England v Australia

England won by eight wickets with two days to spare. This will be remembered as Trueman's Match. Two devastating spells by him caused Australia to collapse.

The first occurred immediately after tea on the first day when Australia had reached 183 for two wickets. Then, in the course of six overs, he dismissed five men for 16 runs.

His figures were even more remarkable when he came on at 3.40 p.m. on Saturday with Australia 98 for two. At once he conceded a single to O'Neill before he again claimed five wickets, this time in 24 deliveries, for 0. Trueman finished the match with eleven wickets for 88 runs, easily his best in Test cricket.

The game will also be remembered for the controversy over the state of the pitch. In the previous Test the Lord's ridge loaded the dice in favour of the bowlers. This time the batsmen were at the mercy of the bowlers on a whitish-green piebald surface. It had been chemically treated only a few weeks before the contest and never played true although it did not carry the same physical danger to the batsmen as the one at Lord's.

The main trouble was that no one could judge how the ball would behave. Sometimes it came through fast and low; at other times it would check in the broken soft places and stand up so that the batsmen had almost completed their strokes before establishing contact. It favoured all types of bowlers and Trueman came out triumphant.

Consequently, England inflicted the first defeat of the tour on the Australians and made the series all square with two Tests to play by taking revenge for their defeat at Lord's.

Compared with Lord's, both sides were under new management. Peter May took over the England captaincy from Colin Cowdrey -- leader and winner of the toss in nine consecutive matches -- and Richie Benaud considered himself fit enough to return to the Australian side so that Neil Harvey was relieved of the captaincy after one successful campaign.

Whereas at Lord's it seemed that the loss of Benaud would be a calamity for Australia -- and everyone was proved wrong -- England entered this match without Statham suffering from a strain. That appeared to be a crippling blow, but not for the first time the selectors sought a player of experience to face Australia and in Leslie Jackson, the 40-year-old Derbyshire opening bowler, they found the man they wanted.

England left out D.B. Close from their final twelve and Benaud was presumed to have gained Australia a big advantage when he won the toss, thus breaking England's sequence of twelve successful tosses.

Jackson soon proved he was worthy of his place. He bowled throughout the first hour from the pavilion end during which Lawry and McDonald scored 33 from twenty overs. Jackson also put in another spell of an hour after lunch, but meanwhile England had broken the opening stand ten minutes before the lunch interval when Lawry was leg before to Lock, having offered no proper stroke. He seemed to lose sight of the ball. At the interval Australia had every reason to be satisfied with their score of 77 for one wicket.

McDonald had been at the crease for three hours when Lock bowled for the first time at the Kirkstall Lane end and produced a leg-break which left him stranded down the pitch. Meanwhile, Harvey had become firmly settled. Quick on his feet he drove cleanly and anything short was pulled vigorously. O'Neill helped him to put on 50 in less than an hour so that by tea Australia reached 183 for two off 87 overs; Harvey 66, O'Neill 27.

Then came the transformation. Jackson promptly took the new ball at the pavilion end and Harvey square-cut his first delivery for 4. O'Neill faced Trueman and from the Yorkshireman's first ball he was splendidly caught low in the gully by Cowdrey, the stand having yielded 74 in seventy minutes.

Nine minutes later, Harvey also left, beautifully caught off Trueman by Lock at backward short-leg. Apart from Davidson no other Australian offered much resistance.

Jackson snapped up Burge and MacKay and in successive overs Trueman, bowling with his long run and at his fastest through the air, removed Simpson, Benaud (first ball) and Grout before Allen relieved the tiring Jackson and finished the innings by taking McKenzie's off-stump.

Undoubtedly it was this inspired spell by Trueman on the first day which really decided the match. In ninety minutes after tea England captured the remaining eight Australian wickets for the addition of only 54 runs to the interval score.

Friday belonged to the England batsman. Overnight Pullar and Subba Row had made nine together and they took their stand to 54 in eighty-five minutes before Davidson, coming on for the second time at the pavilion end with a shortened run, dismissed the Northamptonshire captain, leg before.

There followed the biggest stand of his low-scoring match. Cowdrey was at his best for the only time in this series and he and Pullar added 86 in five minutes under two hours before Pullar played a slow highly flighted ball from Benaud via his pad on to his stumps. It was the first ball sent down by Benaud in his second spell. Pullar batted three hours and twenty minutes -- care being essential on such a difficult pitch.

