the series was an anti-climax and Australia won the fourth Test by 274 runs before England restored some pride with a consolation win in the final Test. During the fourth Test, Brown was hospitalised after a motor accident and was unfit to continue playing. He relinquished the captaincy to vice-captain Denis Compton who became the first professional England captain since Jack Hobbs in 1926, Brown was fit to play in the final Test at Melbourne and achieved his best Test bowling figures of 5/49, including a spell of 3/0. England won by 8 wickets, the first Test Australia had lost since 1938. Brown scored 62 against New Zealand in the drawn first Test at Christchurch. He scored 47 and 10 not out in the low-scoring second Test at Basin Reserve, which England won by 6 wickets to give them a 1–0 series win. Later years Brown was retained as England captain against South Africa on his return and was made a Test selector. South Africa won the first Test and England the second by 10 wickets. Brown scored 42 out of 211 in the low-scoring third Test, which England won by 9 wickets and took 3/107 in the drawn fourth Test. England sealed a 3–1 series victory with a four-wicket win in the fifth Test, Brown scoring 40. He made 940 runs at 33.57 in 1951 and took 66 wickets at 23.37. In 1952, he came close to making a double with 1,073 runs at 28.23 and 95 wickets at 24.77. Now 41 years old, Brown retired from the England captaincy and was succeeded by the professional Len Hutton. In his final first-class season, 1953, Brown scored 849 runs (24.97) and took 87 wickets (20.74). He was appointed chairman of the selection committee and recalled himself for the second Test against Australia at the age of 42, agreeing to play just one Test on the request of Len Hutton. Ray Lindwall recalled that most of the England players remembered Brown as captain and called him Skipper out of habit, even the new captain Hutton. Brown scored 22 runs off 14 balls in the first innings and Lindwall says he "pitched and turned his leg-breaks on a good length equally well from either end" to take 4/82. When Hutton damaged a finger trying to take a catch, Brown took over in the field. The match ended in a draw and was