Sussex v Australian Imperial Forces
County Ground, Hove
9th, 10th June 1919 (Two-day match)

Lancashire v Australian Imperial Forces
Old Trafford, Manchester
12th, 13th, 14th June 1919 (Three-day match)

The trip to Sussex was the first time the lads truly had to face English conditions. An intermittent kind of sea fret, brought up from the channel by the wind had the effect of keeping the ball rather greasy and slightly handicapping the bowlersThe Australians’ Tour, The Sportsman (London), Tue 10 Jun 1919, p. 2.. Due to this, the Australians fielded indifferently, and they missed four catches and threw away a good many runsAustralians Miss Four Catches, Western Daily Press (Bristol), Tue 10 Jun 1919, p. 3. . The Sussex contest was also our first encounter with the ill-starred experiment in the two-days schemeTwo Days Cricket, The Telegraph (QLD), Tue 4 Nov 1919, p. 11. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174823522 .

The locals called the result an ‘escape’ for the AustraliansAustralians Escape at Brighton, The Sporting Life (London), Wed Jun 11 1919, p. 5. , but it was only because the Australians were going for the runsAustralians Escape at Brighton, The Sporting Life (London), Wed Jun 11 1919, p. 5. , trying to score the 180 in two hours, that so many wickets fell. With Robert Relf and Henry Roberts bowling finely they had four men out for 46. Winning and Long, however, saved their side, batting so doggedly that during this period neither scoredAustralians Escape at Brighton, The Sporting Life (London), Wed Jun 11 1919, p. 5. . One wit suggestedLieut. R.C. Aland, Comrades in Egypt, Darling Downs Gazette (QLD), Mon 12 Jun 1916, p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187312781 that Losing and Short (of runs) would have been more appropriate namesMen and Matters, Star Green ‘Un (Yorkshire), Sat 14 Jun 1919, p. 1. . This just accentuates the absurdityThis is a good example of having to search for a term. Initially I wanted to use ‘underscores the insanity’, but this phrase was not extant in any contemporary newspapers. The phrase ‘accentuates the absurdity’, however, had many examples. A Railway Refusal, The St George Call (NSW), Sat 11 Apr 1914, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163231661 of two-day cricket, which apparently has lost those friends it hadLost Friends Outpost, Men and Matters, Star Green ‘Un (Yorkshire), Sat 14 Jun 1919, p. 1. .

From one end of the country to the other, in a morning no less! We headed to Old Trafford to take on Cricket, The Land (NSW), Fri 1 Mar 1918, p. 14. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116279878 Lancashire. The wind was blowing a half gale, which blew clouds of dust aboutLancashire v. Australians, Gloucestershire Echo (Gloucestershire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 6. . This meant only four hours’ cricket was possibleCollins Scores a Century, Dundee Courier (Angus), Fri 13 Jun 1919, p. 7. on the first day, but that was enough for CollinsCollins Scores a Century, Dundee Courier (Angus), Fri 13 Jun 1919, p. 7. to put up another centuryFinal Matches in the West, Winner (Vic), Wed 11 Apr 1917, p. 9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154550300 . The lads were pleasantly surprised to see that old ‘rugger champion Cricket Chatter, The Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People (NSW), Sat 18 Jan 1913, p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112716191 William Farnsworth Unknown, Bill Farnsworth, Australian Rugby League Player, 1910, photograph, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/1910_Bill_Farnsworth.jpg facing upInterstate Cricket, Daily Post (Tas), Mon 22 Feb 1909, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181633911 against them. His countrymen showed him no quarterThe Critic, Truth (WA), Sat 2 May 1914, p. 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207426239 . The well-known Kangaroo half-backRugby League, Sydney Mail (NSW), Wed 29 May 1912, p. 31. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160341035 and the ex-N.S.W. batsman found the bowling of Gregory’s Co. too hot, and only recorded three in two inningsSport and Sportsmen, Smith’s Weekly (NSW), Sat 13 Sep 1919, p. 8. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234253023 .

