1.
Australia national cricket team
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The Australia national cricket team, represents the country of Australia in international cricket. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, having played in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League. The national team has played 801 Test matches, winning 377, losing 215, drawing 207, Australia is ranked the number-one team overall in Test cricket in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and wins percentage. As of 29 March 2017, Australia is ranked third in the ICC Test Championship on 108 rating points, the Australian cricket team has played 898 ODI matches, winning 554, losing 303, tying 9 and with 32 ending in no-result. They currently lead the ICC ODI Championship, having done so for 130 of 161 months since its introduction in 2002. Australia have made a record seven World Cup final appearances and have won the World Cup a record five times in total,1987,1999,2003,2007 and 2015 and it is also the second team to win a World Cup on home soil, after India. The team was undefeated in 34 consecutive World Cup matches until 19 March at the 2011 Cricket World Cup where Pakistan beat them by 4 wickets. Australia have also won the ICC Champions Trophy twice – in 2006 and in 2009 – making them the first and the only team to become back to back winners in the Champions Trophy tournaments. Test cricket, which occurred between Australia and England at the time, was limited by the long distance between the two countries, which would take several months by sea. Most cricketers at the time were either from New South Wales or Victoria, with the exception of George Giffen. A highlight of Australias early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval, in this match Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the games fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target. This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which Australia, to this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport. It participated in between the 1897–98 English tour of Australia and the 1910–11 South African tour of Australia, Victor Trumper became one of Australias first sporting heroes, and was widely considered Australias greatest batsman before Bradman and one of the most popular players. He played a number of Tests at 49 and scored 3163 runs at a high for the time average of 39.04. His early death in 1915 at the age of 37 from kidney disease caused national mourning, the Wisden Cricketers Almanack, in its obituary for him, called him Australias greatest batsman, Of all the great Australian batsmen Victor Trumper was by general consent the best and most brilliant. Led by Peter McAlister, who was attempting to gain control of tours from the players. This led to six leading players walking out on the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England and this was the last series before the war, and no more cricket was played by Australia for eight years, with Tibby Cotter being killed in Palestine during the war. Test cricket resumed in the 1920/21 season in Australia with a touring English team, captained by Johnny Douglas losing all five Tests to Australia, the team continued its success on the 1921 Tour of England, winning three out of the five Tests in Warwick Armstrongs last series
2.
England cricket team
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The England cricket team is the team that represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match, and these two countries together with South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also played the first One Day International on 5 January 1971, Englands first Twenty20 International was played on 13 June 2005, once more against Australia. As of 9 March 2017, England has played 983 Test matches, winning 351, the team has won The Ashes on 32 occasions, the same number as their opponents Australia. England has played 683 ODIs, winning 332, and its record in major ODI tournaments includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups, and also in two ICC Champions Trophys, England has also played 89 T20Is, winning 43. They won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010, and were runners-up in 2016, England are currently ranked fourth in Tests, fifth in ODIs and fifth in T20Is by the ICC. England currently holds the record for the highest ever ODI total of 444, such matches were repeated on numerous occasions for the best part of a century. In 1846 William Clarke formed the All-England Eleven and this team would eventually compete 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 venture by Messrs Spiers and Pond. Most matches played during tours prior to 1877 were against odds and this first Australian tour were mostly against odds of at least 18/11. The tour was so successful that George Parr led a tour in 1863–64. James Lillywhite led a subsequent England team which sailed on the P&O steamship Poonah on 21 September 1876 and they would play a combined Australian XI, for once on even 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 Lillywhites XI v Combined Victoria, the teams played a return match on the same ground at Easter,1877, when Lillywhites team avenged their loss with a victory by four wickets. The first Test match on English soil occurred in 1880 with England victorious, – The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. As a result of loss the tour of 1882–83 was dubbed by England captain Ivo Bligh as the quest to regain the ashes
3.
Dave Gregory (cricketer)
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David William Gregory was an Australian cricketer of the 19th century. David William Gregory was a man of striking appearance, he looked like an Old Testament prophet not long out of training college and his was educated at the St James Model School, Sydney. In 1861, he joined the New South Wales public service, in 1883 he became inspector of public accounts and later paymaster of the Treasury for nine years until he retired. His family came to six other first-class cricketers, his brothers Ned, Charles and Arthur. He first appeared for New South Wales in 1866, for whom he would play 38 matches until his retirement in early 1883. Averaging a low 14.57 with the bat, including a debut first-ball duck, he managed five half centuries including strong knocks of 85 and 74 at Melbourne and Sydney. Of the former, it was noted that he was a marvel of patience at first and his score was a record at the time for New South Wales, and the match also saw the debut of his brother, Arthur. Despite his low average, however, it is illustrative of the conditions of the pitches on which he played that he would reach double figures on several occasions when members of his team failed. He would find success with the ball also, in his first match, he took 3/36 off 24.1 overs. and he would go on to take 29 wickets at 19.24, including a five-wicket-haul of 5/55. Gregory had a less than successful international career with bat or ball, in the 1st ever test match played at Melbourne he won the toss and elected to bat. His team won but he only managed 4 runs in 2 Innings and he enjoyed more success on his home grounds, scoring a career best 43 in the second Test against England in March 1877, having made only one earlier in the second. Dave Gregory made his Test debut batting at No,4 for Australia and he joined Charles Bannerman on 26 not out. They were the worlds 1st ever Test 3rd wicket partnership, Dave Gregory was 31 years 334 days old, the youngest test captain at that time. At Lords he made one of two substantial scores of the tour,42 in each innings against Middlesex. The other,57, came against the Players at the end of the tour. He did, however, captain his team during their victory over the MCC, Gregory led Australia at Melbourne against England in January 1879, scoring 12 in his only innings. He was succeeded in the captaincy by Billy Murdoch, having been the captain for all three of his Test appearances, with two victories and one defeat and he is the only Australian player to have made every international appearance as captain. Following what would be his last Test, Gregory captained New South Wales against the touring England team at the SCG in February, on the second day,10,000 spectators witnessed England collapse
4.
