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<title>Fourth Test, 1948 Ashes series</title>
<authors>Wikipedia</authors>
<publisher>wikipedia.org</publisher>
<publishedplace>network</publishedplace>
<publishedyear>2010</publishedyear>
<edition></edition>
<category>The Ashes</category>
<section id="49048" fatherid="0" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="1">
The Fourth Test of the 1948 Ashes series was one of five Tests in a cricket series between Australia and England. The match was played at Headingley Stadium at Leeds from July 22 to 27, with a rest day on July 25. Australia won the match by seven wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead. In successfully chasing a target of 404, they set a new world record for the highest victorious runchase in Test history.
Needing to win the match to prevent an Australian series victory, England captain Norman Yardley won the toss and elected to bat. Unlike the preceding Tests, England's openers were able to withstand the Australian new ball attack, and the partnership of Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook put on 168 for the opening stand. Washbrook fell for 143 in the last over of the day, but England clearly had the better of the play, ending at 268/2 by stumps. The next day, England continued to amass runs, with Australia unable to dislodge Bill Edrich and nightwatchman Alec Bedser, who batted until mid-afternoon. Bedser and Edrich then fell in quick succession for 79 and 111 respectively as England then collapsed and lost 8/73 to be all out for 496 late in the day. Australia then reached 63/1 in reply at stumps on day two.
Australia were in early trouble on the third morning when English bowler Dick Pollard removed Arthur Morris and captain Donald Bradman in the same over to leave the score at 68/3. However, Keith Miller (58) and Neil Harvey (112) launched a rapid counter-attack. They were later supported by Sam Loxton (93)-who hit five sixes-and Ray Lindwall (77). Australia ended the day at 457/9, having added 394 runs in one day.
Australia were bowled out for 458 early on the fourth morning after the rest day, and England set about extending their lead, adding 129 for the first wicket, until both openers fell without further addition. Edrich and Denis Compton took the score to 232/2 until a late collapse saw England reach stumps at 362/8. England batted on for two overs on the final day, declaring at 365/8. This  Australia a target of 404 in less than a day, which would require a world record runchase, and allowed Yardley to use the heavy roller to break up the pitch, making batting even harder for the tourists. Australia started slowly, and Bradman joined Morris at 57/1 with 347 runs still needed in 257 minutes. They put together a stand of 301 in only 217 minutes, aided by erratic bowling, several missed catches and stumpings to help Australia to a win by seven wickets with 15 minutes remaining. Morris made 182 while Bradman was unbeaten on 173.

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<section id="49049" fatherid="0" title="Background" lv="" priority="-2" level="1">
Australia had proceeded through the first two months of their tour of England undefeated. After winning 10 of the first 12 games-the other two being drawn-eight of these by an innings, they won the First Test by eight wickets. Between the Tests, they defeated Northamptonshire by an innings before drawing against Yorkshire. They then crushed England by 409 runs in the Second Test at Lord's. After the Second Test, they defeated Surrey by ten wickets and then crushed Gloucestershire by an innings and 363 runs, after amassing 774/7 declared, their highest score of the season. The Third Test was drawn amid rain interruptions that cost a day and a half of play; England had been in a strong position, having been 316 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand in their second innings when rain came at the end of the third day. Australia then claimed a ten-wicket triumph over Middlesex in their only county game before the Fourth Test.
Australia made two changes for the Test at Headingley. Middle-order batsman Neil Harvey replaced the injured opener Sid Barnes,Perry (2002), p. 101. who had collapsed while fielding during the Third Test after being hit in the ribs by a Dick Pollard pull shot. Australia declined to replace Barnes with the reserve opener Bill Brown, instead opting to use vice-captain Lindsay Hassett as a makeshift opener rather than in his customary position in the middle-order. Harvey had scored an unbeaten 73 and a 95 in the recent tour matches against Surrey and Gloucestershire respectively. Ron Saggers replaced first-choice wicket-keeper Don Tallon behind the stumps. Tallon's little  finger had swelled up after the Third Test, and he exacerbated the injury during the match against Middlesex.Lemmon, p. 103.
