James Hopes
James Redfern Hopes is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. Hopes played domestic cricket for Queensland, had represented Australia in One Day International and Twenty20 cricket. Hopes has played for Australia's Under-19s side as a batsman but as his career has progressed he has become more of a bowling all-rounder. Played as a 13-year-old in the state's under-age sides before progressing to the Australian Under-19 team - he scored 105, 71 and 51 at the 1998 Youth World Cup Hopes was earmarked for higher honours in national youth teams but took a few years to settle once graduating to the first-class level. Hopes, who made his debut in 2001, is the Bulls' leading wicket-taker in the one-day competition, he has five Pura Cup centuries for Queensland and two one-day hundreds, but is a successful bowler. In the domestic competition in 2005/06, he collected 15 wickets at 18.33 in the ING Cup and 16 at 22.56 in the Pura Cup, however he was unable to transfer his regular success into the international arena.
He had opened innings for Queensland in 2006/07 scoring 553 runs and taking 21 wickets in the Pura Cup, capturing a season-high 20 victims and a first one-day century in the FR Cup. The IPL franchise King's XI Punjab picked him up and he was a fine contributor in the opening season, but missed the second event to rest an injury, was hurt in the lead-up to the third tournament. In 2010/11, he was handed the state captaincy replacing Chris Simpson, he was named Sheffield Shield Player of the Series for the 2010/11 series. He became 49th captain of the state. In November 2010, Hopes picked up 3 for 40 and top scored with 73 as the Bulls pushed well past Tasmania's disappointing 196 on the second day at Bellerive Oval. In December 2010, he took-up coaching role of Queensland as caretaker coach began with a victory after he replaced Trevor Barsby on a sensational day for the Bulls where they bowled out Western Australia on 136 and won the match by 76 runs. In Big Bash match against Tasmania, he scored unbeaten 65 runs and affected a run-out and took a one-handed catch to dismiss Ryan ten Doeschate was declared the Man-of-the-Match.
In Big Bash match against New South Wales, he scored unbeaten 62 runs 38 balls and the set match off the first ball when James Hopes bowled Usman Khawaja who chopped a pull back onto his stumps. In 2011, an allround performance from Hopes led Queensland to a comfortable six-wicket victory against New South Wales in Ryobi Cup. Hopes provided a solid start with 41 off 56 deliveries. Hopes took six-wicket haul and ensured that Queensland finished in third place on the 2010/11 Sheffield Shield table with victory by an innings and three runs over Victoria. Hopes was named the Sheffield Shield Player of the Series for 2010/11 at the State Cricket Awards in Hobart. Hopes finished season with averaged of 58.70 with the bat and 20.11 with the ball winning 23 votes won the award ahead of Tasmania allrounder Luke Butterworth. In 2011 Big Bash League, Hopes was signed with the Brisbane Heat. In IPL 2012, he signed Sahara Pune Warriors from Delhi Daredevils. Hopes was the second foreigner to be contracted by Warriors in the transfer window.
But Pune Warriors had suffered a setback to their IPL preparations with a knee injury ruling out the Hopes. Hopes led from the front with a half-century in the first innings and a five-wicket haul in the second in 2011/12 Sheffield Shield final. At the end of Queensland's 2016/17 Australian domestic season, Hopes retired from all cricket, he made eight ODI appearances in 2004/05. He did not take more than a wicket in a match although his batting showed promise with a top score of 43 against Sri Lanka. Hopes was dropped from the squad at the end of the VB Series and missed the tour to South Africa, but when Shane Watson suffered a calf problem in Bangladesh he was replaced by his Queensland teammate. Despite the late-season promotion, Hopes was cut from the national contract list and told to re-impress in interstate competition; when another Watson injury occurred Hopes was put on World Cup standby before regaining his Cricket Australia deal. Hopes' most productive day at elite level came in 2010 when his 5 for 14 ensured Australia would not be embarrassed by Ireland in an ODI in Dublin.