Charles Bannerman
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Charles Bannerman was an Australia cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he represented Australia in three Test matches between 1877 and 1879, at the domestic level, he played for the New South Wales cricket team. He is most famous for facing the first ball bowled in Test cricket, scoring the first run in Test cricket. This innings of 165 remains the highest individual share of a completed innings in Test cricket history. Bannerman was born in Woolwich, Kent, England to William Bannerman, not long afterwards the family migrated to New South Wales, Australia, where he joined the Warwick Cricket Club in Sydney. At the club he was trained by William Caffyn, a former Surrey cricketer who was then a representative of New South Wales, Bannerman started playing professional cricket in 1871, before making his first-class debut for New South Wales. In his first match, against Victoria, he made 32 and 3 runs, Bannerman played in the first three matches that were later designated as Test matches. The first of these, between Australia and England was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and Australia batted first. Bannerman opened the Australian innings and is thus deemed to have had the honour of facing the first ball ever bowled in Test cricket. Only Harry Jupp scoring 54 on the second day bettered Charles Bannermans 39 runs on the second day, again retrospectively, his innings was the first-ever Test century. It remains the highest score by an Australian batsman on debut and his 165 runs, No other Australian exceeded 20 in either innings, as Australia won the match by 45 runs. For his feat, spectators at the match collected £83 7s 6d to present to him, Bannerman played in two more matches now recognised as Tests, the second in 1877 and the one in 1879. His Test record is 239 runs at an average of 59.75, at the end of the first Test on 19 March 1877 Charles Bannerman had become the first Test batsman to score 150 runs in a Test career. He finished the Test on 169, Charles Bannerman and Nat Thomson were the first ever international batting partnership and they made 2 runs together before Nat Thomson was bowled by Allen Hill for 1. Charles Bannerman was selected for the 2nd Test of the 1876–77 Series and he opened the batting at No.2 once again partnering Nat Thomson. He and Thomson added 29 for the first Wicket when Thomson was dismissed for 18, Charles was then joined by Australias wicket-keeper, batting at No. However, after batting for 55 minutes he was bowled by Allen Hill for 10 and he had now increased the record career score to 179. On the 3rd day Charles batted at No.3 and he came in when Australia were 88 for 1 to partner Nat Thomson
5.
George Ulyett
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George Ulyett was an English all-round cricketer, noted particularly for his very-aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man, Ulyett was popularly known as Happy Jack, once musing memorably that Yorkshire played him only for his good behaviour, a fine all round sportsman, Ulyett played football in the 1882–83 and 1883–84 seasons as goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday. Born in Pitsmoor, Sheffield, Ulyett joined the local Pitsmoor club at the age of sixteen and, from 1871 to 1873, played as a professional in Bradford. In 1873, he made his Yorkshire debut, at Bramall Lane against Sussex, in his best batting year of 1883 Ulyett achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 1,562 runs – eleven runs from being the leading run scorer – without a single century. He took his career-best figures of seven for thirty against Surrey in 1878 and, in 1887, Ulyett was a member of James Lillywhite Juniors tour of Australia in 1876/77. If Ulyett, Emmett, and Hill are specimens of the best fast bowling in England, all we can say is, either they have not shown their proper form, or British bowling has sadly deteriorated. Not long after, however in an eleven-a-side first-class match against New South Wales, Ulyett also played in the first-ever Test match, staged at the MCG, during that tour. His first real action in Test cricket came when he held onto a catch off the bowling of James Southerton to dismiss Billy Midwinter for five. In bowling, Ulyett took three for 39 in the innings, his first wicket being that of Charles Bannerman. A short delay revealed the fact that Bannerman could no longer grip his bat properly, the Australian opener walked off, wincing from the pain in his bloodied right hand. George Ulyett, although never regarded as a bowler, could nevertheless do real damage on occasion. Bannerman was unable to field, and, in the second innings, in the second game, also at Melbourne, Ulyett showed his worth as a batsman, making 52 and 63 to secure an England win by four wickets. On Day 2 George joined A Greenwood when England were 72 for 4, George partnered Greenwood and Tom Emmett. His 52 was part of a total of 86, 2nd highest by a Test Player at that time. Thereafter, he was a pick for the England Test side. Ulyett played 25 Tests in total—it was by far the longest career of any England cricketer to play in that inaugural Test—and several times changed the course of a match. At Lords in 1884, in the innings, he returned an analysis of 39. 1–23–36–7 to reduce the Australians from 60/1 to 145 all out. Included in that haul was one of the most famous caughts-and-bowled ever taken, Ulyett sent down a straight half-volley to Bonnor, who drove at it with all his considerable might and got it right out of the middle of the bat
6.
Allen Hill
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Allen Hill played in the first-ever cricket Test, taking the first wicket. Hill also went on to umpire in the Test match played at Lords in 1890, Allen Hill was the son of Francis Hill, a Hand Loom Fancy Weaver, and Elizabeth Thornton. In 1851 Frank and Betty were living at Shaw Cross, Kirkheaton with 6 children, in 1861 they had moved to Cheesbourgh Fold with only Allen age 17, described as a Fancy Weaver, then living with them. Allen married Ellen Jessop in 1868 and in 1871 they were living at Common End, Lepton, Allens occupation at this time was described as Fancy Weaver. There was a son Frank born c.1869 who died in 1876 age 7, by 1891 Allen had moved to 3 Stanley Street, Leyland, Lancs. In that years census he was a widower, his wife Ellen having died in 1889, there were 4 daughters – Alice, Kathleen Mary, Gertrude and Mabel. In the 1901 census Allen was living at Fox Lane in Leyland with his 2nd wife Margaret, daughter of James Whittle, a coachman, & Ann Mills and she was some 18 years his junior. He would then be 57, shown in the census as 51, daughters Gertrude and Mabel were still at home along with Allens grandson Frank Hill born 1901. He began his career with Lascelles Hall and Kirkheaton clubs and, in 1863, became professional at Dewsbury and Savile and he played 139 matches for Yorkshire between 1871 and 1882. His highest score for Yorkshire was 49 versus Middlesex at Bramall Lane and his best bowling was 7 for 14 against Surrey at Argyle Street, in Hull in 1879. Hill played for the Gentlemen v Players, from 1874 to 1882 and he toured with Lillywhite to Australia in 1876–77. Allen Hill came out on the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 15-Mar-1877 as England became the 1st International Team to field, Allen Hill bowled the 2nd over of the Innings conceding the 1st run. In the 4th over he bowled Australia No,2 Batsman, Nat Thomson to take the honour of being the 1st Test Bowler to take a wicket, Allen Hill and Nat Thomson became the 1st Bowler/Batsman Partnership in Test Cricket. Later that day he was passed by James Southerton when he took his 2nd wicket, Allen Hill also achieved another first. When Australia were 40 for 1 Australia No,3, Tom Horan hit a delivery from England bowler Alfred Shaw, Allen played in the 2nd Test of the 1876-1877 Series. On the 2nd day Allen joined Tom Emmett when England 162 for 6 and he partnered Tom Emmett, Tom Armitage and England Captain, James Lillywhite, junior. At 259 for 8 Allen Hill was run out for 49 and he became the 3rd batsman to pass 80 runs in a career and his 84 was the 3rd highest at that time. Hill was a bowler with a roundarm action, which said was one of the best of its kind that can be recalled
7.