England made three changes. George Emmett was dropped after making 10 and a duck on his debut, and Len Hutton was recalled to take his opening position after being controversially omitted after the Second Test. England's leading batsman, Hutton had scored 74 in the First Test and made 52 and 64 for the Marylebone Cricket Club against Australia in the lead-up matches, when none of his teammates passed 26. Jim Laker, the off spinner, replaced his  arm finger-spinning colleague Jack Young, who had taken 1/78 in the previous match against Australia for Middlesex, and totalled 3/174 in his two Tests in the series. Since his omission after the Second Test, Laker had taken 15 wickets in four matches for Surrey.
Middle-order batsman Tom Dollery, who had made only 38 in three innings in the Second and Third Tests, was replaced by all-rounder Ken Cranston. Playing mainly for Lancashire, Cranston had scored a century and four fifties, and taken 37 wickets in his last ten matches, but his previous outings against the tourists had not been successful. In two matches for the MCC and Lancashire against Australia, he had managed only 47 runs in three innings and a total of 2/109.

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<section id="49050" fatherid="0" title="Scorecard" lv="" priority="-3" level="1">
<section id="49051" fatherid="49050" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
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<section id="49052" fatherid="49050" title="England innings" lv="" priority="-2" level="2">
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<section id="49053" fatherid="49050" title="Australia innings" lv="" priority="-3" level="2">
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<section id="49054" fatherid="0" title="July 22: Day One" lv="" priority="4" level="1">
As Australia were leading 2-0 after three Tests, England needed to win the last two matches to square the series. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat on an ideal batting pitch, which was seen as being unhelpful to fast bowling. Although fast, the outfield was bumpy in some parts. On some sections of the ground, there was a downward slope towards the edge of the playing arena, meaning that the ball would accelerate downhill after being hit. At times the crowd spilled over the unfenced boundary, making the ground smaller than intended. All these factors meant that scoring a boundary would be an easier task for the batsmen.Fingleton, p. 148.
The England openers Cyril Washbrook and Len Hutton were given a loud reception as they walked out to bat, particularly the Yorkshire local Hutton. They had to face the Australian opening pair of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller without the aid of sightscreen. The large crowd roared boisterously as Hutton got off the mark with a single in the first over from Lindwall. At the other end, Miller bowled with less pace than normal and his opening over saw three full tosses. Both Australian pacemen felt their legs for strained muscles, and after two overs, Miller was taken off. After 80 minutes of batting, England's openers reached 50, the first time they had put on a half-century in the series.Fingleton, p. 151. Hutton and Washbrook appeared set for the long haul, and did not react to the applause. They continued on cautiously, eschewing the cross-batted cut and pull shots and relying on the safe accumulation of singles.Fingleton, p. 152.
Hutton then edged a ball from -arm medium pacer Ernie Toshack through the slips, and was dropped by Lindsay Hassett on 25, after flicking the ball behind square leg from the medium pace of Sam Loxton. Hutton then hit a square drive past point and Washbrook pulled a ball along the ground past Harvey, who was patrolling the midwicket boundary. England were 88 without loss at the lunch interval, with Hutton and Washbrook on 46 and 41 respectively.
Immediately after lunch, Lindwall made a confident appeal for leg before wicket (lbw) against Washbrook, but was not supported behind the stumps by a silent Saggers, and the umpire ruled against the tourists. At the other end, Hutton square drove Toshack for four, bringing up his fifty in 125 minutes. He followed this with another boundary in the same direction, and Washbrook back cut Lindwall for four more at the other end. This brought up England's 100, its first without loss for the series. Washbrook then on-drove a ball to the boundary and brought up his half-century, as Bradman pondered how to capture Australia's first wicket. England brought up 150 without loss 30 minutes before tea, and continued unhindered by two brief rain interruptions. Up to this point, the Australian bowling had been loose and inaccurate.
