Page "Norman Yardley" Paragraph 18

England maintained their newly confident approach, being on top for most of the fourth Test.

Yardley's men scored 496 and achieved a first innings lead of 38, Yardley contributing two wickets.

England increased their lead by 365 before Yardley declared.

He kept the team batting for five minutes on the last day, allowing him to use the heavy roller to quicken the break-up of the pitch.

Australia had to score 404 in 345 minutes, a target considered unlikely as such a large total had never been made to win a Test match.

In addition, the pitch was difficult to bat on by now and the spinners could turn the ball sharply.

However, England made several errors: Godfrey Evans, the England wicket-keeper had a bad day and missed some stumping chances ; three catches were dropped by fielders, and England's only specialist spinner, Jim Laker, bowled poorly.

Consequently, Yardley was forced to use Denis Compton's bowling.

Compton was not a specialist bowler and although he caused problems for the batsmen, Bill Bowes believed the selectors were mistaken in expecting him to be as effective as a front line spinner.

Yardley seemed unsure of the best course of action as Bradman and Arthur Morris added 301 runs for the second wicket ; he resorted to using the very occasional leg spin of Hutton, who was hit for 30 runs in four overs, although Yardley himself dropped a catch from Hutton's bowling.

The pitch conditions were unfavourable for the faster bowlers, but the ineffectiveness of the spinners forced Yardley to take the new ball.

Australia won by seven wickets ; the spectators were unhappy with the inadequate English bowling and the absence of a suitable bowler to exploit the pitch on the last day.

Bowes later criticised Yardley for allowing Australia to score quickly enough to win ; he believed that Yardley used Hutton's bowling to encourage the tourists to take risks against lesser bowling to keep up with required rate of scoring, but he miscalculated in using such bowling for too long.

Wisden also stated that England should have won the match.