Australia Test History

[aussie tragic]

Well I hope this will be an interesting thread for some as being a cricket tragic I thought I’d track some Aussie cricket history. What I’ll do is list some info or stats and then I’d appreciate some insight from my esteemed CW colleagues as between us we might just learn something

Note: I apologise that it’s Aussie only, however world cricket is just too big a task

 

[aussie tragic]

1870’s

Australia played their first three Test matches in Melbourne against the mother country, England (I believe where Sunbury is now, which is an outer suburb of Melbourne). Two Tests were in March 1877 and one other almost 2-years later in Jan-1879

Dave Gregory was Australia’s first Test Captain for all 3 Tests (W2 – L1)

Charles Bannerman was the first Test Centurion with 165 in the 1st Test (retired hurt with split webbing on his right index finger). His 69.6% of runs scored remains a record 131 years later and he finished the decade as the world leading run scorer with 239 runs @ 59.75

In 1879, the first brothers played for Australia when Alec Bannerman (scoring 73) joined his brother Charles, however this was for only one test

Australia’s record partnership was 88 runs between Thomson and Gregory (2nd Test)

Australia’s highest team score was 259 and most team runs in a day was 207 (2nd Test)

Jack Blackham was Australia’s first wicketkeeper and in the 1st Test he took 3 catches and the 1st Test stumping. He finished the decade as the world leading wicketkeeper with 6 dismissals

Fred Spofforth made his debut in the 2nd Test, and he finished the decade as the world leading bowler with 17 wkts @ 13.00, BB 7-62 (2 Tests), while Tom Kendall was 2nd best with 14 wkts @ 15.35, BB 7-55 (2 Tests)

Australia won the 1st Test by 45 runs; of course the biggest upset in world cricket

England won the 2nd test by 4 wkts to draw the series and Aussie won the return 3rd Test by 10 wkts

Of interest, an over consisted of 4 balls (lazy sods),

 

[fredfertang]

Australia won the 1st Test by 45 runs; of course the biggest upset in world cricket

It was a bloody confidence trick that game - we only had a touring party of 12 to start with and the New Zealanders locked up our keeper so we had to play all 11 that were left (including the injured ones) and had no proper keeper - never really understood why it was later classified as a test given it was a private tour and the 12 weren't picked on merit anyway - it was who would go for what James Lillywhite Jnr was offering!!

 

[archie mac]

1870’s

Australia played their first three Test matches in Melbourne against the mother country, England (I believe where Sunbury is now, which is an outer suburb of Melbourne). Two Tests were in March 1877 and one other almost 2-years later in Jan-1879

Dave Gregory was Australia’s first Test Captain for all 3 Tests (W2 – L1)

Charles Bannerman was the first Test Centurion with 165 in the 1st Test (retired hurt with split webbing on his right index finger). His 69.6% of runs scored remains a record 131 years later and he finished the decade as the world leading run scorer with 239 runs @ 59.75

In 1879, the first brothers played for Australia when Alec Bannerman (scoring 73) joined his brother Charles, however this was for only one test

Australia’s record partnership was 88 runs between Thomson and Gregory (2nd Test)

Australia’s highest team score was 259 and most team runs in a day was 207 (2nd Test)

Jack Blackham was Australia’s first wicketkeeper and in the 1st Test he took 3 catches and the 1st Test stumping. He finished the decade as the world leading wicketkeeper with 6 dismissals

Fred Spofforth made his debut in the 2nd Test, and he finished the decade as the world leading bowler with 17 wkts @ 13.00, BB 7-62 (2 Tests), while Tom Kendall was 2nd best with 14 wkts @ 15.35, BB 7-55 (2 Tests)

Australia won the 1st Test by 45 runs; of course the biggest upset in world cricket

England won the 2nd test by 4 wkts to draw the series and Aussie won the return 3rd Test by 10 wkts

Of interest, an over consisted of 4 balls (lazy sods),

They played the Tests at the MCG also the teams that played the Tests in 1877 were very different especially the English team, and should not be considered in the same context, so it was 1-1 and 1-0 to Aust

Spofforth refused to play in the first Test because Murdoch was not the WK, and Frank Allan did not play because he wanted to go to a flower show instead

C. Bannerman's 165 was the only FC ton he ever scored

The 1879 Test was very luck to be given Test status as it was really only an amateur team with two Pros to do the bowling. It is very interesting to go through the early matches, a lot of matches seemed to have a far greater claim to being called Tests then others that were given that status years later.

 

[aussie tragic]

They played the Tests at the MCG

Then how come when you drive into Sunbury there is a sign that says "Welcome to Sunbury, the birth place of the Ashes" ????

