Test Cricket Tours - England to Australia 1894-95

Test Cricket Tours - England to Australia 1894-95

Tour of Australia 1894-95 Captain : Andrew Stoddart

England’s 12th Test tour.

(September 1894-May 1895)

Tenth Test-playing tour of Australia by an English side

(previous tour 1891-92)

Philip Sheridan, one of the Trustees of the Sydney Cricket Ground, and Major Ben Wardill, secretary of Melbourne Cricket Club, combined to sponsor this tour of Australia and to arrange five Test matches. They decided to invite Andrew Stoddart to lead the tour, given that Dr W.G.Grace had said he would not be going abroad again.

England won the first two Test matches and then lost the next two, the abrupt change in fortune being ascribed to the heat, the rain and too much drinking. However, the team was eventually victorious, retaining The Ashes with three victories to Australia's two. The series was evenly contested and exciting, with the series result dependent on the final English innings, when John Brown scored a rapid 140 aided by Albert Ward's 93 in a partnership that snatched victory from Australia.

Wisden's Almanack described the tour as the most successful since Parr's in 1863-64, It also returned a profit of £7000.

All England tours

Previous Test tour

Australia 1891-92(Sheffield’s)

Next Test tour

South Africa 1895-96(Hawke’s)

Next tour of Australia

1897-98(Stoddart’s)

Members of the Test tour party (13)

Opening batsmen: Archie MacLaren, Albert Ward

Middle-order batsmen Jack Brown, Andrew Stoddart, Bill Brockwell, Francis Ford

Wicket-keeper:Hylton Philipson, Leslie Gay

Slow bowlers:Walter Humphreys, Johnny Briggs, Bobby Peel

Fast bowlers: Tom Richardson, Bill Lockwood.

Assessments by Felix from The Australasian, 6 April 1895

Briggs, J	La	32	RHB SLA
Did not shape with the bat as well as on prior occasions and not the Johnnie we knew of yore at cover
Brockwell, W	Sy	29	RHB RFM
Did not realise expectations after his splendid season in England. Complained that the glare affected his sight
Brown, J T	Yo	25	RHB
His 140 [in final Test] will live long in the memory as one of the finest displays ever seen in Australia
Mr F G J Ford	Mx	28	LHB SLA
Far from being a Lohmann or Abel in the slips… made plain what he might have done if in true form early in the campaign
Mr L H Gay	Sm	23	WK
Gay in form is a capital wicketkeeper. He squats like Mordecai Sherwin, of Notts, and is remarkably quick to the bails.
Humphreys, W A	Sx	45	RHB SRA (lobs)
The slow howler from Sussex, proved a failure, and it is worth noting that Mr Stoddart was distinctly against his inclusion
Lockwood, W H	Sy	26	RHB RF
Below his home reputation as a bat. In bowling.. did not perform in the manner expected of him.
Mr A C MacLaren	La	23	RHB opener
Fine style and variety of stroke, a favourite with the public. Masterful display v Victoria for 228 Rapid and graceful outfield
Peel, R	Yo	37	SLA
Rendered signal service at times but not in the batting form of former tours. As an all-round man was the best on the side
Mr H Philipson	Mx	28	WK vice-captain
Rendered efficient service and, in standing back to the fast deliveries, he snapped up several batsmen.
Richardson, T	Sy	24	RF
Splendidly sustained stamina. His 6 wickets for 104 were perhaps the best bit of fast bowling ever seen on a good wicket.
Mr A E Stoddart	Mx	31	RHB opener captain
Throughout he was consistent and sound. Acted more on the defensive than the Stoddart of old; his change of style may be ascribed to the responsibility he felt in the post of captain.
Ward, Albert	La	29	RHB opener
Has a perfect style. His 219 for a wind-up [v South Australia] was a great feather in his cap

County representation:

La - Lancashire (3)

Mx - Middlesex (3)

Sm - Somerset (1)

Sy - Surrey (3)

Sx - Sussex (1)

Yo - Yorkshire (2)

Average age of team at time of first Test match

(14 December 1894) :

29 yrs 10 months

Test Appearances made before the tour

Briggs 21, Peel 14, Stoddart 7, Lockwood 2, Ward 2, Brockwell 1, Philipson 1, Richardson 1, Brown 0, Ford 0, Gay 0, Humphreys 0, MacLaren 0.

Tour Officials

Andrew Stoddart	Player -manager
- Flynn ?	Scorer - baggage
Jim Phillips	Umpire
Bannerman	?

Major Wardill of the Melbourne club and Philip Sheridan of Sydney Cricket Ground made the arrangements

Selectors

Andrew Stoddart chose the team - but Wardill and Sheridan asked for certain players praised by the 1893 Australians

Selection

Unavailable : Abel, Attewell, W.G.Grace, Gunn, F.S.Jackson.

