If Australia were to have any hope of winning the second Test in Perth yesterday it was essential that the two overnight batsmen, Wood and Hughes, remain in harness for as long as possible. As it proved they stayed together for only 40 minutes and that was not long enough. At lunch the innings was in a serious state of decay and at tea the contest was over with England winning by 166 runs and taking a lead of 2-0 in the six-match series.
Melbourne, where the third Test starts on 29 December, offers Australia possibly their last chance of a reprieve. They cannot afford another defeat there.
When Yallop, the Australian captain, said after his side’s defeat at Brisbane that he was “disappointed but not disheartened,” there was no reason to doubt him. When he repeated the message yesterday the words sounded a little too hollow. Perhaps he meant what he said but, whereas at Brisbane Australia had performed credibly in defeat, there were too many doubtful aspects of their display in Perth to feel anything but uneasy for them.
Hogg, in both innings, bowled excellently and was deservedly named “Man of the Match.” He received good support from the rest of the Australian attack, too, but Australia’s batting lacks the resolve and the depth of England’s: they are nothing like as well-disciplined a side, their fielding is not as athletic or as committed and they are captained by a far less shrewd tactician than Brearley.
Man for man, however, there is not that much to choose between the sides. On Monday’s rest day Yallop said that several of his players had given outstanding individual performances in the series “but so far we have not been able to put it all together.”
That is possibly the chief difference between the sides. Whereas Australia have given two fragmented displays so far, England, even though they have had their share of failures, have looked a unified force, prepared to sell their wickets only at a price, reluctant to bowl with anything less than absolute commitment and, inspired by the superb Randall, who can stand comparison with any of the great cover points, determined to field to the highest standards.
Australia desperately need a good start to their innings. So far in four innings their first wicket has fallen to two, nought, eight and eight and these depressing beginnings have meant that the middle order batsmen have too often been involved in repair work instead of consolidation.
The value of an opening batsman sticking to his post was graphically illustrated by Boycott on the first day. That innings did nothing to endear him to an Australian public which has little time for the man anyway but it was an innings of inestimable value, indeed of match-winning worth. It was an innings to which Brearley yesterday acknowledged his debt.
Neither captain of course would make any comment on the standard of the umpiring in this game but Australia have emphatically had the worse of the debatable decisions. This has not been the happiest of matches for the umpires and certainly not the happiest match for such a distinguished official as Tom Brooks to end his career. His retirement – from all first class cricket – was announced during the afternoon, although Brooks would not say whether his decision to call it a day had been influenced by some of the unsavoury aspects of this game, not least of which has been the frivolous appealing from both sides. Constant appealing, which, to be fair, did diminish after the rest day, put unfair pressure on Bailhache and Brooks.
If Brooks was not prepared to say anything, Wood, the Australian opener, was not so reticent. He was decidedly unfortunate to be given out caught at the wicket off Lever, but that was really little excuse for his outburst afterwards. Asked if he was upset by the standard of umpiring Wood said: “Of course I am. About eight decisions went against us. I suppose one or two of the others got fairly rough decisions but it’s hard to play cricket this way.
England’s bowling yesterday showed what enviable reserve Brearley can call upon at present. Neither Lever nor Hendrick played at Brisbane. Both though made valuable contributions to this victory, with Lever taking an early wicket in each innings, and four in all yesterday, and Hendrick bowling with typical economy in both innings.
Nor should Miller’s contribution be undervalued. At the start of this tour Edmonds looked as though he would overshadow the other two spinners but quietly, unobtrusively, Miller has become an emerging figure. This has been a splendid game for him with bat and ball.
England will now travel back to the Eastern States as confident a party as can have toured Australia. Practically all the problems belong to their opponents and England’s fortunes have been further enhanced by the return to fitness of Old and the recovery from his worrying feet problems of Willis. Yesterday the Warwickshire bowler was running in at something approaching full pace and bowling with great life.
It was Willis, too, who took the important first wicket when he had Hughes caught at fourth slip by Gooch. Hughes had looked in prime form up to this point, once square-cutting Willis gloriously for four, but fell when he attempted to cut a ball that was too close to his body.
After the departure of Hughes and then Yallop and Toohey in successive deliveries to Hendrick, Australia had to abandon all hopes of winning the match, though their chance of saving it revived when Wood and Cosier joined forces. Both men’s places were in possible jeopardy and both were under some pressure to produce evidence of their worth. Wood, patently, is a player of quality but this innings of Cosier’s is unlikely to have endeared him to the selectors.
For much of the time Cosier was playing and missing and, when he was making contact, he was producing some of the most bizarre strokes this series is likely to see.
Wood was much more convincing, although he too had his erratic moments. His hook stroke proved profitable but also, on two occasions, almost cost him his wicket. Twice he pulled Botham into the mid-wicket area and twice Boycott failed to take the catch.
Neither Cosier, out leg before attempting to sweep Miller, nor Wood, caught at the wicket off Lever, believed himself to be out and it was not difficult to sympathise with Wood especially. But the departure of this pair (after they had scored 83 for the fifth wicket) within two runs of each other was practically the end of Australia’s resistance.
The England party left Perth today for a three-day match against South Australia which begins in Adelaide tomorrow.
England won the six match Test series 5-1 against an Australia side weakened by defections to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. Even so, Mike Brearley’s team are just one of five England sides to have won an Ashes series abroad since the second world war.
