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Test Cricket Tours - Australia to England 1964


 

Tour of England, India & Pakistan 1964              Captain: Bob Simpson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29th  Australian Test tour

 

23rd Test-playing tour of  England by Australia

 

 

 (April - October 1964)

 

The first Australian squad to make any cricket tour for three years was another to be condemned as the weakest side to leave Australia, but they retained the Ashes, winning the Test series by one Test match to nil. The shrewd skipper, Bob Simpson, having seen Peter Burge score the century that created an Australian victory at Headingley, made the Ashes safe himself by grinding out a triple century on a dead pitch that ensured the match at Old Trafford was a draw.

It was a disappointingly dull, rain-affected series that had promised much but never took fire. The closely-cut, slow pitches mostly played too well for the bowlers to take wickets.

Similarly to the end of the 1956 tour of England, the tourists were allowed a recreational fortnight on the continent before flying to the Indian sub-continent for four further Test matches.

 

 

Other Australian Tours

 

Previous tour

England 1961

 

Next tour

West Indies 1964-65

 

Next tour of England  

 1968

 

 

 

 

Members of the Test tour party  (17)

 

 

Opening batsmen:  Bill Lawry, Ian Redpath, Bob Simpson

Middle-order batsmen:  Norman O’Neill, Peter Burge, Brian Booth, Bob Cowper, Jack Potter

Wicket-keepers:  Wally Grout, Barry Jarman

Spin bowlers:  Johnny Martin, Tom Veivers, Rex Sellers.

Fast bowlers: Alan Connolly, Graham McKenzie, Graham Corling, Neil Hawke.

 

 

B C Booth

NSW

30

RHB    vice-captain

 

P J P Burge

Qld

32

RHB

 

A N Connolly

Vic

24

RFM

 

G E Corling

NSW

22

RFM

 

R M Cowper

Vic

23

LHB          OB

 

A T W Grout

Qld

37

WK

 

N J N Hawke

SA

25

RFM

 

B N Jarman

SA

28

deputy WK

 

W M Lawry

Vic

27

LHB  opener

 

G D McKenzie

WA

22

RF

 

J W Martin

NSW

32

SLA

 

N C O'Neill

NSW

27

RHB           LB

 

J T Potter

Vic

26

RHB           LB

 

I R Redpath

Vic

23

RHB

 

R H D Sellers

SA

23

LBG

 

R B Simpson

NSW

28

RHB  opener    LBG         captain

 

T R Veivers

Qld

27

OB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State representation

  Sheffield Shield teams

NSW   New South Wales (5)

Qld  Queensland (3)

SA   South Australia (3)

Tas   Tasmania (0)

Vic   Victoria  (5)

WA  Western Australia (1)

 

 

 

 

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

     (4 June 1964) :

  27 yrs  4 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Test Appearances made before the tour

 

Grout 34,  O'Neill 32,  Burge 29,  Simpson 26,  Lawry 15,  McKenzie 13,  Booth 11,  Hawke 5,  Jarman 4,  Martin 4,  Connolly 3,  Veivers 3,  Redpath 1,  Corling 0,  Cowper 0,  Potter 0,  Sellers 0.

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Officials

 

Ray Steele

Manager

John Ledward

Assistant manager

Dave Sherwood

Scorer/Baggage

Arthur James

Masseur

Bernie Gallagher

Driver

 

Ray Steele, who was Treasurer on the 1961 tour, was appointed manager. J A Ledward was a former Victorian player.

B D Jagens was appointed liaison officer to the Australian team in Pakistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selectors

 

Sir Donald Bradman (South Australia),  Dudley Seddon (New South Wales),  Jack Ryder (Victoria)

The touring party was chosen at the end of the Australia-South Africa series.

 


 

 

 

Selection

 

Unavailable:  Since Australia's last Ashes series, Benaud, Davidson, Harvey and Mackay had all gone into retirement.

Tour Party Announced :  13 February 1964.

Not selected : Barry Shepherd,  Graham Thomas,  Ian Chappell,  Ray Gaunt.

