[ , Cricket]

'Scotland v. Australia. Forthill, Broughty Ferry, August 4th & 5th, 1938' [a group portrait of both teams]

Broughty Ferry, Dundee, [Unidentified Photographer], 1938.

A vintage gelatin silver photograph (205 × 296 mm), laid down on the original captioned mount, with the players identified below the image.

The mount is a little marked (mainly by three small faint glass-rings, one slightly encroaching on the bottom left-hand corner of the photograph); tiny mark to the surface of the photograph; overall in excellent condition.

The Burnie 'Advocate' (Friday 5 August 1938) has an interesting account of the first day's play: 'The Australians arrived by charabanc at the picturesque Broughton [sic] Ferry ground to-day, wearing tartan bonnets, but there was nothing festive about their early batting on a good wicket. McCabe won the toss, and decided to bat. The weather was fine and cool. By virtue of his father being an Aberdonian, the Yorkshireman, Gibb, led Scotland, which drew no nationalistic bar. The team included the West Indian, Hunt, who is now a professional for Aberdeenshire. Chipperfield was train sick after the 12.5 hour journey from Swansea, and stayed in bed to-day. Bradman is staying with friends at Perth. He is expected to stand down in the minor matches to ensure freshness for the next Test. Badcock and Walker, who opened for Australia, scored only seventeen in half an hour before Badcock was stumped off the first ball from Laidlaw. Walker was bowled in Hunt's first over....

Against creditable bowling, Barnes batted crisply until caught in the slips by Laidlaw. Fingleton, whom one kilted spectator described as a "we bitty on the dour side," stayed with McCabe until lunch, when three wickets were down for 95 runs. After lunch, Fingleton was soon out, and Brown did not last long, but McCabe gave the crowd of 4000 the kind of batting it had come to see. Brilliant and versatile, he scored 50 in 50 minutes. At tea, the Australians were all out for 213 runs'. A few days later, the Hobart 'Mercury' (Monday 8 August) reported that the match was a draw, with Australia 213 and 320, and Scotland 88 and 8 for 185. The 'two-day match which ended at Dundee yesterday would have been won easily had not the Australians, in light-hearted mood, refused to allow it a definite finish. Some of the Scottish newspapers are critical of the Australian tactics at Dundee. The "Scotsman" says it was with no sense of satisfaction that Scotland drew the match in such circumstances'. The full account of the match is nothing if not entertaining, with snippets such as these: 'A crowd of 6,000, in sultry weather after lunch, was entertained first by the release on the field of a kangaroo from the Australian exhibit at the Glasgow Exhibition', and 'As an example of Scottish economy, tickets for the match with India in 1932 were used as pass-out checks at lunch time'.

Item #134463

Price (AUD): $750.00
other currencies