saw them home by 6 wickets. The Prime Minister of Australia Sir Robert Menzies and Premier of Victoria Sir Henry Bolte watched the match and Richard Whitington noted "The Ashes have never looked safer". Ray Illingworth commented "It is better to start at the bottom and work up from there". New South Wales vs MCC Faced with another state side the MCC were again in trouble, this time under Colin Cowdrey's captaincy. John Snow was rested after damaging his toes in Melbourne and a stiff and sore Alan Ward strained a calf muscle during the game. In a rain affected match the New South Wales captain and wicket-keeper Brian Taber won the toss and decided to bat. They were 82/3 when Doug Walters came in and made 201 not out, adding 132 with Geoff Davies (57) and 145 with Kerry O'Keeffe (55 not out) before Taber declared at 410/5. Geoff Boycott (36) and Brian Luckhurst (42) added 54 for the first wicket and the MCC passed 100 with one wicket down. The leg-spinner O'Keeffe showed his all-round skills by taking 6/69 and they collapsed to 204 all out and were forced to follow on 206 runs behind. This kind of situation that brought out the best in Geoff Boycott (129 not out) and he added 228 for the first wicket with Brian Luckhurst (135) and 97 for the second with Keith Fletcher (51 not out) to ensure a draw. Queensland Country vs MCC Colin Cowdrey led the MCC again in this match and his bowlers John Snow (3/23), Ken Shuttleworth (3/11) and Peter Lever (3/11) soon had the Country XI out for 89. This paltry score was passed with two wickets down and England received 35 8-ball overs of batting practice, making 300 runs in 145 minutes thanks to Basil d'Oliveira (103) and Colin Cowdrey (53). The game ended in near darkness as a thunderstorm came over the mountains, with d'Oliveira's 9 fours and 7 sixes illuminated by lightning. Queensland vs MCC Ray Illingworth was back in charge in another rain affected state match. He won the toss and put Queensland in to bat, but Captain Sam Trimble made 177 in 539 minutes, adding 177 for the second wicket with the Indian batsman Rusi Surti (83). When threatened with dismissal by Lord Mayor Clem Jones for slow scoring Trimble showed him a telegram from the Chairman of Selectors Don Bradman