The weather broke wild uninvitingly on the second day, building on a storm overnightPerseus, 418 All Out, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Fri 13 Jun 1919, p. 3. . However, Lancashire have adoptedPerseus, 418 All Out, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Fri 13 Jun 1919, p. 3. the controversial practice of covering the pitch during the rainThis article is indicative of many articles at the time debating whether or not wickets should be covered. Numbering Cricketers, Smith’s Weekly (NSW), Sat 7 Feb 1920, p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234222359 . This proved a remarkable success, for following upon a wet morning, a high, bleak wind got up, and it dried the wicket at an astonishing rateLancashire’s Collapse, Sheffield Independent (Yorkshire), Sat 14 Jun 1919, p. 10. . I, for one, now consider the wet wicket dispute solved, it does away with the irritation to members and spectators waiting for the wicket to dry while the sun is shiningCounty Cricket Reform, Pall Mall Gazette (London), Thu 30 Jan 1913, p. 13. . There was no considerable advantage to the batsman, as the slow bowlers could still pitch a ball into the ‘sticky dog’Cricket in England, The Advertiser (SA), Tue 1 Oct 1912, p. 10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5339530 –as seen from what Marriott was able to make the ball doPerseus, 418 All Out, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Fri 13 Jun 1919, p. 3. . Lampard was the chief destroying agentOld Sport, Cricket and Other Notes, Queensland Times (QLD), Fri 26 Dec 1919, p. 7 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120571211 on the sticky wicketCricket Reminiscences, The Argus (Vic), Fri 18 Jul 1919, p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4714854. Making full use of the treacherous pitchClever Colonials, Sheffield Daily Telegraph (Yorkshire), Mon 16 Jun 1919, p. 8. he demonstrated a phenomenal displayInterstate Match, Sport (SA), Sat 2 Nov 1912, p. 11. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215846055 of the Bousanquet school of bowlingSo named after Bernard Bosanquet, credited as the inventor of googly bowing. Weak Batting, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Sat 14 Jun 1919, p. 3. , his googlies demolishingSlips, Crricket, Sporting Judge (Vic), Sat 22 Jan 1916, p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154796149&gt; the Lancs’<lancs Cricket, Recorder (SA), Mon 16 Jun 1919, p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95416720 taking 9/42.

When they started the tour the Australians scorned to wear glovesAustralians Bat, Lancashire Daily Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. . However, during this match, either for the cold, or the unpredictable wicket, or both, even Collins tried them out. One didn’t last long and was soon discardedPerseus, Australians Bat, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. .

Taylor and Pellew impressed the local spectators with their form. Although Taylor could only manage 6 runs before trying to pull a ball that got up quickly he skied it so simply that any one of three men could have caught it before James Tyldesley got it, moving from second slip in the direction of pointPerseus, Australians Bat, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. . One chap mentionedScout and Cub Notes, Great Southern Leader (WA), Fri 15 Sep 1916, p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156960540 Taylor had the look of a Trumper about him – compact and with plenty of wrist powerPerseus, Australians Bat, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. . Pellew, meanwhile, epitomisedHow’s That, The Daily News (WA), Mon 20 Dec 1920, p.6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79392382 the nonchalant, self-possessed air that has come to be associated with the Colonial temperamentPerseus, Australians Bat, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. , playing cricket as it should be played, always hitting the ball hard–as witness his 11 fours–and yet picking out the punishable balls with discretionPerseus, Australians Bat, Lancashire Evening Post (Lancashire), Thu 12 Jun 1919, p. 3. . In the end, with all the rain, all three days were need to find a result, our mobLewis McIntyre, Letters From the Front, The Gloucester Advocate (NSW), Wed 15 Nov 1916, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158594072 wiping outCricket, Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW), Sat 18 Mar 1911, p. 10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133803653 the Lancs by an innings and 157 runsLancs v. Australians, Globe (London), Sat 14 Jun 1919, p. 8. .