In b sunshine, Bradman called on the off spin of Ian Johnson, who had delivered only three overs to this point, the rest of the proceedings having been through fast bowlers.Fingleton, p. 153. Seeking to stem the flow of runs, Bradman set a defensive ring field, with no slip in place. While Johnson bowled two consecutive maidens, Washbrook took 24 at the other end to reach 85. Bradman then called for the new ball, which Hutton on-drove for four from Lindwall. This took the opening partnership to 168, the best by England in the series. Washbrook refrained from the hook shot, which had caused him to lose his wicket on earlier occasions in the series. The partnership ended on the very next ball when Hutton went onto the front foot and was clean bowled by Lindwall, much to the dismay of the home crowd.Fingleton, p. 153. Washbrook was joined by Edrich, who had scored two 50s in the Third Test at Old Trafford after a lean start to the series.
Washbrook reached his century with the score on 189/1; he reached triple figures half an hour after tea, having batted for 230 minutes and 16 boundaries. It was a welcome return to form. He had scored six, one, eight, 37 and 11 in his first five innings of the series, and was dropped on 21 in the second innings of the Third Test before proceeding to an unbeaten 85.Fingleton, p. 154.
Washbrook and Edrich batted until late in the first day, when the former was dismissed by Bill Johnston for 143 in the last over before stumps, hitting a catch to Lindwall. His innings included 22 fours and ended a second wicket partnership that yielded exactly 100 runs. Bedser was sent in as the nightwatchman, and he survived the last four balls from Johnston as England closed at 268/2 without further addition to the score, with Edrich on 41.
Former Test batsman Jack Fingleton, who covered the tour as a journalist, said that Australia's day went "progressively downhill" and described the efforts as the country's worst day of bowling since World War II, citing the proliferation of full tosses. England had batted conservatively, steadily accumulating runs on a pitch that did not favour fast bowlers, and Miller bowled placidly.

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<section id="49055" fatherid="0" title="July 23: Day Two" lv="" priority="5" level="1">
The next day, England resumed hoping for more of what happened on the opening day. The ground was again full, with even more people squashed in than the previous day. The sun was obscured by heavy cloud cover, further hindering the visibility of a ground without a sightscreen.Fingleton, p. 155. The two English batsmen were initially tentative and played and missed frequently, and only two singles were scored in the first 15 minutes of play. The England team frequently looked towards the sky; as they needed to win the match and were in a good position, they hoped that time would not be lost to rain. Bradman took the new ball, and Bedser endeavoured to keep his wicket intact to shield Denis Compton and the other middle-order batsmen from having to come in against a swinging ball. After half an hour, England had only added four runs for the day, and it was not until the 48th minute of play that Edrich reached his 50 in 193 minutes. However, the hosts had seen off the new ball without losing a wicket. Bedser then glanced a ball for four; England scored only 22 runs in the first hour.
Immediately thereafter, Bedser targeted Toshack and hit three consecutive fours and a two in one over. Bradman immediately removed the -armer and replaced him with Johnson. Bedser responded cautiously, surveying Johnson's off spin for one over, before going on the attack in the next. He lofted Johnson into the leg side three times, yielding a six and two fours, taking his score to 47. Bedser then hit a ball back to the bowler Loxton, which was almost caught, before reaching 50. England went to the lunch adjournment at 360/2, with Edrich on 76 and Bedser on 52. They had added 92 for the session, including 70 in the second hour.Fingleton, p. 156.
Edrich and Bedser continued to amass runs after the break, and Lindwall appealed for lbw for the fourth time while Saggers remained silent. The pair brought up their century partnership as England scored 22 runs in the 30 minutes after lunch. Johnson then came on, and Edrich lofted him for six to reach. Edrich then hit a long hop from the part-time wrist spin of Arthur Morris for four to reach his century.Fingleton, p. 157. Bedser then lifted Morris high over square leg for six, and Bradman replaced him with Toshack, who bowled a maiden. In the next over, Bedser was out caught and bowled by Johnson after almost three hours of batting, ending a 155-run stand for the third wicket. Bedser had struck eight fours and two sixes in a Test  best of 79. He appeared upset by his dismissal, patting the ball back to the bowler when he could have hit it decisively. Edrich attempted to pull Johnson to the leg side but only ballooned the ball to Morris, who completed the catch. This came after only three runs after Bedser's dismissal and  the score at 426/4. Edrich had batted for 314 minutes in compiling 111, with 13 fours and a six.