I'm going to be very upset if they misled me as why else would you go to Sunbury

 

[Dissector]

That's because the Ashes don't go back to 1877. The first Ashes series was in 1882/1883. Sunbury apparently was the place where the actual ashes were made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Test_cricket_(to_1883)#Bligh_reclaims_the_Ashes_1882.2F3

"After the third game, the amateurs of the side were guests of Sir William Clarke over Christmas, at his property "Rupertswood" at Sunbury, Victoria. Bligh's men and some of Clarke's other guests had there a cricket match, which the former side won. Afterwards, a group of Victorian ladies, headed by Mrs. Janet Clarke (William's wife), burned what has variously been called a ball, bail and veil. The ashes (which, according to other accounts, were those of King Cole, an Aboriginal cricketer) were presented to Bligh in an urn. Said Lady Clarke, "What better way than to actually present the English captain with the very 'object' - albeit mythical - he had come to Australia to retrieve?" "

 

[Richard]

1984-1988/89 should be interesting.

 

[DaRick]

1984-1988/89 should be interesting.

As would 1989 onwards.

 

[aussie tragic]

1880’s

Results: Played 27 Test matches during the 1880’s, winning 8 and losing 15 (4 drawn)

Captains: There were 6 test captains, 3 of them in 3 sequential tests in 1885

Billy Murdoch (1880-84: P14, W5, L5, D4)
Tom Horan (1885: P2, L2)
Hugh Massie (1885: P1, W1)
Jack Blackham (1885: P1, W1)
Tup Scott (1886: P3, L3)
Percy McDonnell (1887-88: P6, W1, L5)

Percy McDonnell scored the most runs with 955 runs @ 28.93 (3 centuries) in 19 tests, while Billy Murdoch was considered to be Australia’s premier batsman playing 14 tests with 841 runs @ 40.04 (2 centuries)

Murdoch also scored Australia’s first Double Hundred in 1884 with 211 at the Oval and this was also the world record for 19 years until Tip Foster scored 287 for England in 1903

Alec Bannerman and McDonnell set a world record 199 run partnership in 1882 at Sydney, which was then broken by Murdoch and Tup Scott in 1884 when they scored 207 at the Oval

George Giffen, Australia’s first allrounder debuted in 1881 and he scored 463 runs @ 17.14 batting at #6 and he took 29 wkts @ 32.65, BB 7-117

Murdoch also became Australia’s 2nd Wicket-keeper when he kept wicket in the 2nd test of 1882 (thus becoming the first wicketkeeper captain). However Jack Blackham was still the World’s leading wicketkeeper with 37 dismissals from 23 Tests (21 catches & 16 stumpings)

Joey Palmer (a spinner) was the Aussie and world leading bowler of the decade with 78 wkts @ 21.51, BB 7-65 in 17 tests. Fred Spofforth was close though with 77 wkts @ 19.61, BB 7-44 in 16 tests.

Spofforth retired in 1887 as the world record holder for most wkts (94 wkts @ 18.41), however was quickly replaced by Charlie Turner who took an amazing 50 wkts @ 10.18 in only 6 tests (BB 7-43) which is still the world record for fastest ever to 50 wkts. JJ Ferris was also lethal with 35 wkts @ 14.65 from 6 tests.

Spofforth set the Australian record for best bowing figures with 7-46 at the Oval in 1882, only to break it in the 2nd innings with 7-44. He then took 7-44 again in 1883 at Sydney, however Turner broke this record in 1888 with 7-43 also in Sydney

Spofforth’s 14 wkts in a match was the Australian record and also the world record until Johnny Briggs took 15 wkts for Eng vs SA in 1889

 

[aussie tragic]

1890’s

Australia played 26 Test matches during the 1890’s, winning 10 and losing 10 (6 Draws)

There were 5 test captains:

Billy Murdoch (1890: P2, L2)
Jack Blackham (1892-94: P7, W2, L3, D2)
George Giffen (1894-95: P4, W2, L2)
Harry Trott (1896-98: P8, W5, L3)
Joe Darling (1899: P5, W1, D4)

Australian batting lead the world with Joe Darling scoring 1139 runs @ 35.59 (3 centuries) in 18 tests, while Syd Gregory scored 1096 runs @ 28.10 (3 centuries) in 24 tests. Joe Darling also set the world record for the fastest to 1000 runs in 1899 (28 Innings, which beat WG Grace’s 29 innings set in 1896)

Harry Trott (884 @ 24.55), Frank Iredale (807 @ 36.68), Clem Hill (783 @ 41.21) and George Giffen (775 @ 29.80) were the other main batting stars, however Victor Trumper also debuted in 1899, playing 5 tests with 280 runs @ 35.00

Syd Gregory scored Australia’s second double century in 1894 with 201 at Sydney. This is the first double hundred scored in Australia.

