Sid Barnes With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - First Test

First Test

Having overcome food poisoning leading up to the match, Barnes was selected for the First Test at Trent Bridge, as were the other two openers in the squad. England elected to bat first, and Australia's fast bowlers reduced the home side to 8/74 before finishing them off for 165 late on the first afternoon. In Australia's reply, Barnes partnered Morris at the top of the order, while Brown played out of position in the middle order. The pair had less than 15 minutes of batting before the scheduled close of play. Barnes made an appeal against the light after the first ball of the innings, which was a wide by Bill Edrich. Barnes walked down the pitch and was reported to have casually muttered to umpire Frank Chester "Eh, the light!", which appeared to shock the official. During the previous Ashes series in Australia in 1946–47, Barnes continuously appealed against the light, forcing cricket authorities to limit the batting team to one appeal, after which only the umpire can call off play, at his own prerogative. Morris and Barnes successfully negotiated the new ball attack of Edrich and Alec Bedser to reach stumps at 17 without loss, with Morris on 10 and Barnes on 6. Despite the appeal against the light, the Australians showed little desire to be watchful against Edrich's bowling, scoring 11 runs from his two overs. However, Barnes had been fortunate, edging both Edrich and Bedser through the slip cordon.

Ideal batting conditions and clear skies greeted the players on the second morning. Barnes batted assuredly, while Morris was hesitant and shuffled around the crease. At one stage, Morris scored only seven runs in 55 minutes. Barnes was involved in some interplay with umpire Chester when the latter stopped a drive from Morris with his foot. Barnes picked the ball off the wicket and handed it to the bowler, prompting Chester to wag his finger in disapproval. Barnes responded by admonishing the umpire for blocking the ball.

Barnes and Morris took the score to 73 before the latter was out for 31 after two hours of batting. Bradman came in and Yardley set a defensive field, employing leg theory to slow the scoring. The hosts’ captain packed the leg side with fielders and ordered Bedser to bowl at leg stump. Barnes reached his half-century after 135 minutes at the crease with a pull for four from Charlie Barnett. The score progressed to 121 before Barnes cut Jim Laker onto the thigh of wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans. The ball bounced away, but the gloveman turned around and took a one-handed diving catch to dismiss Barnes for 62. Umpire Ernest Cooke was unsure of whether Barnes had hit the ball into the ground before Evans took the catch, and consulted with Chester, who had been standing at point on the other side of the field, before ruling the batsman out. Keith Miller came in and was dismissed for a duck without further addition to leave Australia's total at 3/121. Australia went on to reach 509 all out on the third day, yielding a 344-run first innings lead.

With leading paceman Ray Lindwall injured, Australia’s bowling stocks were stretched and Barnes was brought on during England's second innings and as the fifth bowler to give the others some time to rest. Barnes delivered five overs and conceded 11 runs. In foggy and misty conditions, Joe Hardstaff junior brought up England's 200 with a firmly-struck hook that almost hit Barnes, who was standing at point-blank range at short leg and could not duck before the ball went past.

England were eventually out for 441 on the final day, leaving Australia a target of 98. Bradman’s men progressed quickly at the start of the chase. Barnes took 13 runs from the opening over by Bedser, including three boundaries, whereas Morris again lacked fluency. However, Barnes continued to score quickly, and 24 runs came from the first four overs. The tourists proceeded steadily to 38 from 32 minutes before Morris fell for nine. Bradman came to the crease and fell for a duck after 12 minutes in the middle. This left Australia at 2/48; dark clouds began to close in on the ground, and rain appeared to be a possible saviour for England. However, it never came; Lindsay Hassett joined Barnes and they took the tourists to the target without further loss after 87 minutes of batting. Barnes gave Jack Young an opportunity for a return catch, but the ball was dropped. Barnes tied the scores with a swept boundary and ran off the field with a souvenir stump, believing the match was over. He tossed his souvenir back into the playing arena and returned to the field after noticing the reaction of the amused crowd and realising his mistake; Hassett proceeded to hit the winning run. Barnes ended unbeaten on 64 with 11 boundaries; he scored prolifically with his square cut. The next morning, he perused all of the newspapers, expecting to be heavily rebuked by analysts for reckless batting on the final day, but they instead focused on his captain's failure to score.

Between Tests, Barnes played in the match against Northamptonshire, which started the day after Trent Bridge. Barnes made 11 and bowled three wicketless overs as Australia cruised to victory by an innings. In the second match—a drawn fixture against Yorkshire—before the Second Test, Barnes managed only a duck—bowled at the start of the match by a swinging yorker from Ron Aspinall—and six.