With two new batsmen-Compton and Jack Crapp-at the crease, Australia quickly made further inroads. Toshack bowled Crapp for five to leave England at 447/5. With this, Bradman took the new ball, and Compton exploited its hardness to score quickly. However, after the shine wore off and the ball went soft, Compton could not score for 25 minutes.Fingleton, p. 158.
After Compton and captain Norman Yardley had added 26 for the sixth wicket, the former edged Lindwall down the leg side, and Saggers completed his first Test catch to leave England at 473/6. Playing in his second Test of the summer, Loxton then bowled Ken Cranston for 10 to claim his first Ashes wicket, leaving England at 486/7. He then removed Godfrey Evans and Jim Laker in quick succession as England fell to 496/9. Miller then bowled Yardley to end England's innings at 496. The home side had batted for 192.1 overs and lost their last eight wickets for the addition of 73 runs. Loxton took 3/55 while Lindwall and Johnson both took two apiece. However, the late wickets came at a cost for Australia, who lost the services of Toshack to a knee injury.Cashman et al., pp. 299-300. Fingleton opined that England "encountered something ascendancy over Australia which they had not known in post-war cricket with Australia and did not know how to handle it".
With Barnes injured, Hassett moved up from the middle order to open the innings with Morris. Using the new ball, Bedser removed Morris, who chipped the ball in the air to Cranston at mid-wicket and fell for six to leave Australia at 13/1. This brought Bradman to the crease and he was mobbed by the spectators on a ground where he had scored two triple centuries in Tests in 1930 and 1934. Many spectators surged onto the playing arena to greet Bradman, and he doffed his baggy green and raised his bat to acknowledge them.Fingleton, pp. 158-159. Fingleton wrote that "on this field he Bradman has won his greatest honours; nowhere else has he been so idolatrously acclaimed".Fingleton, p. 159.
Bradman got off the mark from his first ball, which Compton prevented from going for four with a diving stop near the boundary. Hassett was restrained while Bradman attacked, taking three fours from one Edrich over. Bradman was 31 and Hassett 13 as the tourists reached stumps at 63/1. The Australian captain did the majority of the scoring in the late afternoon, adding 31 in a partnership of 50.

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<section id="49056" fatherid="0" title="July 24: Day Three" lv="" priority="6" level="1">
On the third morning, play resumed under hot and humid conditions. There had been rain on the pitch at 07:00, and Bradman resumed proceedings by taking single from a Bedser no ball. In the second over of the day, Pollard got the second ball to lift. Caught out by the unexpected bounce, Hassett was unable to get out of the way and edged the ball to Crapp in the slips for 13. Miller came to the crease and drove his first ball for three runs, bringing Bradman on strike for the fourth ball of the over. Pollard then pitched a ball in the same place as he did to Hassett, but this time it skidded low off the pitch and knocked out Bradman's off stump for 33.Fingleton, p. 160. Sensing the importance of the two quick wickets, in particular that of Bradman, who had been so productive at Headingley, the crowd erupted. Australia were struggling at 68/3 as Harvey, playing his first Ashes Test and the youngest member of the squad at the age of 19, walked out bareheaded to join Miller at the crease.Fingleton, p. 161. The tourists were more than 400 behind, and another wicket would expose the lower order and give England the opportunity to take a large first innings lead. Harvey told his senior partner "What's going on out here, eh? Let's get stuck into 'em".Perry (2005), p. 245. He got off the mark by forcing the ball behind point.Fingleton, pp. 161-162.