Harry Trott and Syd Gregory set a world record 221 run partnership in 1896 at Lords

Giffen was easily the worlds leading allrounder during this decade with 775 runs @ 29.80 and 74 wkts @ 24.91 from 14 tests, however Monty Noble debuted in 1898 and in 9 tests he scored 473 runs @ 43.00 and 32 wkts @ 24.71.

Affie Jarvis replaced Jack Blackham as Wicket-keeper in 1894, however Jarvis was then replaced by James Kelly in 1896 after only 4 tests. Kelly took 18 dismissals (13c & 5st) in 13 tests to be 2nd in the world. Blackham was only 1 dismissal behind with 16 from 9 tests (10c / 6st)

Giffen was the leading Aussie wicket taker with 74 wkts @ 24.91, BB 7-128 in 14 tests, while Hugh Trumble was the leading spinner with 63 wkts @ 25.63, BB 6-30 in 19 tests. Ernie Jones also took 56 wkts @ 27.12, BB 7-88 from 14 tests.

Charlie Turner took another 51 wkts @ 22.76 from 11 tests to become the 2nd player to take 100 wkts (J Briggs from Eng was the first who took 100 wkts in the same match as Turner did). Turner is still the fastest Aussie and 2nd fastest ever to do it (101 wkts in only 17 tests).

Albert Trott, (brother of Harry Trott) set a new Australian record for best bowing figures with 8-43 at Adelaide in 1895 (he also scored 38* and 72* batting at # 10 in this match)

 

[aussie tragic]

So that wraps up the 19th century of Australian cricket....some things I learned:

(1) The Ashes Urn was not given as a result of Australia beating England in the first test between the countries in 1877

(2) Test overs were only 4 balls and then later 5 balls (I had thought they started at 8 balls and were then reduced to 6 balls)

(3) The main Aussie captain was Billy Murdoch (16T, W5, L7, D4), however Harry Trott was most successful (8T, W5, L3)

(4) The best Aussie batsman “mantle” passed from Billy Murdoch (896 runs @ 32.00) to Joe Darling (1139 runs @ 35.59 and fastest man to 1000 runs), however Clem Hill (783 runs @ 41.21) was pushing hard to take over at the end of the century.

(5) Australian batsmen had the 4 highest scores in test cricket: 211 - Billy Murdoch, 201 - Syd Gregory, 188 - Clem Hill and 178 - Joe Darling (Ranji was 5th with 175)

(6) George Giffen was the worlds best allrounder and the first to pass 1000 runs and 100 wkts. Amazingly, Giffen was also the leading Aussie run scorer (1238 runs @ 23.35) and leading wkt taker (103 wkts @ 27.09) at the end of the century. However, with Giffen retiring in 1896, Monty Noble easily filled the allrounder void with 473 runs @ 43.00 and 32 wkts @ 24.71. When you also add Hugh Trumble (541 runs @ 23.52 and 63 wkts @ 25.63), Australia had great allrounder depth leading into the 20th century.

(7) Jack Blackham was the worlds best wicketkeeper (WR 59 dismissals from 35 tests), while he also scored 800 runs @ 15.68 with 4 50’s. Affie Jarvis and James Kelly shared the Aussie runner-up honours with both having 18 dismissals.

(8) The best Aussie pace bowler “mantle” passed from Fred Spofforth (94 wkts @ 18.41 in 18 tests), to Charlie Turner (101 wkts @ 16.53 in 17 tests), however finding the next pace leader was a little more difficult (Ernie Jones had 56 wkts @ 27.12, however he was already over 30 at the end of the century)

(9) The best Aussie spinner “mantle” passed from Joey Palmer (78 wkts @ 21.51 in 17 tests) to Hugh Trumble (63 wkts @ 25.63 in 19 tests)

 

[aussie]

Good stuff mate.

 

[aussie tragic]

1900’s

Australia played 33 Test matches, winning 16 and losing 9 (8 Draws), including their first ever series against South Africa in 1902 (Aust won 2-0)

There were three test captains:

Joe Darling (1901-05: 16T, W6, L4, D6)
Hugh Trumble (1902: 2T, W2)
Monty Noble (1903-09: 15T, W8, L5, D2)

Victor Trumper was the world leading run scorer for the decade with 1953 runs @ 34.26 (4 centuries) in 33 tests, while Clem Hill was second with 1930 runs @ 38.60 (3 centuries) in 28 tests.

Clem Hill also became the leading run scorer in the world in 1902 and he set the records for the fastest to 1000 runs in 1902 (24 innings) and 2000 runs in 1904 (47 innings)

Monty Noble (1524 runs @ 27.70), Warrick Armstrong (1513 runs @ 33.62) and Reggie Duff (1317 runs @ 35.59) were the other main batting stars.