The career-best figures were a deserved reward for a low-key player who pops in to deliver handy overs or scramble late runs. His 57 off 26 balls against West Indies at MCG was one of three career half-centuries, coming after he had been an ODI fixture for most of 2009. In 31 matches he added 27 wickets. In 2007/08, he experienced a busy campaign with 24 ODIs as he took part in all of Australia's one-day series. In March 2008, Hopes scored his maiden ODI half century during his 28th match, scoring 63 off 80 balls against India in the 2nd final of the 2007/08 Commonwealth Bank Series, his effort though was in vain as India went on to win the series. He was selected as fast bowling coach for Delhi Daredevils He has been a regular with the limited-overs squads, chipping in as an evenly balanced allrounder. A brisk medium-pacer who shapes the ball, he is an aggressive and versatile batsman, used at the top and lower reaches of the order. Throughout his career he has had to fight for international recognition, battling with Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White and Steven Smith for game time.
Sheffield Shield Player of the Series 2010/11 "Australians put Hopes on standby", BBC News, 5 April 2007 Accessed 10 April 2007 "Hopes recognised at State Awards.", Cricket Australia, 15 March 2011 Accessed 16 March 2011. James Hopes at ESPNcricinfo Qld Bulls Player Profile
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff is an English presenter and former international cricketer. Playing for Lancashire, Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all rounders, serving as a fast bowler, middle order batsman and slip fielder, he was rated by the ICC as being among the top international all-rounders in both ODI and Test cricket. In his career he played for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Following his debut in 1998, he became an integral player for England, was England's "Man of the Series" during the successful 2005 Ashes series, he served as both captain and vice-captain of the team. However, he suffered regular injuries throughout his international career due to his heavy frame and bowling action. During the period 2007–09 he played in only 13 of England's 36 Test matches, but remained a core member of the England squad, being selected whenever available. On 15 July 2009, he announced his retirement from Test cricket at the conclusion of the 2009 Ashes series on 24 August.
Although he made himself available for future commitments in One Day International and Twenty20 International matches, it was reported on 7 September 2009 that he had developed deep vein thrombosis after surgery to his knee. On 16 September 2010, he announced his retirement from cricket, he had one professional boxing fight on 30 November 2012 in Manchester, beating American Richard Dawson on a points decision. In May 2014, Flintoff came out of retirement after five years to play Twenty20 cricket for Lancashire again, before being signed by Brisbane Heat to play in the Australian Big Bash League for the 2014–15 season. After a poor season with the Heat, he announced his retirement again. Since his retirement, Flintoff has been involved with numerous projects, including designing his own fashion range and becoming the face of the brand Jacamo, winning the first series of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, being part of Sky One's sports-based comedy panel show A League of Their Own.
He presented ITV game show Cannonball in 2017. Flintoff's father Colin was a plumber and factory maintenance worker and the captain of Dutton Forshaw second XI cricket team. Andrew attended Greenlands Community Primary School and Ribbleton Hall High School where he performed well academically, passing nine GCSEs, but he did not want to stay in education and left school at 16; as a boy he played cricket for the Lancashire Schools under-11s and under-15s teams and he was a keen chess player. He played for 2½ years in the England under-19 team. Flintoff was captain of the England Under-19 team for their "Test" match tour to Pakistan in 1996/7 and at home against Zimbabwe in 1997, he made his Test match debut for England in 1998 against South Africa at Trent Bridge, in a match remembered for its second-innings duel between Mike Atherton and Allan Donald. Nonetheless, his struggle to make the grade at county level continued, he found form only intermittently, though explosively when he did so. In 2000, he hit 135 not out in the Quarter-finals of the Natwest Trophy against Surrey, which David Gower described as "the most awesome innings we are going to see on a cricket field".
In the same year England's management made clear they were unhappy with his fitness and weight, Flintoff responded to his critics with 42 not out in a one-day game against Zimbabwe on his home ground of Old Trafford, forming an explosive second wicket stand with Graeme Hick. Although he lost his England place during 2001, he remodelled his bowling action and gained a place on the 2001–02 tour to India. Though he hit his worst international batting form during the Test series, frustrating him to the point that he broke down in tears in the dressing room at one stage, he saw the tour as a turning point in his career the crucial final one-day match. Entrusted with bowling the final over with India needing 11 to win, he ran out Anil Kumble and bowled Javagal Srinath with successive balls to win the match, taking off his shirt in celebration, mimicked by Sourav Ganguly in a match. In 2002, he scored his maiden Test century. By 2003, a newer, fitter Flintoff started to justify the comparisons with Botham.
