Ron Hamence With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - Later Tour Matches

Later Tour Matches

Seven matches remained on Bradman's quest to go through a tour of England without defeat. Australia batted first against Kent and Hamence made 38. Hamence was the ninth man to fall as partners ran out and Australia lost their last seven wickets for 89 to end at 361. Despite this, they completed an innings victory. In the next match against the Gentlemen of England, Hamence batted at No. 7 and only had a limited opportunity to contribute, coming in at 5/532 and scoring 24 before Bradman declared at 5/610 when Hassett reached 200. Hamence bowled in both innings for a total of 1/41 as Australia won by an innings. In the next match against Somerset, Hamence put on 195 for the fifth wicket with Ian Johnson to take Australia to 4/501 with his score on 99. The other batsmen had all made centuries, and the Australian players were keen to see Hamence do the same. With his score on 99, the rest of the team left their card games in readiness to applaud his impending milestone. However, Hamence hit two balls from the middle of the bat, only to see them travel directly to the fielder, yielding no runs. Anxious to reach his century, Hamence then charged down the pitch and was then stumped for 99, his highest score for the season. According to Bradman, Hamence "fell to what everyone said was the best ball all day". Nevertheless, Australia won by an innings and 374 runs. In the following match against the South of England, Hamence made seven as Australia declared at 7/522. The match was washed out; Hamence bowled three overs without success in the hosts' only innings.

Australia's biggest challenge in the post-Test tour matches was the fixture against Leveson-Gower's XI. During the last tour in 1938, this team was effectively a full-strength England outfit, but this time Bradman insisted that only six players currently in England's Test team be allowed to play for the hosts. Bradman then fielded a full-strength team, so Hamence was left out. Australia led by 312 on the first innings and were well in control, but the match ended in a draw after multiple rain delays. The tour ended with two non-first-class matches against Scotland. Hamence batted once in each match, scoring six and 15 as Australia ended the tour with two innings victories.