that in Melbourne after he had obtained Bradman's wicket for the third time, Yardley blushed profusely when one excited team-mate slapped him on the back and shouted "Well, bowled, Spofforth". In the Tests, Yardley's only scores over fifty, his first in Test cricket, came in the third Test, where he scored 61 and 53 not out. In England's first innings, he helped his side to recover from a batting collapse, surviving for two hours. His second innings lasted 89 minutes and helped England to avoid defeat for the first time in the series. In the same match, Yardley bowled more overs than he had done previously on the whole tour, following injuries to Bill Voce and Bill Edrich, two of England's main bowlers. Bowling leg theory with a fielders concentrated on the leg side, Yardley managed to move the ball off the seam. He dismissed Bradman twice in the match, having figures of three for 67 in the second innings and taking five wickets in the match. This was the first time that an England player had scored fifty runs in both innings and taken five wickets in a Test. Yardley also had substantial bowling workload in the fourth Test, delivering 31 overs in Australia's first innings to take three for 101. When Hammond did not play in the final Test, Yardley became captain, doing so courageously according to Wisden, which also pointed out that Yardley used field placing more effectively than Hammond. In the series, Yardley scored 252 runs at an average of 32.50, His ten wickets at an average of 37.20 placed him first in the series bowling averages. He played in the drawn Test on the short tour to New Zealand which followed, opening the batting scoring 22 and taking a wicket. England captain Yardley enjoyed his most successful season with the bat in the 1947 season, scoring 1,906 runs at an average of 44.32 with five centuries; his bowling took eleven wickets. Following Hammond's retirement immediately after the 1946–47 tour, Yardley captained England against South Africa throughout the season. In the first Test, he made his highest Test score. England were unexpectedly made to follow on in the face of a large South African total; when Yardley came to the crease in the second innings, England looked likely to be defeated at 170 for four, still 155 runs behind the tourists. Yardley scored 99, being caught