Up to the end of 2002, he had averaged just 19 with 47 with the ball. In the summer of 2003 he scored a century and three fifties in the five Test series against South Africa at home, continued to excel on the tour of the West Indies in March and April 2004, taking five wickets in the Test in Barbados, scoring a century in Antigua. In early 2004 he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, having failed to make Wisden's top 40 list in 2002. Although injury prevented him from bowling, he was called into the England squad for the 2004 NatWest One Day International Series against New Zealand and the West Indies as a specialist batsman, scoring two consecutive centuries in the series and hitting seven sixes in one innings, he matched this haul in the Second Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston in July, hitting a first-class best figure of 167. During this innings, watched by a crowd of 20,000, Flintoff hit a six into the top tier of the Ryder Stand. A man stood to claim the catch and dropped it – it was Flintoff's father.
Over the course of England's record-breaking summer, he hit a half-century in all seven victorious Tests against New Zeala
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag pronunciation is a former Indian cricketer. Regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen of all time, Sehwag played as an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and bowled part-time right-arm off-spin, he played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian test side in 2001. In April 2009, Sehwag became the first Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009, he is the former Occasional captain of India, former Vice-Captain of India, former captain of Delhi Daredevils and former captain of Delhi Ranji Team. Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket, the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman. Sehwag holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul.
In March 2009, Sehwag smashed what was till the fastest century scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark, his score became the highest individual score in ODI cricket – 219 off 149 balls, bettered by Rohit Sharma – 264 off 173 balls on 13 November 2014. He is one of only two players in the world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket, the other being Chris Gayle. Sehwag was appointed as vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due to poor form, he was replaced by V. V. S. Laxman in December 2006 as Test vice-captain. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and from the Test team as well. During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. Following his return to form in 2008 and the retirement of Anil Kumble, Sehwag was reappointed as the vice-captain for both Tests and ODIs.
By early 2009, Sehwag had reestablished himself as one of the best performing batsmen in ODI cricket. Sehwag retired from all forms of International cricket on 20 October 2015. On 31 October 2017, Delhi and District Cricket Association honoured Sehwag by naming Gate No.2 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium after him. Sehwag was born in the Jat family of a grain merchant, he spent his childhood in a joint family with siblings, uncles and sixteen cousins. Though now settled in New Delhi, the Sehwag family hails from Haryana. Sehwag was the third of four children born to father Krishan and mother Krishna Sehwag, with two older sisters Manju and Anju, younger brother Vinod, his father attributes his interest in cricket to a toy bat which he was given when he was seven months old. He attended Arora Vidya School in Delhi, pestered his parents to let him play cricket, on the basis that he was not academically gifted. Early in his career he had a reputation for being an attacking batsman and his coach was coach Amar Nath Sharma.
His father tried to end his career when he broke a tooth as a child in 1990, but Sehwag evaded the ban with the help of his mother. He attended Jamia Milia Islamia for graduation. Sehwag made his debut for Delhi cricket team in first class cricket in the 1997–98 season, he was selected to the North Zone cricket team for the Duleep Trophy the following 1998–99 season, ending fifth in the total runscoring list. The following year he was fourth on the Duleep Trophy run scoring list, including a 274, the highest score of the competition; this was attained against South Zone at Agartala in just 327 balls, followed a rapid 187 from just 175 in a Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. He was selected for the U-19 team which toured South Africa, he was seventh in the 2000–01 season with two centuries, but his consistency earned the attention of selectors and he became a regular member of the national team in mid-2001. Since his international career started, he has continued to play for Delhi in the domestic competition whilst he is not occupied with international duty and has captained North Zone to victory in the Deodhar Trophy in 2004–05 and 2005–06.
He had a short stint with Leicestershire in county cricket in 2003, but a back injury led to a mutual termination of the contract. Sehwag was the captain of the Delhi Daredevils in the first two edition of Indian Premier League, before he quit the position to concentrate more on his batting transferring it to Gautam Gambhir. However, for the fourth edition of IPL, he was the only player to be retained by the franchise, again as captain of the Delhi Daredevils. Sehwag again led the team in the fifth edition of the league, where he made the record of being the only batsman to score five consecutive half centuries in T20s. Sehwag's ODI career started poorly when he scored 1 against Pakistan in Mohali in April 1999 when he fell lbw to Shoaib Akhtar, his bowling performance was ineffective and expensive, conceding 35 runs off 3 overs. He did not get another chance in the national team for 20 months. Sehwag was not given another match until the home series against Zimbabwe in December 2000. Sehwag rose to prominence in his fourth ODI match in March 2001 when he scored 58 off 54 balls, against Australia in Bangalore.
