Later Tour Matches
Seven matches remained on Bradman's quest to go through a tour of England without defeat. Tallon was rested for three consecutive matches against Kent, the Gentlemen of England, and Somerset, all of which Australia won by an innings. Saggers stood in and made seven dismissals and conceded 29 byes in the six innings of the three matches.
He returned for the following match against the South of England. He did not bat as Australia declared at 7/522. He then took three catches and conceded 13 byes as the match was washed out when the hosts were dismissed for 298.
Australia's biggest challenge in the post-Test tour matches was against the 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 current England Test players be allowed to play for the hosts. Bradman then fielded a full-strength team, with the only difference from the Fifth Test team being Johnson coming for Doug Ring. Tallon made two as Australia declared at 8/489. He conceded seven byes and did not make a dismissal as the match ended in a draw after multiple rain delays.
The tour ended with two non-first-class matches against Scotland. In the first match, Tallon played as a batsman while Saggers kept wicket. Tallon scored only six in Australia's 236 and then took 0/10 in Scotland's second innings and did not take a catch in the innings victory. In the second match in Aberdeen, Tallon kept wicket, conceding 26 byes and not taking a dismissal and he was not required to bat. When the match became safe, with Australia in an unassailable position in Scotland's second innings, Bradman allowed Tallon to dispense with his wicket-keeping pads and try his luck at bowling leg spin. Tallon never bowled in his Test career and only rarely in first-class cricket, where he delivered 301 balls, the approximate workload of a specialist bowler in one match. Tallon took 2/15 as Australia finished the tour with another innings win.
Read more about this topic: Don Tallon With The Australian Cricket Team In England In 1948
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