and Yorkshire scored only 64. All his victims were caught close to the wicket and A. A. Thomson remarked that the Yorkshire batsmen were offering catches as if snicking the ball was some kind of virus epidemic. The admiration and respect which cricket followers always had for Statham was demonstrated by the standing ovation given to him by a large Yorkshire crowd as he left the field. 1958–59 in Australia England's tour of Australia in 1958–59 was disastrous, mainly because of mismanagement, and they lost the Test series 4–0 but Statham was one of the better players and bowled well. His seven for 57 at the MCG was his best return against Australia. Wisden said that, in addition to this performance which was still not enough to prevent an Australian victory, Statham often bowled equally well for less reward. Statham's tour ended prematurely after he was involved in a road accident. He and Peter Loader were passengers in a car which had a burst tyre. The driver lost control and the car overturned. Both players had superficial injuries but were affected by shock and, after treatment, they were sent home. This was before the fifth Test and so they missed the New Zealand leg of the tour. 1959 to 1961 1959 season Wisden 1960 recalled a wonderful summer with days on end of glorious sunshine, but the dry conditions meant it was not a summer for bowlers. Statham and Trueman, said Wisden, were the mainspring of the England attack. Statham took 139 first-class wickets at 15.01 with a best return of eight for 44. In the series against India, he played in only three of the five Tests because of injury. He took seventeen wickets at 13.11, England winning all five matches convincingly. Lancashire had a chequered season in that they defeated all their main rivals but lost matches against teams lower in the table. They finished fifth and Playfair's verdict was that they should have done better. Statham and Higgs both topped 100 wickets for the county and so Lancashire at last had an effective fast bowling partnership, although Statham's injuries were a problem. When Lancashire met Kent at Gravesend, Statham was invited to stay at the home of his friend Colin Cowdrey. Lancashire batted first and scored 316. Kent, on the second morning, had reached 24 for two when Cowdrey came in to bat. He was on top