Combined with his three wickets, he help earn India a victory and was awarded his first man of the match award. He followed this with an unproductive tour of Zimbabwe
Brad Hodge
Bradley John Hodge is a former Australian cricketer. He attended St. Bede's College in Victoria, he is a right-handed batsman who bats in the middle order, as well as a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler. Hodge was a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, holding the records for the most runs and most centuries in Australian interstate one-day matches, he is Victoria's highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield. However, his opportunities to represent Australia were limited to six Tests and 25 one-day internationals. Hodge debuted for the Victorian Bushrangers as a 19-year-old, was nicknamed "Glovelick" by Dean Jones for the fact that he shared a bunkbed with his brother at the time of his debut, he was called "Bunkie" for the same reason. Hodge played Lancashire League Cricket for Ramsbottom in 2000 and 2001 scoring 1000 runs in each season, breaking the clubs batting record in 2001, his bowling proved useful. Hodge has played with County Cricket teams Durham and Leicestershire – where he made his highest first class score of 302*.
During his time at Leicestershire, he was accused of cheating by then-Derbyshire captain, Dominic Cork, by claiming a catch when it appeared that he had stepped over the boundary rope in a Twenty20 match in June 2003. Hodge had completed the catch cleanly, before running over to the crowd to celebrate. Hodge considered taking legal action. Cork was sanctioned by the ECB. Hodge scored many runs for Victoria, his consistency came together by the 2000–01 season, where he was overlooked for selection, despite being one of Australia's premier domestic batsmen, he has argued. On 21 November 2007, playing for Victoria against Queensland, Hodge made his highest Pura Cup score of 286*, he and Nick Jewell had batted undefeated for the entire third day of the game, only the fourth wicketless day's play in the history of the competition. During the match against Queensland at the MCG on 7 March 2009, he scored 261. During this innings, he became the 6th batsman to pass 10,000 Sheffield Shield runs, he became the first to score a century in Australian domestic Twenty20, scoring 106 off 54 deliveries for Victoria against New South Wales at North Sydney, on 21 January 2006.
In December 2009, Hodge announced his retirement from first-class cricket to focus on the one-day and Twenty20 versions of the game. Hodge finished his domestic first-class career as Victoria's all-time leading run scorer. In January 2012, he retired from one-day cricket to focus on the Twenty20 game. At the time, he was the leading run-scorer in the 2011–12 Ryobi One-Day Cup. Hodge captained the Adelaide Strikers in the 2016–17 Big Bash League and while the team struggled, he was a model of consistency and named in the team of the tournament at the age of 42. Hodge was not used throughout the series, he did, make a number of catches in the third test as a substitute fielder to get out Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan both off the bowling of Brett Lee. After a long time waiting for an international debut, he debuted for the Australian team against the West Indies in November 2005 at Bellerive Oval, during the 2005–06 Test Series, becoming the 394th player to wear the baggy green for Australia.
He had his baggy green presented to him by Bill Lawry. Hodge scored his maiden Test century for Australia against South Africa in Perth on 19 December 2005. After ending the third day on 91 not out, Hodge displayed some nervousness in media interviews about reaching his century, but by the end of the innings he managed to finish with an unbeaten score of 203, batting with fluency on day four; this innings was criticised by some Australian fans who felt that captain Ricky Ponting declared too late in allowing Hodge to chase his double century. This criticism came after Australia did not bowl out South Africa in the 4th innings, with the match ending in a draw. Australia were principally thwarted by a resolute Rudolph. Hodge made his One-day International debut, after two initial modest scores, he scored a half-century; this earned him a recall for some games against South Africa in the VB Series, although he failed to capitalise and was dropped from the ODI side. Hodge was dropped after only five tests in the team, only three tests after scoring his double century against South Africa.