 

 

Time between selection and departure from Australia           

    56 days

(13 February - 9 April)

 

 

 

 

Travel

Fremantle    T   Colombo  Q

               Orcades’

 Bombay   Q   London Heathrow

 

 

After matches in Tasmania and Perth, the team sailed on the 'Orcades' on 9 April, the last Test touring party to use a ship to travel. 

They played a match in Ceylon (15 April), then flew from Bombay on 17 April. arriving at Heathrow Airport on 19 April. 

Several team members had exceeded their baggage allowance and their gear had to be flown by a later freight plane. The team was based at the Waldorf Hotel, London, and spent ten days' in practice at Lord's.

 

 

 

Time spent in England

   150 days

(19 April - 16 September)

 

 

 

 

On-tour selection

 

Bob Simpson (captain),  Brian Booth  (vice-captain),  Bill Lawry.

 

 

 

 

 

Reinforcements

 

None. Rex Sellers was out of action for the first month of the tour with a cyst on the finger on his bowling hand. Alan Connolly was hampered throughout the tour by a back strain, and Norman O’Neill for some of it with a similar complaint.

In the match against Holland Jack Pottter fractured his skull and took no further part in the tour.

 

 

 

 

 

Fixtures/Results

 

 

 

 

 

The Australians did not agree to an extra fixture after the fourth Test.

 

a

† Hobart

Tasmania(2-day)

Drawn

b

† Launceston

Tasmania(2-day)

Drawn

c

Perth

Western Australia

Won 8 w

d

† Colombo

Ceylon(1-day)

Drawn

 

e

† Arundel

Duke of Norfolk's XI  (1-day)

Won 4 w

f

Worcester

Worcestershire

Drawn

g

Bristol

Gloucestershire

Won 10 w

h

Taunton

Somerset

Won 172 r

i

Kennington Oval

Surrey

Drawn

j

Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire

Drawn

k

Cardiff

Glamorgan

Drawn

l

Cambridge

Cambridge University

Drawn

m

Lord's

M.C.C.

Won 9 w

n

Oxford

Oxford University

Won inns 120 r

o

Old Trafford

Lancashire

Drawn

p

TRENT BRIDGE

ENGLAND  First Test

DRAWN

q

Derby

Derbyshire

Drawn

r

Sheffield

Yorkshire

Drawn

s

LORD'S

ENGLAND  Second Test

DRAWN

t

† Bedford

Minor Counties  (2-day)

Won inns 26 r

u

Northampton

Northamptonshire

Won 10 w

v

HEADINGLEY

ENGLAND  Third Test

WON

w

Leicester

Leicestershire

Drawn

x

Southampton

Hampshire

Drawn

y

Hove

Sussex

Won 63 r

z

Lord's

Middlesex

Drawn

a’

OLD TRAFFORD

ENGLAND  Fourth Test

DRAWN

b’

  none arranged

Young England(60 overs)

 cancelled

c’

Swansea

Glamorgan

Lost 36 r

d’

Edgbaston

Warwickshire

Lost 9 r

e’

Bradford

Yorkshire

Won 81 r

f’

KENNINGTON OVAL

ENGLAND  Fifth Test

DRAWN

g’

Lord's

President of MCC's XI

Drawn

h’

Southend

Essex

Lost 6 w

I’

Canterbury

Kent

Drawn

j’

† Den Haag

Holland

Lost 3 w

k’

Hastings

A.E.R.Gilligan's XI

Won 2 w

l’

Scarborough

T.N.Pearce's XI

Won 7 w

m’

† Titwood

Scotland(2-day)

Drawn

n’

† Aberdeen

Scotland(2-day)

Drawn

o’

† Hove

Sussex (1-day, 50 overs)

Won 66 r

 

 

 

 

p’

MADRAS

INDIA   First Test

WON 139 r

q’

BOMBAY

INDIA   Second Test

LOST 2 w

r’

CALCUTTA

INDIA   Third Test

DRAWN

s’

KARACHI

PAKISTAN   First Test

DRAWN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

† not first-class

 

 

 

 

 

Time spent in England before First Test: 

    46 days

(19 April - 4 June)

 

 

 

 

Test appearances on tour

 

(v England 1964)

5 -  Booth,  Burge,  Corling,  Grout,  Hawke,  Lawry,  McKenzie,  Redpath,  Simpson,  Veivers.

