page_title: 1950–51 Ashes series
section_title: Australia – First Innings
hierarchical_section_title: 1950–51 Ashes series / Third Test – Sydney / Australia – First Innings
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Don Tallon (1916-1984), Australian cricketer
context_page_description: The 1950–51 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of six days with five hours play each day and eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1950–51 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The England team under the captaincy of the big-hearted all-rounder Freddie Brown was regarded as the weakest sent to Australia and "without Bedser and Hutton, England would have been little better than a club side". Few gave them a chance of regaining the Ashes and they lost the series 4–1 to Lindsay Hassett's Australian team, which had far greater reserves of talent. In the Fifth and final Test England beat Australia for the first time since 1938 and ended their unbeaten run of 14 Tests against England, 26 Tests against all teams and 96 games in all cricket since the Second World War. After this victory England would defeat Australia in 1953, 1954–55 and 1956.
  It was a great all round team effort from the Australians; the captain Lindsay Hassett made 366 runs, Neil Harvey 362 runs, Keith Miller 350 runs and Jim Burke 125 runs.
context_section_description: The England bowling attack was badly depleted, Trevor Bailey was unfit to play and did not field and the leg-spinner Doug Wright, who might have been a real handful on the turning Sydney wicket, played for only a few overs before retiring. The bowling thus fell heavily on the shoulders of Alec Bedser, the 40-year-old captain Freddie Brown and debutant John Warr. They had no regular spinner and would have to rely on Brown's part-time leg-spin, the left-arm unorthodox spin of the injured Denis Compton and the comedy leg-breaks of Len Hutton. In the end Compton only bowled 6 overs and Hutton none; the bowling was completed by Bedser (43–4–107–4), Warr (36–4–142–0) and Brown (44–4–153–4), bowling eight-ball overs. The innings began with John Warr bowling to Ken Archer as Arthur Morris always batted second and his nemesis Alec Bedser bowled him with the first ball of the second over. Although Neil Harvey had made 74, 12, 42 and 31 batting at number 3 Lindsay Hassett finally saw that the left-handed strokemaker would fare better further down the order and came in himself. With rain expected over the weekend Brown set defensive fields and with the England fielding on top form Archer (44 not out) and Hassett (62 not out) slowly batted out the day for 110/1 despite the constant barracking of the crowd, who shouted "Get on with it!". There was rain on the rest day, but most of it avoided the ground and it rolled out well. When play resumed the wicket took a lot of pace and bounce from the ball and England were doomed to a long day in the field. Even so Godfrey Evans took a brilliant catch off a leg-glance by Archer (48) off Bedser, who was involved in the first 6 wickets to fall. Brown bowled a leg-spinner that fizzed off the pitch and beat Hassett (70) and missed the stumps, but his next ball the Australian captain hit a catch to Bedser at mid-on and his team was 122/3. The presence of Neil Harvey and Keith Miller at the crease against a depleted bowling attack would usually ensure a flow of runs, but while Harvey hit 39 in 79 minutes before being bowled by Bedser, Miller nudged his way at the funeral rate of 24 runs an hour. Sam Loxton survived a close run out when Cyril Washbrook brilliantly threw down his stumps, but was out for 17 when he hoisted a long hop from Brown into the hands of Bedser, who then caught Don Tallon lbw for 18. At 252/6 Australia were still 38 runs behind when Ian Johnson came to the crease and started to hit the ball around in his top Test score of 77, he added 150 with Miller in the highest seventh wicket stand for Australia since Clem Hill and Hugh Trumble made 165 at Melbourne in 1897–98. They took Australia past 300 and 400 for the first time in the series and Miller reached his century after 274 minutes. Brown bowled Johnson, had Lindwall lbw and had Australia 406/8. With the tail now in Miller lifted Warr for six, but ran out Bill Johnston and Jack Iverson to end the innings with his then highest Test score of 145 not out. He had taken Australia to 426 and gave them a lead of 136.
caption: Don Tallon deflected a ball from Jack Iverson to Len Hutton onto Ian Johnson at slip, then caught the rebound.
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