Tom Kendall
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Thomas Kingston Kendall was an Australian cricketer, who played in two Tests in 1877, including the inaugural Test which was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877. Kendall was a lower-order left-handed batsman and a slow-to-medium pace left-arm bowler and it was Kendalls bowling that induced the first Test match stumping, when he dismissed Alfred Shaw, via Jack Blackhams wicketkeeping. Kendall played in Melbourne club cricket for Richmond, and represented Victoria once, in 1881, he moved to Hobart where he was employed by The Mercury newspaper. Tasmania did not have regular first-class cricket at that point and his subsequent cricket career was limited to four matches on a tour to New Zealand in 1884 and he later stood as an umpire in Tasmanian cricket. List of Victoria first-class cricketers List of Tasmanian representative cricketers Mahony, sundry Extras, The Hambledon Press, London
8.
Billy Midwinter
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William Evans Midwinter was a cricketer who played four Test matches for England, sandwiched in between eight Tests that he played for Australia. Midwinter holds a place in cricket history as the only cricketer to have played for Australia. Midwinter made his Test debut in the first ever Test match in 1877, playing for Australia and he took five wickets in the first innings against England in Melbourne. Billy played in the 2nd test of the 1876-1877 Series, Australia won the toss and elected to bat. He came out when Australia were 60 for 4 to join debut man Thomas Kelly, Billy batted with all 3 test debutants, Thomas Kelly, Frederick Spofforth and Billy Murdoch. He scored 31, his top score at the time and became the 3rd Test Batsman to score 53 runs in a Test Career, later that year he returned to England, playing for WG Graces Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. He didnt return to the tour, instead remaining with Gloucestershire until the 1882 season and he was selected to tour with the England team visiting Australia in 1881/2, playing four Tests, and then in 1882/3 Midwinter emigrated back to Australia, joining Victoria. He was selected for Australia to play the one-off Test after England had won the first Ashes series in 1883/4 and this makes him the only man to play for one international side, then another, and then return to his original international team. His batting performance at Test level was not exceptional, but his first class performances for Victoria, by 1889, Midwinters wife and two of his children had died, and his businesses were failed or failing. He became hopelessly insane and was confined to Bendigo Hospital in 1890 and he was then transferred to the Kew Asylum, where he died later that year. He was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery, list of cricketers who have played for two international teams The Midwinter file, Graham Parker, Wisden 1971 Cricinfo page on Billy Midwinter Brief profile of W. E
9.
Alfred Shaw
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Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings. He was also, along with James Lillywhite and Arthur Shrewsbury and he also organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888. Shaw was one of the few cricketers of his time whose Christian name was used more frequently than his initials, standing only 56½ tall, he put on copious weight near the end of his career, when his naturally corpulent build was dramatically accentuated. It is unfortunate, therefore, that most photographs of him were taken so late in his cricketing life, Shaws first-class career extended from 1864 to 1897, and most of his matches were for Nottinghamshire. He had the distinction for a professional of frequently captaining that county. He was a leader with a powerful persona, but his connection with Notts all. As his team-mates observed, the county went into rapid decline upon his departure, sometime during Shaws early career, he suggested that the creases should be made by whitewash and this was gradually adopted through the 1870s. In the course of time, the scratches became cuts which were an inch deep, the cut was in use until the second half of the 19th century when whitewashing replaced it. A fervent champion of the professional cricketers rights, Shaw did a lot of work in support of his contemporaries and he declined to tour with WG Grace in 1873/74 because the professionals in the squad were to be afforded only second-class facilities. In 1881, he led a strike of Notts professionals, demanding a contract of employment to guarantee an automatic benefit at the end of an agreed playing period. There was eventually a reconciliation, however, and Shaw took on the once more. He was a remarkably accurate bowler, sending down more overs than he conceded runs in his entire career, nearly two-thirds of all the overs that he bowled were runless. In my opinion, length and variation of pace constitute the secret of successful bowling, still, this did not stop WG Grace from asserting that, between 1870 and 1880, Shaw was perhaps the best bowler in England. Certainly, he was supreme among slow bowlers, for many years he was on the MCC groundstaff. In 1874 he took all ten wickets for the club in a first-class innings, in 1875, he returned bowling figures of seven for seven off 41.2 overs,36 of them maidens. At the end of that 1876 season, Shaw went to Australia with James Lillywhite Juniors side and he is famous for having bowled the first-ever delivery in Test Match cricket to Charles Bannerman, who went on to score 165. On his debut, he took five wickets in the second innings, as a batsman, he became the first Test cricketer to be stumped, by Jack Blackham off the bowling of Tom Kendall. Shaw played in seven of the first eight Test Matches, missing out in 1882 because, according to a 1902 interview with Allan Steel, he was not bowling quite at his best
10.
Test cricket
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Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket and is considered its highest standard. Test matches are played between national teams with Test status, as determined by the International Cricket Council. The two teams of 11 players play a match, which may last up to five days. It is generally considered the most complete examination of teams playing ability, the name Test stems from the long, gruelling match being a test of the relative strengths of the two sides. A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977, in October 2012, the International Cricket Council recast the playing conditions for Test matches, permitting day/night Test matches. The first day/night game took place between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, on 27 November 2015, Test matches are the highest level of cricket although, statistically, their data forms part of first-class cricket. Matches are played between national teams with Test status, as determined by the International Cricket Council. As of December 2014, ten teams have Test status. Zimbabwes Test status was suspended, because of poor performances between 2006 and 2011, it returned to competition in August 2011. If the Associate team defeats the test nation, then they could be added as the new test country, a list of matches, defined as Tests, was first drawn up by Australian Clarence Moody in the mid-1890s. Representative matches played by simultaneous England touring sides of 1891–92 and 1929–30 are deemed to have Test status, in 1970, a series of five Test matches was played in England between England and a Rest of the World XI. These matches, originally scheduled between England and South Africa, were amended after South Africa was suspended from international cricket because of their governments policy of apartheid. Although initially given Test status, this was withdrawn and a principle was established that official Test matches can only be between nations. Despite this, in 2005, the ICC ruled that the six-day Super Series match that took place in October 2005, some cricket writers and statisticians, including Bill Frindall, ignored the ICCs ruling and excluded the 2005 match from their records. The series of Test matches played in Australia between Australia and a World XI in 1971/72 do not have Test status, there are currently ten Test-playing teams, representing individual nations except for England and the West Indies. Test status is conferred upon a country or group of countries by the International Cricket Council, teams that do not have Test status can play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, specifically designed to allow non-Test teams to play under conditions similar to Tests. In May 2016, ICC announced that it is contemplating the idea of two-tiers in Test match cricket, ICC hopes that this will help them draw more crowd and generate more revenue from the matches played between top tier teams. Promotion and relegation could be introduced into Test cricket as early as 2019 and this will give opportunities to more countries like Afghanistan and Ireland to play test cricket
11.