Whereas most of the Australian batsmen had been at fault in their timing by playing too soon, the England players, until Dexter arrived, effectively used the dead bat. Most of them avoided the drive which was fatal, but May signalled his arrival with a beauty off McKenzie past extra cover.

At one period when Davidson and Benaud shared the attack Cowdrey and May did not score for twenty minutes. Still England were 176 for two at tea; Cowdrey 68, May 16.

Australia did not take the new ball until the 94th over and then Davidson promptly induced a return catch from May who had spent eighty-nine minutes over 26 -- clear evidence of the troubles which beset the batsmen.

Dexter had an uncomfortable time against Davidson and Benaud, but he struggled along for nearly an hour before he lost Cowdrey who had proved safe for four and a quarter hours. His was the innings of a master. Cowdrey hit eleven 4's and was trying to sweep a loose ball when it rose and touched his glove. Thereupon Dexter and Barrington carried through the remaining half hour, Barrington giving England the lead by hitting Benaud to the fine leg boundary.

England resumed on Saturday morning four runs ahead with six wickets standing. They had fought with great tenacity but Dexter, Barrington and Murray rather overdid their caution on this third day. The first half hour yielded only a single against Davidson (leg-cutters) and Benaud. The two ace Australian bowlers sent down eleven successive maiden overs, but for all his patience Dexter was bowled leg-stump, having occupied over two hours for 28.

Trueman tried to take the offensive but after one powerful drive, Burge held him in the same over on the boundary. Australia were on top, but Lock launched a severe attack on Benaud while Murray offered the dead bat to Davidson. In seventeen glorious minutes Lock smote Benaud seven times to the boundary, scoring 30 off the Australian captain in three overs. The ball went in all directions but only one four over slip was the outcome of a false stroke. It was impossible to set a field to quieten him.

McKenzie returned and trapped Lock leg-before with his second ball; Murray played on when retreating and after Jackson had twice straight-driven McKenzie fiercely to the boundary, McKenzie ran him out from cover in the next over.

Australia had exceeded expectations in taking the last six England wickets in eighty-five minutes for the addition of only 61 to the overnight total. Davidson's analysis during this period was 14-11-9-3 and he finished with five for 63 -- similar figures to his performance in the first innings at Lord's where he took five for 42.

England appeared to have missed their chance; their lead was no more than 62 and they had to face the fourth innings. Jackson, at once, brought fresh hope for his fifth ball flattened McDonald's leg stump.

Harvey again played superbly. Like Cowdrey, he showed his class by keeping his head down and never committing himself too soon to a stroke. May varied his bowling, trying to find the right combination, but had the mortification of dropping Harvey in the gully off Trueman when the left-hander was 10.

Allen's first ball of the innings at 49 proved a winner. It whipped across for Lawry to edge into Murray's gloves, but Australia progressed satisfactorily when O'Neill joined Harvey. The arrears were cleared without further loss and then at 98 Trueman returned. He began with his full run and his third ball found Harvey playing too soon. Dexter had to wait for the ball to fall into his hands at cover. That was the beginning of the procession already described.

The secret of Trueman's success in this spell was that after Harvey left, May advised him to bowl off-cutters off his shorter run to a tight leg-trap. By this method Trueman compelled the batsmen to play at every ball. He bowled Benaud for a pair and in thirty-five minutes to tea the score changed to 109 for eight wickets.

Afterwards, Jackson held a return catch from Grout and Cowdrey gained Trueman his sixth wicket by diving to his left and holding Davidson at second slip -- another brilliant catch. Trueman's exact analysis from the moment he went on at 98 read 7.5-4-5-6.

Already sixteen wickets had fallen in four and a quarter hours during this amazing day's cricket when just after five o'clock Pullar and Subba Row began the final task of knocking off the 59 runs England needed for victory.

After Australia's downfall, England took no liberties. Davidson upset Subba Row's leg stump at 14, but Pullar and Cowdrey shaped confidently. With forty minutes left before the close England were within 20 of their objective when Cowdrey drove Benaud straight for the only 6 of the match.

Cowdrey left with only 14 needed and May, whose inspiring captaincy had done so much, was at the crease when at 6.17 p.m. Pullar off-drove Benaud for the winning hit.

During the three days nearly 75,000 people were present and the receipts came to £27,723.