The selectors stated that the decision was made on the back of a poor Pura Cup season by Hodge, averaging around 25 for the summer when the team was selected. The decision was unpopular amongst Victorian fans since his replacement, Damien Martyn, had averaged only 23.7 in the same Pura Cup season. He did get back, albeit more than two years when included in Australia's squad that toured the West Indies in May/June 2008. On 22 May, in what proved to be his final test, he made 27 with the bat. Brad Hodge made 99 not out off 86 balls to steer Australia to victory against New Zealand on 4 February 2007, when he was called into the team because Andrew Symonds had pulled out with a torn bicep. On 18 February 2007, Brad Hodge scored 97 not out off 86 balls as he helped Australia to 4/336 off their 50 overs. On 18 March 2007, in the World Cup, Hodge scored his maiden one-day century against Holland, he scored 123 off just 89 balls, including 7 sixes and 8 fours and shared a record 4th-wicket partnership of 204 with Michael Clarke, the highest 4th wicket stand in World Cup history.
On 24 March 2007, Hodge was dropped from the Australian ODI side starting 11 in the
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, the second most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Its name refers to an urban agglomeration of 9,992.5 km2, comprising a metropolitan area with 31 municipalities, is the common name for its city centre. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip bay and spreads into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley, it has a population of 4.9 million, its inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians". The city was founded on 30 August 1835, in the then-British colony of New South Wales, by free settlers from the colony of Van Diemen’s Land, it was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837 and named in honour of the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. In 1851, four years after Queen Victoria declared it a city, Melbourne became the capital of the new colony of Victoria. In the wake of the 1850s Victorian gold rush, the city entered a lengthy boom period that, by the late 1880s, had transformed it into one of the world's largest and wealthiest metropolises.
After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as interim seat of government of the new nation until Canberra became the permanent capital in 1927. Today, it is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 15th in the Global Financial Centres Index; the city is home to many of the best-known cultural institutions in the nation, such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the National Gallery of Victoria and the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building. It is the birthplace of Australian impressionism, Australian rules football, the Australian film and television industries and Australian contemporary dance. More it has been recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a global centre for street art, live music and theatre, it is the host city of annual international events such as the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open and the Melbourne Cup, has hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Due to it rating in entertainment and sport, as well as education, health care and development, the EIU ranks it the second most liveable city in the world.
The main airport serving the city is Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia, Australia's busiest seaport the Port of Melbourne. Its main metropolitan rail terminus is Flinders Street station and its main regional rail and road coach terminus is Southern Cross station, it has the most extensive freeway network in Australia and the largest urban tram network in the world. Indigenous Australians have lived in the Melbourne area for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years; when European settlers arrived in the 19th-century, under 2,000 hunter-gatherers from three regional tribes—the Wurundjeri and Wathaurong—inhabited the area. It was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and a vital source of food and water; the first British settlement in Victoria part of the penal colony of New South Wales, was established by Colonel David Collins in October 1803, at Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento. The following year, due to a perceived lack of resources, these settlers relocated to Van Diemen's Land and founded the city of Hobart.
It would be 30 years. In May and June 1835, John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, explored the Melbourne area, claimed to have negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres with eight Wurundjeri elders. Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village" before returning to Van Diemen's Land. In August 1835, another group of Vandemonian settlers arrived in the area and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. Batman and his group arrived the following month and the two groups agreed to share the settlement known by the native name of Dootigala. Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled by Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales, with compensation paid to members of the association. In 1836, Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, commissioned the first plan for its urban layout, the Hoddle Grid, in 1837.
Known as Batmania, the settlement was named Melbourne in 1837 after the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose seat was Melbourne Hall in the market town of Melbourne, Derbyshire. That year, the settlement's general post office opened with that name. Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were dispossessed of their land by European settlers. By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne; the British Colonial Office appointed five Aboriginal Protectors for the Aborigines of Victoria, in 1839, however their work was nullified by a land policy that favoured squatters who took possession of Aboriginal lands. By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come. Letters patent of Queen Victoria, issued on 25 June 1847, declared Melbourne a city. On 1 July 1851, the Port Phillip District separated from New South Wales to become the Colony of Victoria, with Melbourne as its capital.