Roger Hartigan (116) and Clem Hill (160) set a world record partnership of 243 runs in 1908 at Adelaide. This was Hartigan’s debut test, however he only ever played one more after this effort (scoring 1 & 5).

Warren Bardsley also joined the record books by becoming the first player to score a hundred in each test (136 & 130) vs Eng at Lords in 1909.

Monty Noble was arguably the world leading allrounder (33T, 1524 runs @ 27.70 and 89 wkts @ 25.10), however Warrick Armstrong was also very useful (30T, 1513 runs @ 33.62 and 50 wkts @ 33.32).

James Kelly was wicketkeeper until 1905 and he took 45 dismissals (30c & 15st) in 23 tests to set a new world record of 63 dismissals for a wicketkeeper. Sammy Carter then took over as wicketkeeper and took 21 dismissals (14c & 7st) in 10 tests

Monty Noble was the world leading wicket taker for the decade with 89 wkts @ 25.10, BB 7-17 in 33 tests, while Jack Saunders (79 wkts @ 22.73, 14 tests) and Hugh Trumble (78 wkts @ 18.67, 13 tests) were the next best. Hugh Trumble became the world leading wkt taker in 1904 when he retired with 141 wkts

In 1902, Monty Noble took the 2nd best Aussie match bowling figures with 13-77, with his 7-17 also being the 2nd best innings bowling figures. Hugh Trumble then bettered this with 8-65 later the same year, however Frank Laver then eventually broke Albert Trott’s Australian record for best bowing figures with 8-31 at Manchester in 1909

 

[aussie tragic]

Victor Trumper vs Clem Hill

Well the 1890 & 1900 decade reviews has me wondering what all the Victor Trumper hype was about?

It's not as if no great batsmen had come before as Bill Murdoch was apparently rated as 2nd only to WG Grace, while Joe Darling was the leading batsman of the 1890's and the fastest ever to 1000 runs at the time (when that was a lot of runs). I guess Darling's dramatic drop off in form throughout the 1900's explains why he's considered behind Trumper.

Not so sure why Clem Hill is not rated above him though as he played the same time, was the "new" fastest ever to 1000 and 2000 runs as well as being the world leading run scorer for a decade plus he had a better batting average.....

Stats as of 1 Jan 1910

Clem Hill: 39T, 71 Inn, 2713 runs @ 39.31, HS 188, 5 cent, 16 fifties
Victor Trumper: 38T, 70 Inn, 2233 runs @ 34.35, HS 185*, 5 cent, 10 fifties

 

[Richard]

As would 1989 onwards.

I'm confident that "onwards" can be safely expressed as "to 2006/07".

But yeah - they're both, in their own completely and totally polarised ways, fascinating. The former because of the triple retirement and Rebel-tour depletion that started it. The latter because of the return from Rebel tours of Alderman and his combination with the long-suffering Border that started it all.

And so much besides.

 

[fredfertang]

Well the 1890 & 1900 decade reviews has me wondering what all the Victor Trumper hype was about?

His managing to get in front of George Beldam's camera lens for this iconic photograph

 

[Richard]

Amazing that in 110 years, I think it'd be fair to say no photo of a batsman playing a stroke has been taken that could be said to be a more impressive photo.

Equally good, there have been many. But that is simply unsurpassable.

 

[zaremba]

Australia won the 1st Test by 45 runs

The Centenary Test of 1977 famously ended with precisely the same winning margin for Australia. Plus ca change. Sadly, such relatively modest margins of defeat mean that these, for England, were the "good old days".

 

[aussie tragic]

His managing to get in front of George Beldam's camera lens for this iconic photograph

That must be it

Seriously great photo though...also very thin pads, no gloves, no thigh or chest pads, no helmut, pathetic bat...I think we should just double all the batting averages of players of this era

 

[neville cardus]

Spofforth refused to play in the first Test because Murdoch was not the WK, and Frank Allan did not play because he wanted to go to a flower show instead

You are at your best, Archie, when you are at your most laconic: that was as pithily amusive an offering as I have read here. The Melbourne Argus, however, took things rather more seriously: "Great as is Allan's value on the field, his capriciousness is still greater; and we trust that for the future he will studiously be left in that retirement which he professes to be so loath to leave."

C. Bannerman's 165 was the only FC ton he ever scored

He managed a number of lofty scores in matches which, when viewed in comparison to those which have been accorded first-class status, were done a grave injustice. Bannerman was comfortably easily the best in the colonies throughout his prime and is unfortunate not to be remembered for more than just this one match.