Australia v England - Tour Match

Queensland XI v England XI
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
4 Day Game
Umpires: PJ McConnell & RC Bailhache
Toss: QLD XI

QLD XI: KA Archer, *WA Brown, KC Wessels, PJP Burge, GM Ritchie, KD Mackay, RG Archer, +D Tallon, TV Hohns, G Dymock, CG Rackemann.
ENG XI: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, ER Dexter, DI Gower, MC Cowdrey, IT Botham, +AJ Stewart, FS Trueman, DL Underwood, JB Statham, RGD Willis.

Day One

Queensland made good progress after Bill Brown won the toss and elected to bat on a hard and fast track at the 'Gabba. Burge made an aggressive fifty, dishing out severe punishment to the disappointing Underwood, and the unheralded Greg Ritchie had moved almost unnoticed to the brink of his century when stumps were drawn. England's bowlers looked rusty, and Len Hutton will be demanding a better performance on the second day.

Close - Queensland XI 1st innings 281-5 (Ritchie 98*, RG Archer 27*; 83 ov)

Greg Ritchie (l) & Geoff Dymock (r)

Day Two
Armed with the second new ball, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman ripped through Queensland's lower order on the second morning, and Hutton was a far happier man after witnessing the last five wickets tumble for just thirteen runs, although Ritchie did manage to complete a deserved century before the carnage began. Bright innings from Dexter and Cowdrey took the tourists to a comfortable 104-3 in reply, but both fell shortly before tea, and this proved to be a prelude to a disastrous evening session for England. Geoff Dymock cut a swathe through the tail, and the innings folded for just 151, with the visitors unable to offer up any excuses. England had batted very poorly, and a successful assault on the Ashes looks a distant prospect at this early stage.
Close - Queensland XI 2nd innings 17-0 (KA Archer 4*, Brown 12*; 8 ov)

Day Three
Queensland continued to hold the ascendancy throughout the third day, with contrasting innings from Ken Archer and Peter Burge helping to build a lead that eventually topped 400 before Brown declared. Archer, who had been dropped on 10 by Hutton, dropped anchor for nearly four and a half hours in making 66, but the stand-out performance came from Burge, who followed up his first innings fifty with a dominating century, an innings that included three sixes and eleven fours. Only Brian Statham can claim to have bowled well, and with a target of 401, England's main goal on the final day will most likely be one of survival.
Close - England XI 2nd innings 15-0 (Hutton 6*, Hobbs 5*; 6.1 ov)

Peter Burge (l) & Ian Botham (r)

Day Four

With Hobbs and Dexter dismissed before the morning session had reached its halfway point, one could have forgiven England for simply playing for the draw, but Hutton and Gower put together a stand of 122 for the third wicket that just about kept them in the hunt, Gower in particular batting with great freedom. Constrictive spells from Rackemann and Mackay in the afternoon put England behind the clock though, and with twenty overs remaining the tourists sat at 245-4, still 156 short of victory. Ian Botham was up for a Twenty20 style chase though, and he butchered his way to 75 at better than a run a ball as the pressure mounted on the Queenslanders. At the other end though, Cowdrey just couldn't match Botham's pace, and when Botham was finally out with ten overs left and 110 still needed, the chase was called off. England had escaped with a draw, and now the focus switches to the Tests and the battle for the Ashes.
Close - England XI 2nd innings 306-6 (100 ov) - end of match

Score Summary

QLD XI 1st Inns 302 (Ritchie 106, Burge 56; Willis 4-40)
ENG XI 1st Inns 151 (Dexter 48; Dymock 4-37)
QLD XI 2nd Inns 249-3 dec. (Burge 112*, KA Archer 66)
ENG XI 2nd Inns 306-6 (Hutton 86, Botham 75, Gower 71)

1st & 2nd innings scorecards
(click to enlarge)

MATCH DRAWN