Adelaide Oval
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Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The stadium is used for cricket and Australian rules football, but also plays host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer. The Oval has been headquarters to the South Australian Cricket Association since 1871, the stadium is managed by the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority. Redevelopments between 2008 and 2014, costing $575 million, increased the seating capacity from 34,000 to 53,583. The Adelaide and Port Adelaide Football Clubs also returned to the stadium, in 2010, Austadiums. com called the Adelaide Oval one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world. In December 2009 South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced a $450 million government commitment to redevelop Adelaide Oval to enable AFL Football to be played there, in May 2011 Treasurer Kevin Foley announced an increase in government funding to $535 million. 1871 - The ground was established in 1871 after the formation of SACA, among those responsible for the original construction were John Pickering and Henry Sparks. 1877 - The first South Australian Football Association match that took place on the ground was between Adelaide Football Club and the Bankers, Adelaide won the match 4 goals to 1. 1877 – The first first-class cricket match played at the ground between South Australia and Tasmania on 10 and 12 November 1877, South Australia was victorious, winning by an innings and 13 runs. 1878 – The first century was scored by John Hill on 30 January 1878, John was the father of the great Clem Hill. 1884 – The first Test match played at the Oval was held from 12–16 December 1884, England beat Australia by eight wickets. 1885 – The first football game lit by light was conducted on the evening of 1 July 1885. 1889 – The first Grand Final in a major Australian rules football competition was played between Norwood and Port Adelaide, Norwood won the game 7.4 to 5.9. 1894 – In 1894–95 Albert Trott collected 8/43 on debut against England,1900 – The picket fence was put up surrounding the Oval in 1900. 1911 – From 5–12 August 1911 the Australian Football Council Carnival was played at the ground, the competing sides were SA, VFL, VFA, Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. 1911 – The Adelaide Oval scoreboard, designed by architect Kenneth Milne, the clock was added in 1912 and the windvane in the 1930s. 1914 - The Port Adelaide Football Club defeated the Carlton Football Club for their fourth Championship of Australia title defeating the Victorian side by 34 points,9.16 to 5.6. 1931 – In 1931–32 Donald Bradman scored the highest score ever at the ground in Test Cricket, in the same game, Clarrie Grimmett collected fourteen wickets, the most ever taken in a Test match at the ground by a bowler
12.
Fred Grace
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He was born in Downend, South Gloucestershire and died in Basingstoke, Hampshire. A right-handed batsman who bowled right arm fast roundarm, he appeared in 195 matches that are generally rated first-class for statistical purposes, in these matches, Grace scored 6,906 runs with a highest score of 189*. An outstanding fielder and occasional wicket-keeper, he held 170 catches and he took 329 wickets with a best performance of eight for 43. Fred Grace was the youngest member of the Grace family and he had four elder brothers who all played cricket, Henry, Alfred, EM and WG. His two oldest brothers were known by their first names, Henry and Alfred. Fred Grace first attracted notice in cricket, playing for his fathers West Gloucestershire Cricket Club in 1864 when still only 13. It was said of him then that he did not play with so straight a bat as WG, mention was made of the great promise shown in his fielding, always an outstanding feature of his game, he was hailed as a glorious field. Aged 15, Grace took a wicket and had scores of 0 and 10. WG, aged 17, was in the team and it was at this match that WG received an invitation from Edmund Carter to join the OUCC. In due course, Fred would follow him into the study of medicine, in September 1880, Grace was selected along with EM and WG to play for England against the Australian tourists in a match at The Oval that was later recognised as the inaugural Test in England. He was out for nought in both innings and so became the first player to be dismissed for a pair on Test debut. He made his mark on the match, however, by holding a celebrated and this was from a shot by the giant Australian batsman George Bonnor off Alfred Shaw. Bonnor hit the ball so high that he and his partner Harry Boyle had turned for their run before, finally. That catch became part of folklore and has been described as the most famous deep field catch in history. The Test match ended with an England victory on Wednesday,8 September, Grace went to Stroud for a USEE odds match played 9 to 11 September. It was his last cricket match and he had caught a cold during the Test match which was made worse by being soaked twice during showers at Stroud. He took a room at the Red Lion Hotel in Basingstoke and he could not play in the benefit match because his condition had worsened and he became bed-ridden at the hotel where a doctor diagnosed a problem with his right lung. Graces brother Henry and his cousin Walter Gilbert came to see him, there were conflicting reports by telegram about his condition until the morning of Wednesday,22 September, when he suddenly deteriorated and became critical
13.
Fred Spofforth
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He played in Test matches for Australia between 1877 and 1887, and then settled in England where he played for Derbyshire. In 2011, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, Spofforth was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain, the son of Yorkshire-born Edward Spofforth, a bank clerk, and his wife Anna, née McDonnell. Spofforth was thereafter employed by the Bank of New South Wales as a clerk and he began his life as a bowler with underarm lobs but changed his style when he saw the great England quick bowlers on their tour of the colonies in 1863/64. He decided that he would pursue the action and spent many years mastering it. Spofforth came to notice as a member of the New South Wales eighteen in January 1874 when he took two wickets for sixteen in a match against W. G. Although he batted reasonably well during the 1878 and 1880 Australian tours in England, from then he concentrated almost solely on his bowling, Spofforth played his first Test match in 1877 in Melbourne. He had boycotted the First Test because of Jack Blackhams selection as wicket-keeper ahead of Spofforths close friend, Spofforth truly announced himself to the cricketing world on 27 May 1878, when the touring Australians met the MCC at Lords. In this, the match of the tour, the might of the MCC was dismissed twice in one day at the fortress of English cricket for paltry scores of just 33. The colonists won by nine wickets, with Spofforth picking up ten for twenty after first clean-bowling Grace for a duck, tom Felix Horan records that, when he did so, he jumped about two feet in the air, and sang out, Bowled. And at the finish in the dressing-room, he said, Aint I a demon, gesticulating the while in his well-known demonaic style. Whether or not he christened himself the demon, he certainly was a demon bowler, Spofforth confirms this, To myself, it will always be a noteworthy occasion, since it was then that I first earned my popular sobriquet – the Demon. As a consequence of victory, writes Plum Warner, the fame of Australian cricket was established for all time. Spofforth became known forever as The Demon Bowler and he was the bowler whom English batsmen most feared and is also regarded as the one who first brought into the game, as a scaring technique, eye-to-eye contact with the batsman. Spofforth would often stare straight into the eyes to scare. During the 1878 tour Spofforth was credited with as many as 110 wickets at an average of under 10½ runs and this worked to particularly devastating effect in the match that gave birth to the legendary Ashes series, at The Oval on 29 August 1882. The Australians won by seven runs, Spofforth taking match figures of fourteen for ninety and this was the highlight of a brilliant bowling performance which brought him 13 wickets for 110 runs. In February, Spofforth also played for New South Wales against Lord Harris tourists in a game that, on the Saturday, although not noted as a batsman, he once top-scored in a Test from the unlikely starting position of number eleven. He hit 50 against England at Melbourne in 1884–85, the next-highest score by an Australian in the match was 35, in 1882, he set the record for becoming the first bowler to take 3 wickets in 4 balls
14.
