Travers was a passionate devotee of cricket. In the wake of the controversial "Bodyline" series in Australia, he thought the general public would welcome a farce about the game.Ben Travers interview, Brian Johnston, BBC Test Match Special, 1980 The British public was reasonably receptive, but the Australian public was not. Touring productions of the Aldwych farces had generally done well in Australia, but A Bit of a Test closed within four nights of opening in Melbourne."New Play Withdrawn", The Argus, 11 May 1933, p. 7 Travers commented that the Australians had a faulty sense of humour about themselves, particularly where cricket was concerned. "A sense of humor might have enabled the cricket controversy to have been avoided.""Ben Travers Explains Failure of A Bit of a Test", The Advertiser, 12 May 1933, p. 21
