Test Cricket Tours Australia to England 1884

Test Cricket Tours - Australia to England 1884

Tour of England 1884 Captain: Billy Murdoch

Fourth Australian tour

Third Test-playing tour of England by Australia

(March - September 1884)

None of the three colonial cricket associations - Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia - was involved in the tour arrangements. Instead it was the players' own business venture. They put up sums to fund the tour and, because of the interest created by their famous victory in 1882, could expect a handsome return.

This was the first Australian side to play in Ceylon, which later became a tradition for teams en route to England.

Slow bowler Cooper, the great-grandfather of Paul Sheahan, suffered an accident to his bowling hand during the voyage to England and could not participate fully in the tour.

Considering the quality of the teams that they played against, the record of this touring party should compare well with others in the 1880s but the Test eleven (newspaper reports were commonly making use of the term "Test match" in 1884) lost the first three-match series played in England.

The first match was drawn owing to rain but the visitors went behind at Lord’s after Allan Steel scored a century. Three Australians scored centuries in the third match at The Oval including the first double hundred by Murdoch, but under the current laws his side’s innings of 551 was not declared closed and, though England were forced to follow-on, there was insufficient time to be bowled out again.

Five of this 1884 team were later disqualified from Australian cricket because of their excessive financial demands but two became eligible again by the time of the next tour in 1886.

A team from Philadelphia also made a visit to England during the summer of 1884, playing 18 matches.

All Australian tours

Previous tour

England 1882

Next tour

England 1886

Members of the Test tour party (12)

G Alexander	Vic	33	RHB

A C Bannerman	NSW	25	RHB opener

J M Blackham	Vic	31	RHB WK

G J Bonnor	NSW	29	RHB

H F Boyle	Vic	36	RHB

W H Cooper	Vic	34	RHB LB

G Giffen	S A	25	RHB RM

P S McDonnell	NSW	23	RHB opener

W E Midwinter	Vic	33	RHB

W L Murdoch	NSW	29	RHB captain

G E Palmer	Vic	24	RM / OB

H J H Scott	Vic	25	RHB

F R Spofforth	NSW	30	RFM

Average age of team at time of first Test match

(11 July 1884) :

29 yrs 5 months.

Representation

NSW - New South Wales (5)

SA - South Australia (1)

Vic - Victoria (7)

Key to type:

RHB Right-handed bat

RM Right arm medium-paced bowler

RFM Right-arm fast medium

OB Off break

WK Wicket-keeper

Test Appearances made before the tour

Blackham 13, Murdoch 12, Bannerman 10, Palmer 9, Boyle 8, Giffen 8, McDonnell 8, Spofforth 8, Bonnor 6, Midwinter 3 (plus 4 for England), Alexander 1, Cooper 1, Scott 0.

Team Officials

Mr G Alexander	Tour manager
	Scorer/Baggage

Selectors

The tour party was originally chosen by George Alexander, who picked nine Victorians and only one South Australian and three from New South Wales.

Selection

At first it was announced that Spofforth would not be available and that Garrett and Evans would probably be included.

Later on, however, Spofforth, Scott and Alexander, who was player-manager, were added to the side.

Travel

After six pre-tour matches, the team left Melbourne on 11 March 1884 on the P & O steamer ' Sutlej' They stopped at Adelaide to play the South Australia match; and in Ceylon on 1 April.

Midwinter, Boyle and Alexander arrived in London having travelled overland from Brindisi.

When the ship reached Plymouth on 29 April, Boyle was there to meet it and accompanied the team on the evening train to London.

On-tour selection panel

Alexander, Murdoch and Cooper.

Reinforcements

C Lord played in the first two pre-tour matches.

Fixtures/Results

† Newcastle	18 of Newcastle (pre-tour)	Won 41 r
† Tamworth	18 of Tamworth (pre-tour)	Won inns 59 r
† Sydney	15 of New South Wales (pre-tour)	Drawn
† Brisbane	Combined Queensland (pre-tour)	Won 7 w
† Brisbane	22 of Brisbane (pre-tour)	Won inns 46 r
† Melbourne	15 of Victoria (pre-tour)	Drawn
† Adelaide	15 of South Australia (pre-tour)	Drawn

† Colombo	18 of Ceylon	Drawn

Sheffield Park	Lord Sheffield's XI	Won inns 8 r
Oxford	Oxford University	Lost 7 w
Kennington Oval	Surrey	Won 8 w
Lord's	MCC and Ground	Lost inns 115 r
Edgbaston	XI of England	Won 4 w
Lord's	Gentlemen of England	Lost 4 w
Derby	Derbyshire	Won inns 40 r
Old Trafford	Lancashire	Drawn
Bradford	Yorkshire	Won 3 w
Trent Bridge	Nottinghamshire	Won 3 w
Cambridge	Cambridge University	Won inns 81 r
Old Trafford	North of England XI	Lost inns 22 r
Liverpool	Liverpool and District	Won 1 w
Kennington Oval	Gentlemen of England	Won 46 r
Sheffield	Players of England	Won 6 w
Huddersfield	XI of England	Drawn
OLD TRAFFORD	ENGLAND First Test	DRAWN
† Leicester	Leicestershire	Won 10 w
Lord's	Middlesex	Won inns 29 r
LORD'S	ENGLAND Second Test	LOST inns 5 r
Hove	Sussex	Drawn
Kennington Oval	Players of England	Won 9 w
Canterbury	Kent	Lost 96 r
Clifton College	Gloucestershire	Drawn
KENNINGTON OVAL	ENGLAND Third Test	DRAWN
Cheltenham	Gloucestershire	Won inns 136 r
Trent Bridge	Nottinghamshire	Drawn
Hove	Cambridge University Past & Present	Won 142 r
Gravesend	South of England	Won inns 107 r
Trent Bridge	North of England	Lost 170 r
Scarborough	I Zingari	Won 8 w
Kennington Oval	South of England	Won inns 5 r

† Colombo	18 of Ceylon	Drawn

† not first-class

Test appearances on tour

3 - Bannerman, Blackham, Bonnor, Boyle, Giffen, McDonnell, Midwinter, Murdoch, Palmer, Scott, Spofforth

0 - Alexander, Cooper.

Highlights

• Australia's total of 551 at The Oval was scored under regulations that did not permit declarations.

• The biggest contribution came from Billy Murdoch whose 221 was the first double-century scored in a Test match.

Tour Summary

	P	W	L	D	Aban
Test Matches	3	0	1	2	-
Other first-class matches	28	17	6	5	-
Minor matches in England	1	1	0	0	-
All Matches in England	32	18	7	7	-
Minor matches in Australia	7	4	0	3	-
in Ceylon	2	0	0	2	-
All matches	41	22	7	12	-

Return to Australia

The team left Gravesend on the 'Mirzapore' on 25 September.

They hoped to play a fixture at Bombay on the way home but it could not be arranged. There was another match against Ceylon on 23 October.

The ship arrived back at Melbourne on 9 November.

Finances

The Australians kept all the gate money from the Lord's Test and half of that at each county game.

At the end of the tour each man was able to show a £900 profit.

Written accounts of the tour

"The Doings of the Fourth Australian team in England 1884" facsimile reprint 1990 with foreword by John Arlott.

"The Australians in England 1884" by Charles F.Pardon.