The discovery of gold in Victoria in mid-1851 sparked a
England cricket team
The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, having been governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end of 1996. England, as a founding nation, is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test, One Day International and Twenty20 International status; until the 1990s, Scottish and Irish players played for England as those countries were not yet ICC members in their own right. England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match, these two countries together with South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference on 15 June 1909. England and Australia played the first ODI on 5 January 1971. England's first T20I was played on 13 June 2005, once more against Australia; as of 12 March 2019, England has played 1010 Test matches, winning 365 and losing 300. The team has won The Ashes on 32 occasions. England has played 726 ODIs, winning 362, its record in major ODI tournaments includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups, in two ICC Champions Trophys.
England has played 108 T20Is, winning 53. They won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010, were runners-up in 2016; as of 12 March 2019, England are ranked fifth in Tests, first in ODIs and third in T20Is by the ICC. Though the team and coaching staff faced heavy criticism after their Group Stage exit in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, it has since adopted a more aggressive and modern playing style in ODI cricket, under the leadership of captain Eoin Morgan and head coach Trevor Bayliss; the first recorded incidence of a team with a claim to represent England comes from 9 July 1739 when an "All-England" team, which consisted of 11 gentlemen from any part of England exclusive of Kent, played against "the Unconquerable County" of Kent and lost by a margin of "very few notches". Such matches were repeated on numerous occasions for the best part of a century. In 1846 William Clarke formed the All-England Eleven; this team competed against a United All-England Eleven with annual matches occurring between 1847 and 1856.
These matches were arguably the most important contest of the English season if judged by the quality of the players. The first overseas tour occurred in September 1859 with England touring North America; this team had six players from the All-England Eleven, six from the United All-England Eleven and was captained by George Parr. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, attention turned elsewhere. English tourists visited Australia in 1861–62 with this first tour organised as a commercial venture by Messrs Spiers and Pond, restaurateurs of Melbourne. Most matches played during tours prior to 1877 were "against odds", with the opposing team fielding more than 11 players to make for a more contest; this first Australian tour were against odds of at least 18/11. The tour was so successful that George Parr led a second tour in 1863–64. James Lillywhite led a subsequent England team which sailed on the P&O steamship Poonah on 21 September 1876, they played a combined Australian XI, for once on terms of 11 a side.
The match, starting on 15 March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground came to be regarded as the inaugural Test match. The combined Australian XI won this Test match by 45 runs with Charles Bannerman of Australia scoring the first Test century. At the time, the match was promoted as James Lillywhite's XI v Combined Victoria and New South Wales; the teams played a return match on the same ground at Easter, 1877, when Lillywhite's team avenged their loss with a victory by four wickets. The first Test match on English soil occurred in 1880 with England victorious. G. Grace included in the team. England lost their first home series 1–0 in 1882 with The Sporting Times printing an obituary on English cricket: In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R. I. P. N. B. – The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. As a result of this loss the tour of 1882–83 was dubbed by England captain Ivo Bligh as "the quest to regain the ashes".
England with a mixture of amateurs and professionals won the series 2–1. Bligh was presented with an urn that contained some ashes, which have variously been said to be of a bail, ball or a woman's veil and so The Ashes was born. A fourth match was played which Australia won by 4 wickets but the match was not considered part of the Ashes series. England dominated many of these early contests with England winning the Ashes series 10 times between 1884 and 1898. During this period England played their first Test match against South Africa in 1889 at Port Elizabeth. England won the 1890 Ashes Series 2–0, with the third match of the series being the first Test match to be abandoned. England lost 2 -- 1 in the 1891 -- 92 series. England again won the 1894 -- 95 series. In 1895 -- 96 England played Test South Africa; the 1899 Ashes series was the first tour where the MCC and the counties appointed a selection committee. There were three active players: Lord Hawke, W. G. Grace and Herbert Bainbridge, the captain of Warwickshire.
Prior to this, England teams for home Tests had been chosen by the club on whose ground the match was to be played. England lost the 1899 Ashes series 1–0, with WG Grace making his final Test appearance in the first match of the series; the start of the
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is a former Australian cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, but he was a competent lower-order batsman with a Test double century, an unbeaten 201, the highest score by a night-watchman in international cricket. Gillespie made his Test debut against the West Indies at Sydney in 1996 and his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in the Singer World Series in 1996, he played for South Australia and Glamorgan at first-class level. He was an AIS Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 1995. On 29 February 2008, Gillespie announced his retirement from first-class cricket in Australia and played for a period in the unauthorized Indian Cricket League for the Ahmedabad Rockets. At the end of the 2008 English domestic season he retired from all first-class cricket. Jason Gillespie is a descendant on his father's side of the Kamilaroi people of Indigenous Australians, is the first acknowledged Aboriginal person to become a Test cricketer.
