst stroke I have ever seen him play.” Gregory took the catch at slip, and England were 43 for four. As Smith remarked, Armstrong had “just fooled Douglas out.”
Having made the breakthrough, Armstrong continued for only one more over, before bringing back McDonald, to have a go at the new batsman, Woolley. Rain however restricted further Australian attempts to break through England’s top-order, two stoppages for rain allowing only a further 20 minutes play before lunch with another shower delaying the start after the break until 2.30pm. England in this time added a further 20 runs to reach 63 without further loss at the interval, made in 75 minutes.
Fourteen runs were quickly added after the resumption before the home side’s last two specialist batsmen perished in McDonald’s tenth over. The credit for Woolley’s dismissal must go to the wonderful agility of the tall ‘Stork’ Hendry at third slip, who clung on to a hard cut off the middle of the bat with his outstretched left hand. Three deliveries and one run later, Holmes was bowled by a splendid break back from the off, having made 30 out of a total of 78 in 90 minutes. It had been an impressive debut, causing the Nottingham Journal to enquire why his colleagues had failed so badly.
Woolley’s dismissal may in part have been the consequence of the Kent batsman’s realisation that the pitch, freshened by the lunchtime shower, was becoming increasingly helpful to the Australian pace attack, and that runs needed to be made quickly. The ball now began to rear alarmingly, with both Gregory and McDonald reverting to an increasing number of short-pitched deliveries. It was simply too much for the remaining lower-order batsmen. Rhodes, at 43 years of age, showed little relish for this type of bowling, especially after one such delivery grazed the peak of his cap. The Times recounted that thereafter, “neither bowler showed excessive consideration for his feelings.” His innings of 25 minutes duration consisted of either ducking or slashing at the short balls, a policy which brought him four boundaries, one off his bat handle, another a snick through the slips and an inevitable catch to the keeper.
Jupp, after a square cut for four off Gregory, also experienced a torrid time, becoming McDonald’s third victim, caught by Armstrong at second slip, after attempting unsuccessfully to withdraw his bat from a delivery which rose abruptly. Strudwick lasted an unhappy ten minutes without scoring, eventually becoming the fourth batsman to be caught in the slips, Collins on this occasion taking the catch at third slip. Three balls later, Richmond became Gregory’s sixth victim, when, after an initial “long-handle” four, he drove the ball firmly but directly into the waiting hands of the bowler.
After lunch, the last six England wickets had fallen in the space of 55 minutes for a paltry 49 runs in 14 overs. It was England’s lowest total since their 87 against Australia at Lord’s in 1909. Gregory, who had bowled unchanged from the Radcliffe Road end, wrapped up the tail in true fast bowler fashion, claiming the last three wickets in nine balls to finish with six wickets for 58 runs. McDonald’s three wickets after lunch cost 23 runs, although 11 of these had come from one over. Both Gregory and McDonald had been supported by fielding of the highest class, not a single chance having been put down. Even if assisted by a helpful pitch in the latter stages of the England innings, it was still fast bowling at its best.
Tea having been taken between the innings, the Australians were left with 165 minutes batting time to make inroads into England’s modest total of 112. It soon became clear that Howell and Douglas were not about to repeat the performance of their Australian counterparts. England’s lack of pace, coupled with the easing of the pitch as it dried out, plus the effect of the roller, allowed Bardsley and Collins to play themselves in. They were also assisted by Howell’s tendency to bowl too many balls outside the off-stump, which the batsmen were able to leave safely alone.
Richmond came on for Douglas after 29 runs had appeared on the board, the new bowler conceding two boundaries almost at once from a full-toss and a long-hop in his second over. Finding a better length, he gained his reward by trapping Collins lbw after 50 minutes play with 49 runs on the board. The next man in, Macartney, proceeded to entertain the crowd with a lively 20 in even time before also falling inexplicably lbw, the bowler on this occasion being the England captain. Twelve runs later, Douglas took his second wicket of the innings. Taylor, almost run out before opening his account, never appeared comfortable, presenting cover-point with a straightforward catch. Although two runs later Bardsley became the only batsman in the match to reach 50, with Australia also passing the 100 mark in 95 minutes, the pace of the innings now slackened, with Armstrong at one stage taking 30 minutes to score two singles.
Further encouragement for the England camp came soon after Australia had taken a first innings lead. A double bowling change was followed by the dismissal of Armstrong, clean bowled by Jupp’s faster ball. 12 runs later Woolley secured the valuable wicket of Bardsley, who appeared to play a rather casual stroke, becoming the third lbw victim of the innings. Bardsley’s 66 included 7 fours and took 150 minutes. The first five Australian batsmen had now been dismissed with their side only 26 runs ahead.
England’s hopes of further success in the closing stages were raised by Pellew’s uncertain start, the new batsman almost giving Woolley a return catch from his first delivery and then skying a ball which just fell short of mid-on. However it was Gregory who was the first to go, falling lbw to the eighth ball of Richmond’s second spell. With only ten minutes remaining and the Australians only 40 ahead and six wickets down, Carter was sent in as nightwatchman to play out time. Sadly England’s encouraging fightback was to receive a setback, Pellew striking two boundaries and 12 runs in all off Richmond’s final over of the day, giving the Australian total of 167/6 a much more formidable appearance than had at one stage seemed likely.
Neville Cardus in an eloquent and oft-quoted observation wrote. “On a notable Saturday in May, there tramped over Trent Bridge, the longest-faced crowd that ever lived, and it talked of the passing of English cricket.” At this moment in the game, this was something of an overstatement. England’s total was a miserable one, the consequence of indifferent batting and high-class bowling on a pitch which could not be labelled as difficult. But Australia, too, had lost cheap wickets, moving from a strong position of being only 26 runs behind with one wicket down to being 55 runs ahead with four wickets in hand. The England bowlers’ fight back, although somewhat ruined by a late flurry of Australian runs, had still kept their side in the match. Pellew, unbeaten so far with 21 runs to his credit, with two centuries against England in the previous series, appeared to pose the major threat to England’s chances. Of the remaining batsmen, both Hendry and Andrews were playing in their first Test and Carter and McDonald were not noted for their batting ability. As the Nottingham Journal hopefully wrote at the close of the first day’s play, “England may yet recover.”
This article first appeared in The Cricket Statistician for Winter 1997. To join the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, and subscribe to the journal, please visit our website: