A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK
THE question, what's wrong with English (not British) cricket, takes a lot of answering, but that it should be put, and put frequently and forcibly, is inevitable. One simple answer, of course, Is that England has lost the Test Matches because the Australians are better cricketers. But are the English team as good cricketers as they might be? Are they playing up to their normal form? And If not, why not? The correspondents who have gone out with the team are giving partial explanations. One of them is that, to put Is plainly, there is too much junketing—to put it more tactfully, too many social engagements. And it is quite impossible to ignore the strictures on Hammond's captaincy. How far they are justified can- not be fairly decided on the basis of conflicting newspaper reports and assessments, but there have been incidents—such as putting Yardley on to bowl and then taking him off after a single over in the Third Test Match, in which his bowling analysis in both innings was the best of the lot—which take a lot of explanation. When it is all over and the players are back at home we shall know better than we do now how far Hammond has retained the confidence of the team. If he has failed in this a great deal that needs explana- tion is explained. But it will not do to follow his critics and dis- regard his defenders.
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