Billy Murdoch
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William Lloyd Billy Murdoch was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890. This included four tours of England, one of which, in 1882, although Victorian-born, Murdoch was raised in Sydney, and played his Australian domestic cricket for New South Wales, making his first-class debut in 1875. His Test debut came in 1877, in what was classed as the second Test match to be played. Murdoch began his career as a wicket-keeper, but at Test level kept wicket only once, as a batsman, Murdoch scored both the first double century in Test cricket and the first triple century in Australian domestic cricket. In later years, he settled in England, playing county cricket for Sussex, in 1892, he toured South Africa with England and played in one Test match, making him one of the few cricketers to represent more than one international team. Murdochs final first-class match came at the age of 49, in August 1904 and he died in Melbourne in 1911, aged only 56. Murdoch was born in Sandhurst, Victoria, to Gilbert Murdoch and his father was an American of Scottish descent, who had been a corporal in the U. S. Army prior to emigrating from Maryland to Tasmania in 1849. He died shortly before his sons birth, the family moved to New South Wales in the early 1860s. Both Billy Murdoch and his brother, Gilbert, subsequently studied law at the University of Sydney. Billy Murdoch married Jemima Watson daughter of John Boyd Watson on 8 December 1884 at the Free Church of England, Collingwood, Murdoch made his first-class entry in 1875, at the time regarded as the finest wicketkeeper in Australia, and a highly rated right-handed batsman. He played in the second Test match ever played, the 1877 clash against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Later that year, he qualified as a solicitor and opened up a practice, Murdoch & Murdoch, with his brother Gilbert, although it was short-lived, going bankrupt in 1877. Murdoch established himself as one of the eras greatest batsmen over the few years. In 1881–82 he became the first man other than W. G. Grace to score a triple century when, as captain. The innings comprised 38 fours, nine threes,41 twos and 60 singles from all of ten Victorian bowlers and it was this knock which established him in the public reckoning as Australias finest batsman. So unvanquishable was he that Tom Horan was reduced to bowling Leg theory, Murdoch was never far from controversy. His omission as wicketkeeper in the very first Test resulted in Australias premier fast bowler, Fred Spofforth, in 1884 as captain of Australia he was involved in the players strike, where the Australian players refused to play unless they received a greater share of the gate takings. He was also the batsman whose contentious run out caused friction between New South Wales and a visiting English team led by Lord Harris, which caused a spectator riot
15.
History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883
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Test matches in the period 1877 to 1883 were organised somewhat differently from international cricket matches today. The teams were rarely representative, and the trip between Australia and England, which usually lasted about 48 days, was one that many cricketers were unable or unwilling to undertake. As such, the home teams enjoyed a great advantage, thirteen Test Matches were played during the period, all between Australian and English sides. Most were not styled as representative England v. Australia contests, however, the same is true of their designation as Test matches, which did not enter into the vernacular until 1885. Eleven of the thirteen matches played to 1883 were in Australia, where the colonials made the most of their advantage, winning seven while England won four. By 1883, the tradition of England-Australia tours was well established, England captain Ivo Bligh promised that on the tour to Australia in 1882–83 he would regain the ashes and the term began to be established. During that tour a small urn was presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The urn is commonly, but erroneously, believed to be the trophy of the Ashes series, a number of the problems that continue to bedevil cricket today had already surfaced by 1883, there were umpiring disputes, betting controversies, match-fixing, and even a riot. There was a long build-up to what became the first Test tour, the inaugural overseas visit of leading English cricketers was organised by John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, a strong player himself. Having recently been an ambassador to France, where he promoted the game of cricket, Dorset arranged a tour to that country in 1789. Although it is unclear whom they were to play against, his men did get as far as an assembly in Dover, the Dukes timing was poor, however, for the French Revolution had just broken out. His cricket tour became the first one to be abandoned for political reasons and it was not until the 19th century that strong England teams began to form. By the late 18th, there were games played by sides designated England — England vs Hambledon and England vs Kent, for instance –. By 1846, however, William Clarke, a bricklayer from Nottingham, had formed the All-England Eleven, leading amateurs such as Alfred Mynn also played on occasion. Matches were usually against the odds, with men in their team versus 22 for the opposition, to make it a more interesting. In 1852, together with fellow Sussex man Jemmy Dean, John Wisden founded the United All-England Eleven, the matches between these two became the highlight of every English season, and the teams, both essentially business ventures, went a long way to popularising the game in England. The year 1859 saw the first main representative tour by an England team and it was captained by George Parr and comprised six players from the All-England Eleven, together with another six from the United All-England XI. The team toured United States and Canada, where cricket was very popular, the match in New York, for example, is said to have been watched by 10,000 people, but this may well be an exaggeration
16.