His mother has Greek heritage and Jason is the eldest of the three children. He attended Cabra Dominican College in South Australia. Gillespie married Anna in 2003; the couple have four children: Jackson, Brandon and daughter Delaney, born November 2012 in Yorkshire. Gillespie has another daughter, Sapphire from a previous relationship. Gillespie is a vegan, has criticized dairy farming and the use of leather balls. While coaching Yorkshire, Gillespie said of the club being sponsored by a dairy: "Yes, they are a sponsor but it doesn't mean I agree with what they do. It's out of my control, just like the fact that cricket balls are made of leather". Gillespie made his first Australian domestic century in a Pura Cup match in the 2007/08 season against Tasmania, he put on a 250-run partnership with the South Australian wicketkeeper Graham Manou, who made 190. Gillespie remained 118 not out. Gillespie made his first domestic first-class century a year on his 32nd birthday in a County Championship match versus Surrey at The Oval whilst playing for Yorkshire.
He hit an unbeaten 123 and in doing so, alongside Tim Bresnan, set a record ninth-wicket partnership for Yorkshire. The pair put on 246. Gillespie's 123 not out was the highest score for Yorkshire by a number 10 batsman. Gillespie took 259 wickets in 71 Tests making him Australia's sixth-highest wicket-taker and giving him the 14th best bowling average for Australian bowlers who have taken more than a hundred wickets. In terms of pace, he bowled at 140–150 km/h mark in his early career up to about 2001; when he made his comeback in the 2001/02 season, he bowled more but at a speed of about 135–145 km/h. Consistent injuries forced Gillespie to therefore reduce his pace. Gillespie dominated a Test series, but he was a reliable support bowler over several years for his more famous teammates Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. However, Gillespie's career suffered an unexpectedly sharp decline. In early 2005, there were some signs that he was struggling, with somewhat poor displays against New Zealand, but he was still considered Australia's leading fast-bowling partner for McGrath.
This poor form continued into the 2005 Ashes series where he struggled badly, taking just three wickets at a cost of 300 runs and, as a result, was dropped after the third Test. After the Ashes series Gillespie took 40 wickets for South Australia during the 2005/06 Pura Cup Season, he was the fourth-highest wicket taker in the competition, with an average far below the other leading wicket takers. His best figures came against Victoria where he took 7–35; these performances saw him make a return to the Australian Test side against Bangladesh after injury problems to the first choice attack. Gillespie was named man of the series after taking 8 wickets and making a double century in the two Tests but was never selected to play for Australia again. Gillespie proved his worth with the bat, with a highest Test score of 201 not out and an average of 18.73. He is the only player in Test cricket with a career batting average of less than 20 to reach 200 runs in an innings, he demonstrated a solid defensive game, known amongst teammates as'The Walking Forward Defence', despite not making big scores, he was a difficult batsman to dismiss and occupied the crease for substantial periods of time, allowing his batting partner time to get a big score.
Given his low back lift, he could defend or deflect shots from spin bowlers more readily. He has a one-day international high score of 44 not out and he averages 12.56 in one-day internationals with a strike rate of 78.53. In the second Test match against Bangladesh at Chittagong on 19 April 2006, Gillespie set the world record for the highest individual score by a night watchman; this was Gillespie's maiden first-class century. Gillespie shared a 4th wicket partnership of 320 runs with Michael Hussey. Gillespie was awarded man-of-the-match honours for his double-century in the first innings, he was named man of the series for his efforts that included eight wickets, at an average of 11.25, across the two Tests. It was his final match in international cricket. Gillespie is the only night watchman to score a double century in an innings of a Test. Throughout his career, Gillespie had bad luck with injuries, suffering from foot injuries, stress fractures in the back, hip twinges, side-strains, shoulders
Australia (both Test and ODI)
Mark Boucher (wicket-keeper)
Rahul Dravid
Andrew Flintoff
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Brian Lara
Muttiah Muralitharan
Daniel Vettori
TAS
WA
NSW
QLD
VIC