between Tests and retained his position after captain Benaud was forced out with a shoulder rinjury. In the Second Test at Lord's, known as the "Battle of the Ridge", he made 37 not out against the hostile pace of Fred Trueman and Brian Statham after Australia had slumped to 4/19 in pursuit of 69 on an erratic surface. He had earlier made 46 in difficult conditions in the first innings. After managing only 43 in the next two Tests, which were shared between the two teams, thereby allowing Australia to retain the Ashes 2–1, he finished the tour on a high. In the last match before the final Test, Burge scored an unbeaten 51 against Warwickshire, his first score of 50 or more in eight weeks—15 innings. In the Fifth Test at The Oval he made his maiden Test ton with a 181. It was an innings marked by his persistent use of the sweep, taking balls from outside off stump through the leg side to disperse the packed off side field of Jim Laker and Tony Lock. He ended with 332 runs at 47.42. Burge ended the tour with half-centuries in the last two first-class matches. The 1961–62 Australian season was purely domestic, with no touring Test team. In the second match of the season, Burge started a run of centuries in three consecutive matches. He scored 101 and 68 against New South Wales, contributing more than one third of his team's runs in a 48-run defeat. In the following match he made 119 in the second innings to help Queensland overcome a 90-run first innings deficit and take a 31-run win. He then made 114 against Western Australia, but Queensland was unable to convert their 192-run lead on the first innings and the match ended in a draw. Burge added 82 in the final innings of the season and ended with 631 runs at 63.10. Burge started the 1962–63 season with a half-century against New South Wales and 115 against Western Australia, but his formed tapered away at the start of the 1962–63 Ashes series against Ted Dexter's England. He made 6 in the first innings and was 47 not out when Benaud declared in the second innings of the drawn First Test in Brisbane. Burge then made 23 and 14 in the second innings as the hosts were defeated by seven wickets, and he was again dropped