The Ashes
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The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the Test series, the term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australias 1882 victory at The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated, the mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to regain those ashes. The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes, after England had won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women including Florence Morphy, whom Bligh married within a year. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden bail and it is not clear whether that tiny silver urn is the same as the small terracotta urn given to the MCC by Blighs widow after his death in 1927. The urn has never been the trophy of the Ashes series. However, replicas of the urn are often held aloft by victorious teams as a symbol of their victory in an Ashes series. Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, a Waterford Crystal representation of the Ashes urn has been presented to the winners of an Ashes series as the trophy of that series. An Ashes series is traditionally of five Tests, hosted in turn by England, as of August 2015, England holds the Ashes, having won three of the five Tests in the 2015 Ashes series. Australia and England have won 32 series each and five series have been drawn, the first Test match between England and Australia was played in Melbourne, Australia, in 1877, though the Ashes legend started later, after the ninth Test, played in 1882. On their tour of England that year the Australians played just one Test and it was a low-scoring affair on a difficult wicket. Australia made a mere 63 runs in its first innings, and England, led by A. N. Hornby, took a 38-run lead with a total of 101. In their second innings, the Australians, boosted by a spectacular 55 runs off 60 deliveries from Hugh Massie, managed 122 and this thing can be done, he declared. Spofforth went on to devastate the English batting, taking his final four wickets for two runs to leave England just eight runs short of victory. When Ted Peate, Englands last batsman, came to the crease, his side needed just ten runs to win, an astonished Oval crowd fell silent, struggling to believe that England could possibly have lost to a colony on home soil. When it finally sank in, the crowd swarmed onto the field, cheering loudly and chairing Boyle, when Peate returned to the pavilion he was reprimanded by his captain for not allowing his partner, Charles Studd, to get the runs. Peate humorously replied, I had no confidence in Mr Studd, sir, the momentous defeat was widely recorded in the British press, which praised the Australians for their plentiful pluck and berated the Englishmen for their lack thereof. A celebrated poem appeared in Punch on Saturday,9 September and it read, In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29 August 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R. I. P
17.
Captain (cricket)
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The captain of a cricket team, often referred to as the skipper, is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the other players. Before the game the captains toss for innings, during the match the captain decides the teams batting order, who will bowl each over, and where each fielder will be positioned. While the captain has the final say, decisions are often collaborative, a captains knowledge of the complexities of cricket strategy and tactics, and shrewdness in the field, may contribute significantly to the teams success. Before the start of a match the captain tosses a coin. The captain who wins the toss is given the choice of whether to bat or bowl first, the decision usually depends on the condition of the pitch and whether it is likely to deteriorate, the weather conditions and the weather forecast. The decision also depends on the strengths of the teams batting and bowling. Similarly a side with a weak opening batting pair may choose to bowl first in order to protect their batsmen, the captain decides where the fielders will stand, in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other senior players. The fielding positions will usually be dictated by the type of bowler, the batting style. The captain decides when each bowler will bowl, if the regular bowlers are not achieving the desired results, the captain may decide to use non-regular bowlers to attempt to unsettle the batsmen. The captain may also change the bowlers around to introduce variation, in the longer forms of cricket, when a new ball becomes available the captain decides whether to use it. When the team bats, the captain decides the batting order, in professional cricket the captain usually changes the established batting order only for exceptional reasons, because batsmen tend to specialise in batting at certain positions. However, in certain circumstances it may be in the teams interest to change the batting order, if quick runs are needed, a naturally attacking batsman may be promoted up the order. A player who is in form may be promoted to a higher batting position, if the nightwatchman does get out, the cost of losing a late wicket will have been minimised, because the specialist batsman is still available to bat. In a two-innings match, if the situation arises the captain decides whether to impose the follow-on, the captain is also consulted on whether an injured batsman from the opposing team may use a runner when batting. Permission is usually if the batsman has become injured during the course of the match. As well as decisions taken either immediately before or during a match, for instance, they may decide when the team is to practise, and for how long. Prior to July 2015, the captain was responsible for deciding when to take batting and bowling powerplays in limited overs matches, the captain may be assisted by a vice-captain. This is particularly useful if the captain is forced to leave the field of play during fielding, some teams also allocate the vice-captain a more or less formal role in assisting with team selection, discipline, field-setting and so on
18.
Jack Blackham
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John McCarthy Blackham was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877, such was his skill in the position that he revolutionised the art of wicket-keeping and was known as the prince of wicket-keepers. Late in his career, he captained the Australian team, Blackham was born in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy North, the son of newsagent Frederick Kane Blackham and his wife Lucinda. Blackham became a clerk, and held a position in the Colonial Bank of Australasia for many years. It is said that his thick dark beard, perceived then as a sign of an equable and reliable nature and his brother-in-law was George Eugene Joey Palmer. Blackham was included in the first eleven of the Carlton Cricket Club as a batsman at the age of sixteen and he first appeared for the Victorian team in 1874, and remained an automatic selection as the teams wicket-keeper for over twenty years. He was a member of the first eight Australian cricket teams to visit England and he was one of the first wicket-keepers to stand up close to the stumps, even to the fastest bowlers, wearing gloves that Jack Pollard describes as little more than gardening gloves. He eliminated the need for a long-stop, and Pollard says that, Blackham was selected for the very first Test match, held at Melbourne in March 1876/77. Australias leading bowler Fred Spofforth refused to play in the match, in the Test match, Blackham took three catches and made the first Test-Match stumping, when he dismissed Alfred Shaw off the bowling of Tom Kendall in Englands second innings. In 1878, he represented his country for the first time overseas, as a member of the inaugural Australian cricket team to tour England and North America. Described by team-mates as the prince of wicket-keepers and one of Australias first cricketing heroes, Jack Blackham spent most of the 1st day of the 1st Test Match in the Home Dressing Room as he was batting at No,8. He made his Test debut when Ned Gregory, Australia No,7 achieved the distinction of being the 1st Test Batsman to score a duck. He became Charles Bannermans 7th partner, Jack Blackham was 22 years 308 days old and became, at that time the youngest Test player in Test cricket. Previously the youngest had been Tom Horan who was 64 days older than Jack Blackham, as a right-hand batsman, Blackham was a useful lower-order player. At the age of forty, he played his last Test Match at the SCG against Andrew Stoddarts English team, as Blackham spun the coin on that opening morning, Stoddy remarked, Someone will be swearing directly, Jack. It was not, Blackham won the toss and elected to bat, and made 74 runs in a partnership of 154 with Syd Gregory and this helped Australia on its way to a massive total of 586. After England followed on, Blackhams men were left to make just 176 in the final innings to win. They had scored 113 for the loss of just two wickets at the close of play on the evening, but it rained hard during the night
19.