The pair launched a counterattack, Miller taking the lead. He hoisted off spinner Laker's first ball over the square leg fence for six. Miller shielded Harvey from Laker, as his younger partner was struggling against the off breaks that were turning away from him, including one that spun and bounced sharply to beating the outside edge.Fingleton, p. 162. Miller drilled one off-drive off Laker for four, and after mis-hitting the next, much to the amusement of the crowd, hit the off spinner flat over his head, almost for six into the sightscreen. This allowed Australia to seize the initiative, and Harvey joined the fightback in the next over, hitting consecutive boundaries against Laker, the second of which almost cleared the playing area. He then struck another boundary to reach 44, with Miller on 42.Fingleton, p. 163. Miller then lifted Laker for another six over long off, hitting a spectator in the head, and struck a four over long on from Yardley's bowling to reach 54. He then drove the next ball through cover for four. The English skipper then stacked the leg side with outfielders and bowled outside leg stump, challenging Miller to attempt another hit for six. The batsman obliged, but edged the ball onto wicket-keeper Evans' head and was caught by a forward-diving Edrich at short fine leg.Perry (2005), p. 246.
The partnership had yielded 121 runs in 90 minutes, and was likened by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to a "hurricane". Fingleton said that he had never "known a more enjoyable hour" of "delectable cricket".Fingleton, pp. 162-163. He acclaimed Miller's innings as "one of the rarest gems in the Test collection of all time" and "a moment to live in the cricket memory". The crowd was in raptures at both the batting and Edrich's catch.Fingleton, p. 164.
Loxton came in to join Harvey at 189/4, who continued attacking, unperturbed by Miller's departure. Cranston came on and Harvey square drove and then hooked to deep square leg for two consecutive boundaries. Yardley then moved a man from fine leg to the location where the previous hook had gone; Harvey responded by glancing a ball to where the fine leg fielder had been, collecting three more runs. Australia thus went to lunch at 204/4, with Harvey on 70.
After lunch, Australia scored slowly as Loxton struggled to find his fluency against the bowling. Yardley took the new ball in an attempt to trouble the batsmen with extra pace, but instead, Loxton began to settle in. The Australian lofted Pollard to the leg side, almost for six, and then hit three fours off another Pollard over. Harvey accelerated as well, and 80 minutes into the middle session, reached his century to a loud reception as Australia passed 250. He had taken 177 minutes and hit 14 fours.Fingleton, p. 165. Loxton then dominated the scoring in a display of power hitting. He brought up his 50 by hitting Cranston into the pavilion for six, eliciting spontaneous applause from the English players. The century stand yielded 105 runs in only 95 minutes. Harvey was out for 112 from 183 balls, bowled by Laker while playing a cross-batted sweep. His shot selection prompted Bradman to throw his head back in disappointment.Fingleton, p. 166. Nevertheless, it was an innings noted for powerful driving on both sides of the wicket, and Harvey's fast scoring helped to wrest the match back from England's firm control.Cashman et al., pp. 174-175.
Harvey's departure at 294/5 meant that the first of the bowlers, Johnson, entered the ground. This did not deter Loxton, who was particularly severe on Laker, lifting the off spinner for four more sixes, two over the leg side followed by consecutive off drives into the gallery.Perry (2005), p. 247. Johnson scored 10 before falling with the score at 329/6, hitting Laker to Cranston.
Australia was still some way behind when Lindwall replaced Johnson at the crease. Fifteen runs later, Yardley bowled Loxton for 93, who appeared disappointed at playing such a wild cross-batted swing with a maiden Test century beckoning. Saggers came in and only managed five in his first Test innings before being stumped after being lured out of his crease by Laker. This  Australia at 355/8 ten minutes before tea, with only Johnston and Toshack remaining.
Lindwall hit out, scoring 77 in an innings marked by powerful driving and pulling,Pollard (1990), p. 14. dominating stands of 48 and 55 with Johnston and Toshack respectively. Of the 103 added for the last two wickets, Johnston and Toshack managed only 25 between them. Johnston accompanied Lindwall for 80 minutes, before Toshack lasted the last 50 minutes until stumps, with Johnston as his runner. Australia were 457/9 at stumps, with Lindwall on 76 and Toshack on 12.Fingleton, p. 167.

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<section id="49057" fatherid="0" title="July 26: Day Four" lv="" priority="7" level="1">
Sunday was a rest day, and the match resumed on Monday morning.Fingleton, p. 168. In the third over of the day, Lindwall was the last man out at 458, leaving Australia 38 runs in arrears on the first innings. Bradman's men had added only one run to its overnight score of 457/9. Bedser took the final wicket as Lindwall edged, and Crapp took the catch low down in the slips with his  hand. Bedser ended with 3/92 and Laker 3/113, while Pollard and Yardley ended with two wickets each.