4 -  O'Neill

1 -  Cowper.

0 -  Connolly,  Jarman,  Martin,  Potter,  Sellers.

 

 (v India & Pakistan 1964-65)

4 -  Booth,  Burge,  Lawry,  McKenzie,  Simpson,  Veivers.

3 -  Cowper,  Martin,  Redpath

2 -  Connolly,  Grout,  Hawke,  Jarman,  O'Neill.

1 -  Sellers.

0 -  Corling,  Potter.

 

 

 

 

 

Highlights

 

   Graham McKenzie took 5-53 in England’s second innings at Trent Bridge.

   Peter Burge (160) hit Australia out of trouble at Headingley and created a winning position.

   Bob Simpson scored his first Test century at Old Trafford and turned it into a triple century (311)

   He and Bill Lawry (106) shared an opening partnership of 201, a new first-wicket record against England.

   The Australian total of 656-8 declared at Old Trafford also included an innings of 98 by Brian Booth.

   Graham McKenzie took 7-153 at Old Trafford and equalled Grimmett’s record of 29 wickets in the series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Summary

 

 

 P

 W

L

D

Aban

Cancelled

Test Matches

  9

  2

1

  6

-

-

Other first-class matches in England

25

10

3

12

-

-

                                        in Australia

  1

  1

0

  0

-

-

ϯ Minor matches              in England

  8

  3

1

  2

-

2

                                        pre-tour

  3

  0

0

  3

 

 

All Matches

46

16

5

23

-

2

 

                                                                including one match in Holland

 

 

 

 

Return to Australia

London  Q   Madras

 

Karachi  Q   Sydney

 

 

 

Jack Potter had not played since fracturing his skull in a match in Holland, and left London for Australia by air on Monday 14 September.

The tour party flew from Heathrow Airport, London, on 16 September and took a fortnight's holiday in Europe.

They joined the plane from London at Rome and had a rough welcome to India, flying through an electrical storm over the mountains when a bolt of lightning hit the plane wing and threw some players from their seats.  After a brief stopover in Bombay, they landed in Madras on 29 September for the first Test against India. 

The third Test of the Indian section of the tour finished with two rained-off days at Calcutta on 22 September and they flew off to Pakistan. The team flew into Karachi in the early hours of Friday 23 October, and stayed at the city’s Hotel Metropole.

Norman O'Neill left for home on Thursday 22 October from Bombay. Manager Ray Steele had to explain it was for reasons of illness, not for indiscipline as had been reported in an Indian newspaper.

Leaving Karachi on the morning of 30 October, the team flew by BOAC, via Singapore, and landed in Sydney on Saturday 31 October.

 

 

 

Time away from Australia

   205 days  

(9 April  to 31 October)

 

 

 

Finances

Overall, the whole tour of England, India and Pakistan made a profit of £42 000.

 

 

 

 

 

Written accounts of the tour

 

"Test Matches of 1964"    by  Denzil Batchelor  (Epworth Press, 1964)

"The Australians in England 1964"    by  John Clarke  (Stanley Paul, 1964)

"Test Diary 1964"   by  Denis Compton  (Nicholas Kaye, 1964)

"Simpson's Australians"    by  E M Wellings  (Robert Hale, 1964)

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript

 

 

"Tremendous team spirit developed under the leadership of Simpson and Booth, his able deputy," wrote Neil Hawke in “Bowled Over”.

Grahame Corling played in all five matches in his maiden Test series but did not represent Australia again though he continued to play first-class state cricket until 1969.

The pointlessness of touring England for a further month after the fifth Test, when there were still four Test matches to be played in India and Pakistan, should have made the Australian Board realise the wear and strain on players.  But this practice continued for many years to come.

 

 

 




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