Wicket-keeper
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The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike. The wicket-keeper is the member of the fielding side permitted to wear gloves. The wicket-keeper may also wear a helmet with a face guard to help protect from injury. It is essentially a specialist role, the role of the keeper is governed by Law 40 of the Laws of Cricket. Initially, during the bowling of the ball the wicket-keeper crouches in a squatting position. Australian wicket-keeper Sammy Carter was the first to squat on his haunches rather than bend over from the waist, sometimes the keeper is also in the best position to catch a ball which has been hit high in the air. More catches are taken by wicket-keepers than by any other fielding position, the keeper can stump the batsman by using the ball to remove the bails from the stumps, if the batsman is out of his crease after a delivery has passed the stumps into keepers hands. The keeper must then dislodge the bail and the batsman is out, when the ball is hit into the outfield, the keeper moves close to the stumps to catch the return throw from a fielder and, if possible, to run out a batsman. The more skilled the keeper, the faster the bowling to which he is able to stand up, wicket-keeping is a specialist discipline and it requires training consistent with the level expected of a specialist batsman or bowler. However, the keeper is also expected to possess reasonable batting skill. They typically bat at number 7 in first class cricket, wicket-keepers who are also capable of batting at the top of the order are known informally as keeper/batsmen and is more typically seen in limited overs cricket. Since there is room for one keeper in a cricket side. One such selection dilemma was that faced by England selectors in the 1990s between Jack Russell and Alec Stewart, the keeper may also have a captaincy role. Uniquely, they are involved in every delivery of an innings. They can frequently be heard encouraging the bowler, and may also indulge in the practice of sledging the batsman with well timed comments about their skill, appearance or personal habits. The Indian wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is a notable wicket-keeper captain who captained India in 331 matches across three formats, next best being Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh. The keeper is the only allowed to touch the ball with protective equipment. The protection offered by the gloves is not always adequate, the England keeper Alan Knott sometimes placed steaks inside his gloves for added cushioning
20.
Tom Garrett
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Thomas William Garrett was an early Australian Test cricketer and, later, a distinguished public servant. Tom Garrett was the son of a newspaper proprietor and politician who bore the same name. His mother, Mary, was his fathers first wife, Garrett was educated at Newington College, while the school was still at Newington House, in the Sydney suburb of Silverwater. His ability as a cricketer and sprinter was encouraged by the assistant master Joseph Coates, in 1873 he matriculated to the University of Sydney and attended lectures for several terms. In January of the year, his father secured for him a clerkship in the New South Wales Department of Lands. He transferred to the New South Wales Supreme Court in 1876 and was admitted to law as a solicitor on 25 February 1882. He became registrar of probates in 1890, curator of intestate estates as well in 1896, when he retired in 1924, his staff had increased from fourteen to 67, and some 25,000 estates, involving over £10 million, had passed through his office. That year, Garrett returned to practise as a solicitor and, at 81. A tall all-rounder, he played for New South Wales, batting and bowling right-handed. He bowled at pace and took part in 19 Tests, scoring 339 runs at 12.55. In 160 first-class cricket matches he scored 3,673 runs at 16.18, Garrett played in the first Test match, against Lillywhite’s team in Melbourne in March 1877. At 18 years and 232 days is still the youngest representative to play for Australia against England and his 18 not out was, on that day, the 2nd highest test score. Garretts score was passed later in the day by England opener, promoted to number four in the second innings, Garrett made a duck. Opening the bowling with John Hodges he took two wickets in the first innings, in 1878, he toured England and North America with the first representative Australian team to go overseas. He toured England again in 1882, participating in an historic Ashes match at The Oval and his last match was at Sydney in 1888. As a bowler it was said by the all-rounder George Giffen that and he would keep a fine line outside the off-stump, and never minded being hit. Sometimes the ball would work a little from the pitch which victimised most of the batsmen and he would release the ball from as high a point as he could reach, taking advantage of his 6-foot-tall frame. Later in his career, as his bowling fell away, he became a powerful batsman, particularly square of the wicket
21.
Tom Horan
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Thomas Patrick Horan was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia, and later became an esteemed cricket journalist under the pen name Felix. The first of two players born in Ireland to play Test cricket for Australia, Horan was the leading batsman in the colony of Victoria during the pioneering years of international cricket. He played for Australia in the game against England subsequently designated as the first Test match, before touring England with the first representative Australian team, four years later, he toured England for the second time and played in the famed Ashes Test match at The Oval. During a season disrupted by disputes and a strike by leading players. Horan’s form peaked between the ages of 26 and 29 when he scored seven of his eight first-class centuries, in 1879, Horan began writing a weekly newspaper column that continued until his death 37 years later. He established himself as the first Australian cricket writer who had played the game at the highest level, bill OReilly, the noted Australian player-writer of the twentieth century, described him as, the cricket writer par excellence. Horans documentation of the years of Australian cricket are the basis for many works on the subject, Gideon Haigh wrote that any. Should probably acquaint himself with Tom Horan, an anthology of his articles was published for the first time in 1989 when he was posthumously inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for his writing. It was as the first nationally known cricket writer that he made his contribution to the game. Born in the town of Midleton near the Irish city of Cork, Horan emigrated to Australia with his parents, in Melbourne, he attended Bell Street School in Fitzroy and formed a friendship with Jack Blackham, Blackham encouraged in Horan a love of cricket. Horan made his first-class debut for Victoria in the season of 1874/75, at age 23, Tom Horan was selected to play in the first Test between Australia and England in March 1877. Australia won the toss and elected to bat, after the fall of the first wicket, that of Nat Thomson, Horan made his way to the wicket. At 23 years 7 days old he was the youngest Test Cricketer at that time and he passed George Ulyett, the England No,4, who was 2 years 138 days older than Tom Horan. When Jack Blackham, the Australia No,8 Batsman, came out to bat Tom Horan dropped to 2nd youngest as Jack Blackham was 64 days younger, with Charles Bannerman, Horan put on 38 runs for the second wicket before he was dismissed for 12. In the second innings, the young batsman made twenty, the highest score in Australias 104 all out, Australia won the historic match by 45 runs. Although he was not selected to play in Second Test of the inaugural Test series and his highest Test score of 124 was made in the First Test of the 1881/82 season against England. Horan toured England twice, in 1878 and 1882, but played only one Test in that country, in 1884, the Australian Test team - minus Horan - demanded a significant pay rise. When organisers refused the request, the team went on strike, with the Second Test against England due to start in Melbourne, selectors were forced to choose an entirely new team
22.
Tom Emmett
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Thomas Emmett was an English cricket bowler in the late 1860s, the 1870s and the early 1880s. An even greater bowler, George Freeman, was approaching his best at the same time, after 1871, however, business commitments took Freeman away from first-class cricket, but Emmett stayed on and found another able colleague in the excellent Allen Hill. In later years, Emmett shared the Yorkshire bowling duties with George Ulyett, Billy Bates, Ted Peate and he called his most famous delivery the sostenuter, after pitching on leg the ball would break back a long way to take the off-stump. As time went on, Emmetts pace deserted him, Emmett toured Australia three times and North America once. He played seven Test matches, including the first-ever in 1877, according to J. L. Carr in his Dictionary of Extra-Ordinary Cricketers, on one occasion he politely asked of an Australian fielder who had crept in close, if he was wed. He explained that, although he had no compunction about killing him, Emmett captained Yorkshire between 1878 and 1882, ending his connection with the eleven in 1888. He was the last professional to captain Yorkshire until Vic Wilson was appointed in 1960, in the 1st ever test England lost the toss and were made to field in the 1st Innings. James Lillywhite, the England Captain led his team onto the Melbourne pitch, Tom Emmett was 35 years 193 days old,77 days older than Harry Jupp, England No,1. Tom Emmett was later passed, in age, by England No,11, James Southerton, Emmett married a woman named Grace, three years his junior, and had four daughters and two sons. He died in Leicester on 29 June 1904, cricinfo page on Tom Emmett CricketArchive page on Tom Emmett A profile of Thomas Emmett by Don Ambrose A profile of Tom Emmett by Dave Liverman
23.