Tour Party Announced :

John Brown was the last to be chosen when Abel declined a place

Time between selection and departure from England

x days

(? August - 21 September

Travel

Tilbury T Adelaide

‘Ophir’

On 21 September the team left Fenchurch Street Station at 11 o' clock for Tilbury where Mr C.E.Green saw them off on the 'Ophir'. Philpson travelled overland to Naples where he joined the ship.

Berthing at Colombo at 6 am, there was a match against Ceylon at 10 am on 16 October.

After twelve days' run to Albany, the 'Ophir' reached Port Adelaide on 30 October for two days of practice before taking the train to Gawler.

Time spent in Australia

154 days

(30 October - 3 April)

Reinforcements

None. Tom Richardson missed playing a number of matches

Fixtures/Results

In 1894 the Association Ground was renamed the Sydney Cricket Ground

a	† Colombo	Ceylon (18 v 13)	Drawn
b	† Gawler	Gawlor & District 18	Drawn
c	Adelaide	South Australia	Lost 6 w
d	Melbourne	Victoria	Won 145 r
e	Sydney (SCG)	New South Wales	Won 8w
f	† Armidale	New England 22	Drawn
g	† Toowomba	Toowoomba 18	Drawn
h	Brisbane	Queensland	Won inns 274
i	SYDNEY (SCG)	AUSTRALIA First Test	WON 10 r
j	† Sydney	Sydney Juniors 18	Drawn
k	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA Second Test	WON 94 r
l	† Ballarat	Ballarat 18	Drawn
m	ADELAIDE	AUSTRALIA Third Test	LOST 382 r
n	† Broken Hill	Broken Hill 18	Won inns 8
o	† Dandenong	Dandenong 18	Drawn
p	SYDNEY	AUSTRALIA Fourth Test	LOST inns 147
q	† Tamworth	Tamworth 18	cancelled
r	† Armidale	New England 18	Drawn
s	Brisbane	Combined NSW-Queensland	Won 278 r
t	† Newcastle	Newcastle & District 18	Drawn
u	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA Fifth Test	WON 6 w
v	† Launceston	Northern Tasmania 18	Drawn
w	† Hobart	Southern Tasmania	Drawn
x	Melbourne	Victoria	Lost 7 w
y	Adelaide	South Australia	Won 10 w

† not first-class

Time spent in Australia before First Test:

45 days

(30 October - 14 December)

Test appearances on tour

(v Australia 1894-95)

5 - Briggs, Brockwell, Brown, Ford, Lockwood, MacLaren, Peel, Richardson, Stoddart, Ward.

4 - Philipson.

1 - Gay.

0 - Humphreys.

Match appearances

T Test match

x other match

∙ played for opposition

W won L lost D drawn

C cancelled A abandoned

u unknown result

J Briggs

W Brockwell

J T Brown

F G J Ford

L H Gay

W Humphreys

W Lockwood

A MacLaren

R Peel

H Philipson

T Richardson

A Stoddart

A Ward

RESULTS

England’s six previous Test tour results:

in South Africa 1891-92 (1 Test)

- won 1-0

in Australia 1891-92 (3 Tests)

- lost 1-2

in South Africa 1888-89 (4 Tests)

- won 2-0

in Australia 1887-88 (1 Test)

- won 1-0

in Australia 1886-87 (2 Tests)

- won 2-0

in Australia 1884-85 (5 Tests)

- won 3-2

Highlights

• The first Test match at Sydney produced a record aggregate of 1514 runs. England followed-on, but Peel (6-67) bowled England to victory on the saturated pitch.

• Stoddart's 173 in the second Test at was the record high Test score for England.

• Stoddart became the first Test captain to win the toss and invite the opposition to bat.

• Tom Richardson took 6 wickets for 104 in final Test match.

• England scored 298-4 to win the final Test by six wickets, owing to Ward and Brown, who put on 210 together

• John Brown's records include the fastest half-century in Test cricket (28 minutes) and fastest century (95 minutes)

• In the final tour match at Adelaide England amassed 609, Ward getting 219, Ford 100, and Brown 101.

Tour Summary

	P	W	L	D	Aban
Test Matches	5	3	2	0	-
Other first-class matches	7	5	2	0
†Minor matches	12	2	0	10	-
All Matches	24	10	4	10	-

Return to England

Adelaide T Plymouth

‘Ophir’

With the exception of messrs Ford, Gay and MacLaren, who returned to Melbourne, the remainder of Stoddart’s team departed from Port Adelaide on the 'Ophir' on 3 April 1895. Jim Phillips who accompanied the team as umpire also sailed by the Ophir.

They left Port Said on 28 April and reached Plymouth on 8 May 1895.

Ford intended to visit Japan, while Gay and Maclaren would return to London by a later steamer.

Time away from England

229 days

(21 September - 8 May)

Finances

From a financial point of view the trip exceeded expectations. Income was £18 000, expenses £11000.

The Melbourne club benefitted by £3,300 and the trustees of the Sydney Cricket Ground by £550.

Accounts of the tour

"My Dear Victorious Stod" by David Frith includes chapters on the tour

“Stoddy’s Mission” by David Frith (Queen Anne Press, 1995)

Postscript