For the remainder of the fourth day, England set about extending their lead. Early in the innings, the capacity crowd encroached substantially onto the ground and the umpires then spent eight minutes trying to force them back to the edge of the official playing area, but they again spilled over. The English batsmen attacked the bowling and reinforced their aggressive strokeplay with quick running. England reached lunch at 72/0 with Hutton on 40 and Washbrook on 28.Fingleton, p. 169.
The afternoon session continued with further spectator encroachments. After lunch, Bradman set defensive fields with the intent of restricting the scoring, but Washbrook defied them to hit a straight six from Johnson, and Hutton followed suit to take England from 98 to 104. For the second time in the match, the English openers had put on a century stand, and the shot also brought up Hutton's 50 in 125 minutes. Bradman then replaced Johnson with Lindwall, and Washbrook responded by cutting the paceman for four to reach his half-century. Lindwall responded with two bouncers. Washbrook then hooked one a short ball from Johnston and got a top edge, but Bradman failed to take the catch.Fingleton, p. 170.
Washbrook then attempted another hook, and Harvey quickly moved across the outfield and bent over to catch the ball at his ankles while still on the run. Fingleton said that it "was the catch of the season-or, indeed, would have been had Harvey not turned on several magnificent aerial performances down at The Oval in an earlier match against Surrey". Johnson then removed Hutton for 57 without further addition to the total, caught by Bradman on the run, leaving England at 129/2. During a slow period in which only 15 runs came in half an hour, Edrich and Compton were pinned down by defensive field settings with no slips in place. After 45 minutes, Compton premeditated a charge down the pitch and heaved Johnson to the leg side for a boundary. Australia then took the new ball and each batsman hit a boundary to bring up the fifty partnership, which took an hour. Lindwall then changed to bowling from around the wicket and was warned for running on the pitch, before reverting to over the wicket. Compton then hit boundaries with hooks and pulls from Lindwall and Johnston and England went to tea at 209/2. Compton was on 42 and Edrich 33.Fingleton, p. 171.
After the interval, Edrich hit three consecutive boundaries from Johnson before lofting a fourth ball into the crowd for six. He then passed his half-century-his fourth consecutive score in excess of 50-before Lindwall trapped him lbw for 51 to leave England at 232/3, ending a third-wicket partnership of 103. Crapp came in and added 18 before Lindwall bowled him at 260/4, precipitating a mini-collapse. Yardley deliberately lifted Lindwall over the vacant slips region and reached seven before he fell to Johnston, caught by a leaping Harvey while attempting a lofted shot. Johnston then had Cranston caught behind for a duck with only a further run added to leave England at 278/6, a lead of 316. Evans came in and edged his first ball through the slips at a catchable height for four. Compton drove Lindwall for a boundary but then fell to Johnston for 66, caught by Miller at cover. England were 293/7 with no recognised batsmen remaining, having lost 4/33. Wicket-keeper Evans was joined by Bedser, and the pair added 37 before Miller removed the latter. Laker then helped Evans to add a further 32 as England reached 362/8 at the close of the fourth day. Evans-mainly through boundaries-had helped England to add 69 runs in the last 45 minutes of play.

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<section id="49058" fatherid="0" title="July 27: Day Five" lv="" priority="8" level="1">
England batted on for five minutes during the final morning, adding three runs in two overs before Yardley declared at 365/8, with Evans unbeaten on 47. Johnston had the pick of the bowling figures, with 4/95. Batting into the final day allowed Yardley to ask the groundsman to use a heavy roller at the start of the morning, which would help break up the wicket and make it more likely to spin. Bradman had done a similar thing during the previous Ashes series in Australia before setting England a target. The hosts needed to beat Australia to avoid a series defeat.Fingleton, p. 172. Bradman elected to not have the pitch rolled at all, demonstrating his opinion that such a device would make the surface less favourable for batting.Fingleton, p. 173.