James Southerton
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James Southerton was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1854 and 1879. After a slow start, he became along with Alfred Shaw the greatest slow bowler of the 1870s, in 1861, Southerton was engaged at Southampton and resided at the Antelope Ground until 1867. During this period Southerton, operating in a period before regulations prevented a player from turning out for more than one county in the same season and it was not until 1865 that Southerton developed the slow bowling for which he was to gain belated fame and set many records. At a time when bowling was mainly fast round-arm, Southerton’s slower speed with its deceptive flight, Southerton had much more than spin and flight, however. Southerton typically would then bowl a faster, straighter ball as a contrast, playing only for Surrey and Sussex, Southerton in 1868 was the leading wicket-taker in England with 151, aided by an exceptionally hot summer and very bad pitches even for the era. Two years later Southerton became the first bowler to reach 200 wickets in a first-class season, and played in as many as twenty-seven of only forty-nine first-class matches during the year. He continued as a force between 1871 and 1875, with the apogee being sixteen wickets for fifty-two runs in a day for the South against the North on a sticky wicket on 17 May 1875. Although Southerton declined somewhat in the 1876 season with twenty-eight fewer wickets than the previous year and this led to him playing in the first-ever Test matches. Southerton was 49 years 119 days old when he made his Test debut, making him the oldest ever Test debutant, James Southerton made his Test Debut on 15 March 1877 as part of the England team who lost the toss and were made to field. He was 2nd change bowler that day and he broke the dominant partnership of Charles Bannerman and Bransby Cooper when he bowled Cooper for 15. He then became the 1st test bowler to take 2 wickets when Billy Midwinter hit one to George Ulyett who took the catch and he finished the day on 2 for 40. On the 2nd day Southerton continued to bowl and then took his 3rd wicket as he bowled Jack Blackham for 17 and broke a 2nd 50 partnership. In the appalling summer of 1879 Southerton’s average did improve from 17 to 12, in any case, Southerton became the first Test cricketer to die when he succumbed after a short attack of pleurisy just ten months after he had retired from cricket. However, as the games were not designated as official Test matches till much later, Southerton was involved in an unusual incident during the Surrey County Cricket Club v Marylebone Cricket Club match at the Kennington Oval in 1870. Southerton cut a ball hard to W. G. Grace, nobody except Southerton thought he was out, but he walked away, and when recalled, refused to come back. Cricinfo page on James Southerton CricketArchive page on James Southerton
24.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
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The Melbourne Cricket Ground, also known simply as The G, is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. The MCG is within walking distance of the city centre and is served by the Richmond railway station, Richmond, and it is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct. Since it was built in 1853, the MCG has been in a state of almost constant renewal and it served as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and two Cricket World Cups,1992 and 2015. The annual Boxing Day Test is one of the MCGs most popular events, the stadium fills to capacity for the AFL Grand Final. Concerts and other events are also held at the venue. The MCG is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and was included on the Australian National Heritage List in 2005, journalist Greg Baum called it a shrine, a citadel, a landmark, a totem that symbolises Melbourne to the world. Founded in November 1838 the Melbourne Cricket Club selected the current MCG site in 1853 after previously playing at several grounds around Melbourne, the club’s first game was against a military team at the Old Mint site, at the corner of William and Latrobe Streets. The area was subject to flooding, forcing the club to move again and it was not long before the club was forced out again, this time because of the expansion of the railway. The South Melbourne ground was in the path of Victoria’s first steam railway line from Melbourne to Sandridge and this last option, which is now Yarra Park, had been used by Aborigines until 1835. Between 1835 and 1853 it was an agistment area for colonial troopers’ horses, in 1850 it was part of a 200-acre stretch set aside for public recreation extending from Governor La Trobe’s Jolimont Estate to the Yarra River. By 1853 it had become a busy promenade for Melbourne residents, an MCC sub-committee chose the Richmond Park option because it was level enough for cricket but sloped enough to prevent inundation. That ground was located where the Richmond, or outer, end of the current MCG is now, at the same time the Richmond Cricket Club was given occupancy rights to six acres for another cricket ground on the eastern side of the Government Paddock. At the time of the grant the Government stipulated that the ground was to be used for cricket and cricket only. This condition remained until 1933 when the State Government allowed the MCG’s uses to be broadened to other purposes when not being used for cricket. In 1863 a corridor of land running diagonally across Yarra Park was granted to the Hobson’s Bay Railway, the area closest to the river was also developed for sporting purposes in later years including Olympic venues in 1956. The first grandstand at the MCG was the original wooden stand built in 1854. It was during this tour that the MCG hosted the worlds first Test match, in 1881 the original members stand was sold to the Richmond Cricket Club for £55. A new brick stand, considered at the time to be the world’s finest cricket facility, was built in its place, the foundation stone was laid by Prince George of Wales and Prince Albert Victor on 4 July and the stand opened in December that year
25.
Melbourne
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Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The name Melbourne refers to an urban agglomeration spanning 9,900 km2, the metropolis is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip and expands into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of 4,641,636 as of 2016, and its inhabitants are called Melburnians. Founded by free settlers from the British Crown colony of Van Diemens Land on 30 August 1835, in what was then the colony of New South Wales, it was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837. It was named Melbourne by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. It was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria, to whom Lord Melbourne was close, in 1847, during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the worlds largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as the interim seat of government until 1927. It is a financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region. It is recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a centre for street art, music. It was the host city of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the main passenger airport serving the metropolis and the state is Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia. The Port of Melbourne is Australias busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo, Melbourne has an extensive transport network. The main metropolitan train terminus is Flinders Street Station, and the regional train. Melbourne is also home to Australias most extensive network and has the worlds largest urban tram network. Before the arrival of settlers, humans had occupied the area for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years. At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 2000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous tribes, the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and it would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted. Batman selected a site on the bank of the Yarra River. Batman then returned to Launceston in Tasmania, in early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including John Pascoe Fawkner, left Launceston on the ship Enterprize
Australia
England[1]