Second Test, 1948 Ashes Series - Background

Background

See also: Australian cricket team in England in 1948 and First Test, 1948 Ashes series

Australia had proceeded through the first two months of the tour of England without defeat. After winning 10 of the first twelve matches before the Tests started, eight of these by an innings—the other two were drawn—they won the First Test by eight wickets. Between the Tests, they defeated Northamptonshire by an innings before drawing against Yorkshire.

According to former English paceman Bill Bowes, England had approached the First Test with the intention of achieving a draw against a team they regarded as their superior, reflected in their selections and use of defensive tactics. Bowes himself believed the tactics to be correct and almost successful. However, he suspected that Walter Robins, one of the selectors, considered the English strategy to be misguided and that they should attack the Australians. This was reflected in the English selections. The home team made three changes; the leg spinner Doug Wright, who was forced to withdraw from the First Test at late notice due to lumbago, had regained his fitness and replaced the left arm orthodox spin of Young, who had taken match figures of 1/107 in the First Test—Australian wicket-keeper Don Tallon was his only wicket. However, he had managed to keep the batsmen quiet with his defensive leg theory, bowling 60 overs for 79 runs; Wright was a much more attacking and therefore expensive bowler. Jim Laker, who had been called into the First Test team due to Wright's lumbago, was initially the third spinner in the pecking order, but he took 4/138, including three specialist batsmen, and was retained.

Alec Coxon took match figures of 4/113 for Yorkshire against Australia, taking four middle-order wickets, and scored 21 and 16 not out in the middle-order. He came into the team as an all-rounder, even though his performances during the rest of the English season had been mediocre; he had a batting average of 20.25 for the summer and took only ten wickets in seven matches prior to the county fixture against Australia. Bowes saw him as an attacking bowler compatible with Robins's strategic thinking.

Tom Dollery was called into the team after a run of heavy scoring for Warwickshire on difficult pitches at Edgbaston. He had made two centuries and seven fifties in 12 first-class matches for the season. Batsman Charlie Barnett was dropped after scoring only eight and six in the First Test. Joe Hardstaff junior was also left out; he had scored a duck and 43 in the First Test, and had a toe infection, so the selectors were spared the predicament of deciding whether to drop him on performance grounds. With Wright in for Young, and Coxon selected in place of a specialist batsman, England had a more attacking bowling line-up, something the retired Australian Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly praised. He also thought the selection of Coxon was beneficial, as his swing bowling would ease the workload of batsman Bill Edrich, who had opened the bowling in the previous Test. O'Reilly regarded Edrich as a mediocre bowler and thought the extra burden with the ball was detracting from his main duty, batting.

Australia retained the same XI from the First Test at Trent Bridge. Ian Johnson was retained despite taking match figures of 1/85, as was Bill Brown, the opener who was batting out of position in the middle-order. Brown had scored 25, 26 and 17 in his three innings in the middle-order during the tour. O'Reilly criticised the selection of Brown, who had appeared to be noticeably uncomfortable in the unfamiliar role. He said that despite Brown's unbeaten double century in his previous Test at Lord's in 1938, Sam Loxton and Neil Harvey had better claims to selection. Following his groin injury at Trent Bridge, Lindwall was subjected to a thorough fitness test on the first morning. Bradman was not convinced of Lindwall's fitness, but the bowler's protestations were sufficient to convince his captain to gamble on his inclusion. Australia won the toss and elected to bat, allowing Lindwall further time to recover from his injury. Before the toss, Bradman had spent an unusually long time inspecting the wicket, and after correctly predicting the side of the coin, he looked at the surface for another period before announcing Australia's decision to bat. The all-rounder Keith Miller played, but was unfit to bowl.