The declaration  Australia with a victory target of 404 runs. At the time, this would have been the highest ever fourth innings score to result in a Test victory for the batting side. Australia had only 345 minutes to reach the target, and the local press wrote them off, predicting that they would be dismissed by lunchtime on a deteriorating wicket expected to favour the spinners. Morris and Hassett started slowly, making only six runs in the first six overs on a pitch that offered spin and bounce. In Bedser's second over, the third of the innings, Morris chipped the ball in the air towards mid-wicket, in a similar manner to his first innings dismissal, but this time the ball evaded Cranston. After 15 minutes Australia had only scored 10 runs.Fingleton, p. 174.
After Bedser had bowled three overs, Yardley introduced Laker in his place in the seventh over to exploit the spin, but the Australian openers took 13 runs from his first over. Hassett hit a four and took a single to give Morris the strike. Morris then hit a four, was beaten by a bouncing ball and hit another boundary. Despite this over, only 44 runs came in the first hour, meaning that 360 runs were needed in 285 minutes. The frustrated crowd heckled the Australian openers for their slow scoring and Morris was ironically applauded after taking a single. Evans then missed a leg-side stumping opportunity against Hassett, and Bedser beat each of the Australians with extra bounce.
Yardley then brought on the part-time -arm unorthodox spin of Compton, who bowled inaccurately. Morris struck two fours in Compton's first over to register Australia's 50 in 64 minutes. Compton's next over was more potent; he deceived Morris, who danced down the pitch and missed the ball, but Evans fumbled the stumping opportunity. At the time, Morris was on 32 and Australia at 55/0.Fingleton, pp. 174-175. Laker then beat Morris in the next over with an off break that spun a foot, and in the succeeding over, Hassett was dismissed by Compton with the score at 57. Compton had caught Hassett's leading edge and dived forward in his follow through to catch the ball one-handed just above the ground.Fingleton, p. 175.
Bradman joined Morris with 347 runs needed in 257 minutes. After receiving another rapturous welcome from the Headingley spectators, the Australian captain signalled his intentions by hitting a boundary from Compton and another off the first ball he faced from Laker, cover driving against the spin. Bradman reached 12 in six minutes.
Yardley then called upon the occasional leg spin of Hutton in an attempt to exploit the turning wicket. Morris promptly joined Bradman in the counter-attack, hitting three consecutive fours from Hutton's first over, which Fingleton described as "rather terrible" due to the errant length. This over took Morris to 51. After an economical over from Compton, Bradman took two fours off Hutton's next over before almost holing out to Yardley. Despite the near miss, the 20 runs from Hutton's two inaccurate overs had allowed Australia to reach 96/1 from 90 minutes.
In the next over, Compton threw a googly to deceive Bradman, who expected the ball to turn in. However, it went the other way, took the outside edge and ran away past slip for four. Bradman leg glanced the next ball for another boundary, before again failing to read a googly on the third ball of the over. This time the edge went to Crapp, who failed to hold on to the catch. The sixth ball of Compton's over beat Bradman and hit him on the pads. Compton had control of Bradman for the over, but went unrewarded.Fingleton, pp. 175-176. At the other end, Morris continued to plunder Hutton's inaccurate leg breaks, and Australia reached lunch at 121/1, with Morris on 63 and Bradman on 35.Pollard, p. 15. Hutton had conceded 30 runs in four overs,Fingleton, p. 176. and in the half hour preceding the interval, Australia had added 64 runs. Both Morris and Bradman had been given lives.
Upon resumption, Compton continued as Yardley attempted to exploit the turning wicket. However, Compton was not a regular bowler and he sent down a series of full tosses and long hops that were easily dispatched for runs. Morris struck seven fours in two overs of what Fingleton called "indescribably bad bowling". He had reached the 90s just 14 minutes after the interval and hit another boundary to reach his century in a little over two hours. Morris had added 37 runs since lunch, mainly from Compton's wayward offerings, while Bradman had only added three.
