 The Australian fielding was exceptional as "almost everything that left the ground was caught and ... had a swallow flown within reach of the Australian fieldsmen ... it would have done so at its own risk".The England batsmen were battered and bruised to such an extent that in one game a local player was used to make up an XI.The 41-year-old Colin Cowdrey was sent to reinforce the team on his record sixth tour of Australia and opened the England innings in the second Test at Perth a few days after his arrival and without any match practice.