Doug Wright (cricketer) - Australia 1950-51

Australia 1950-51

Wright toured Australia again for the 1950-51 Ashes series, but still suffered from bad luck and no balls. In the First Test at Brisbane He bowled a typical over to Neil Harvey, with two long hops, which Harvey cracked into the square-leg fence, but then had him groping at a googly that turned so fiercely that it missed both bat and stumps, "a real pearl that morally bowled Harvey all the way". " The following ball had Wright appealing for lbw, but it was turned down as it turned so much that it would have missed the stumps. In the final innings Wright was last man in at 77/9 with England needing another 115 runs to win. He helped Len Hutton add 45 runs for the last wicket, managing to hold a straight bat up to the few balls he was left to face until the last four balls from Jack Iverson before lunch. He kept out the first three, but spooned the last to Ray Lindwall at square leg and was out for 2. Batting again in the Third Test at Sydney Wright was run out for a duck by his Kent team-mate Godfrey Evans, tripping over his bat and pulling a muscle as he rushed home. As a result he fielded only for a few overs before he had to retire from the game on the only spinning wicket of the series. With Trevor Bailey's thumb broken by Ray Lindwall England were reduced to three bowlers and lost by an innings. Wright recovered for the Fourth Test at Adelaide and took 4/99 with only Arthur Morris, a noted player of spin, able to master him In the England innings he joined Len Hutton at 219/9 and made 14 of their last wicket stand of 53 as the Yorkshire batsman carried his bat for 156 not out.