The onslaught prompted Yardley to take the new ball and replace Compton with his pacemen. Bradman reached 50 in 60 minutes and then aimed a drive from Cranston's bowling, but sliced it in the air to point. Yardley dived and got his hands to the ball, but failed to hold on. Australia reached 202-halfway to the required total-with 165 minutes , after Morris dispatched consecutive full tosses from Laker. Bradman then hooked two boundaries, but suffered a fibrositis attack, which put him in significant pain. Drinks were then taken,Fingleton, p. 177. and Morris had to shield his captain from the strike until the pain had subsided. Australia then reached 250 shortly before tea with Morris on 133 and Bradman on 92. Bradman then reached his century in 147 minutes as the second-wicket stand passed 200.
Morris was given another life on 136 when Laker dropped him while fielding at square leg from Compton's bowling. Bradman was given another life at 108 when he advanced two metres down the pitch to Laker and missed, but Evans fumbled the stumping opportunity with the batsman far out of his ground. Australia reached tea at 292/1 with Morris on 150. The pair had added 171 during the session. Morris was eventually dismissed by Yardley for 182, having partnered Bradman in a stand of 301 in 217 minutes. He struck 33 fours in a 290-minute innings. This brought Miller to the crease with 46 runs still required. Miller struck two boundaries and helped take the score to 396 before falling lbw to Cranston with eight runs still needed. Harvey came in and got off the mark with a boundary that brought up the winning runs. Australia had won by seven wickets, setting a new world record for the highest successful Test runchase, with Bradman unbeaten on 173 in only 255 minutes of batting with 29 fours.Perry (2001), pp. 84-89.
The attendance of 158,000 was the highest for any cricket match on English soil and the takings were 34,000 pounds. The crowd remains a record for a Test in England.

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<section id="49059" fatherid="0" title="Aftermath" lv="" priority="-9" level="1">
After the Fourth Test, the Australians had five tour matches before the final Test. They defeated Derbyshire by an innings, before having a washout against Glamorgan. The Australians then defeated Warwickshire by nine wickets, before drawing with Lancashire, who hung on with three wickets in hand on the final day. Australia then had a two-day non-first-class match against Durham, which was drawn after rain washed out the second day.Fingleton, pp. 190–210. During this period, Barnes returned to action after recuperating from his rib injury. Toshack also recovered to play against Lancashire, but injured himself again and was ruled out of the remainder of the tour.-gtdocsymbol-
Following Australia's unlikely win at Headingley, the England selectors were widely condemned for their failure to choose a specialist wrist spinner to exploit the turning pitch. This was cited as a reason for the hosts' loss, as the part-timer Compton was able to trouble the batsmen and generate opportunities for wickets, only to see them foregone because of missed catches and stumpings.Fingleton, pp. 175-180. In response, the English selectors made four changes to the team for the Fifth Test, one of these being the inclusion of leg spinner Eric Hollies. Their frequent changes to the team meant that the hosts used a total of 21 players for the five Tests, and the repeated changes to personnel resulted in heavy criticism.Fingleton, p. 182.
Despite Hollies being able to trouble most of their batsmen, Australia completed the Test series with a convincing innings victory in the Fifth Test to complete a 4–0 result. The Fifth Test was the last international match, and Australia only had seven further matches to negotiate in order to fulfil Bradman's aim of going through the tour undefeated. They secured three consecutive innings victories against Kent, the Gentlemen of England and Somerset. They then took first innings leads of more than 200 against the South of England and Leveson-Gower's XI, but both matches were washed out. The last two matches were two-day non-first-class matches against Scotland, both won by an innings. Bradman's men thus completed the tour undefeated, earning themselves the sobriquet The Invincibles.Harte and Whimpress, p. 405.

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<section id="49060" fatherid="0" title="See also" lv="" priority="-10" level="1">
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<section id="49061" fatherid="0" title="Notes" lv="" priority="-11" level="1">
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<section id="49062" fatherid="0" title="References" lv="" priority="-12" level="1">
Category:English cricket seasons from 1946 to 1968
Category:1948 in cricket
Category:The Invincibles (cricket)
1948, 4th
Ashes series
Ashes series
Category:Cricket matches

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