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| Test Cricket Tours - England to Australia 1950-51
| Tour of Australia & New Zealand 1950-51 Captain : Freddie Brown  | | | | (M. C.
C. tour) | ©Test Cricket Tours 2015 | | | England’s 39th Test tour (September 1950 - April 1951) 22nd Test-playing tour of Australia
by England Fourth Test-playing tour of New
Zealand by England (previous tours 1946-47) | Neither Norman Yardley nor George Mann was prepared to take on
the tour captaincy and Freddie Brown was asked to do it. The results of the Ashes series was 1-4, an
“elusive victory” in the final Test providing some comfort after losing two
Tests unluckily and then two more when key players were injured. Australia was
favoured both by the weather and the umpiring The team was handicapped by selection errors, taking inexperienced
young batsmen who were expected to cope against Lindwall and Miller while Robertson,
Edrich (Brown was supposed to have said “I’ve enough on my plate without
taking him”) and Ikin were left behind. Even worse, once Laker, Wardle, Jackson, Ridgway and
others had been ignored, there were only three Test-class bowlers in Bedser,
Bailey and Wright. The 1946-47 tour report had recommended that M.C.C. should send
two joint-managers, an experiment that was then not repeated. On 6 February,
following a dinner with the Governor of South Australia, Freddie Brown and manager,
Mike Green, were involved in a traffic accident near Adelaide, when Brown drove into a concrete
post in avoiding another vehicle. Green spent a week in hospital. | Other England tours Previous
Test tour South
Africa 1948-49 India 1949-50
cancelled Next
Test tour India 1951-52 Next
tour of Australia 1954-55 | | | Members
of the Test tour party (17) Opening batsmen: Len Hutton,
Cyril Washbrook, Gilbert Parkhouse Middle-order batsmen Denis Compton, Reg
Simpson, John Dewes, David Sheppard, Brian Close Wicket-keepers: Godfrey Evans, Arthur
McIntyre. All-rounders: Trevor Bailey, Freddie Brown Slow bowlers: Doug Wright, Bob Berry,
Eric Hollies Fast
bowlers: Alec Bedser, John Warr. | T E
Bailey | Ex | 27 | RFM RHB | | Bedser,
A V | Sy | 32 | RFM | | Berry, R | La | 24 | SLA not to New Zealand | | F R
Brown | Nth | 39 | RHB RM
captain | | Close,
D B | Yo | 19 | LHB OB not to New Zealand | | Compton,
D C S | Mx | 32 | RHB vice-captain | | J G
Dewes | Mx | 24 | LHB | | Evans,
T G | Kt | 30 | RHB | | Hollies,
W E | Wk | 38 | LBG not to New Zealand | | Hutton,
L. | Yo | 34 | RHB opener | | McIntyre,
A J W | Sy | 32 | reserve WK | | Parkhouse,
W G A | Gm | 25 | LHB opener | | D S Sheppard | Sx | 21 | RHB | | R T
Simpson | Nt | 30 | RHB | | J J
Warr | Mx | 23 | RFM | | Washbrook,
C | La | 35 | RHB opener | | Wright,
D V P | Kt | 36 | LBG | |
| County representation: Ex -
Essex (1) Gm - Glamorgan (1) Kt -
Kent (2) La - Lancashire
(2) Mx - Middlesex (3) Nth - Northamptonshire (1) Nt - Nottinghamshire (1) Sy - Surrey
(2) Sx - Sussex (1) Wk - Warwickshire (1) Yo - Yorkshire
(2) Average age of team at time of first Test match (1 December 1950): 30 yrs 1 month. | | | Test
Appearances made before the tour | Hutton 44, Compton 37,
Evans 30, Washbrook 28, Wright 27,
Bedser 26, Hollies 13, Brown
9, Simpson 6, Bailey 6,
Dewes 3, Berry 2, Parkhouse 2, Close 1,
McIntyre 1, Sheppard 1, Warr 0;
Statham 0, Tattersall 0. | | | | Team
Officials | M A ‘Mike’ Green | Joint-Manager | John Nash | Joint-Manager | Arthur James (in Australia) | Masseur | Bill Ferguson (in Australia) | Scorer-baggage
| W.A.Watts (in N.Z.) | Scorer-baggage
|
M.C.C. appointed the joint-managers on 6 July 1950. Nash was in
charge of finance, accommodation and transport. | | | | Selectors | Bob Wyatt (chairman), Brian Sellers, Les Ames, Tom Pearce, Freddie Brown, Norman Yardley, Sir Pelham Warner. | | | | Selection | Not
considered: On
behalf of the M.C.C. committee, Colonel R.S.Rait-Kerr (Secretary of M.C.C.), Pelham
Warner and Harry Altham asked Bill Edrich to withdraw his name from
consideration for selection because he returned to the team hotel late at
night during a Test match in 1950. Edrich refused to do so and subsequently
he was not considered for a tour place. Chair of selectors Bob Wyatt is
sometimes held responsible for the omission, as Wyatt’s room was adjacent to
Edrich’s and he was kept awake by raucous partying. The captaincy choice fell on F R Brown when Cyril Washbrook, who
might have become M.C.C.'s first professional captain, decided not to accept
an offer. Brown himself was hesitant at first about leading the tour. In July
the Press had even got hold of a story that Doug Insole would take the side. Denis Compton, the first professional to act as vice-captain on
an M.C.C. tour, was appointed on 27 August. When on tour Brown turned to
Hutton for advice and barely consulted with Compton. Godfrey Evans said “when Denis captained
the side, his strategy was sometimes successful, sometimes not; when it was
not he seemed to lose his grip on the game owing to his inexperience as
captain.” Unavailable
: Norman Yardley (business); Cyril Washbrook (later changed his
mind). George Mann (director of a sports firm – he turned down his place and
Brian Close was invited instead). The captain and eleven other players were invited on 27 July ;
three more (Berry,
MacIntyre, Sheppard) on 15 August ; Warr, having been invited with Washbrook
on 27 August, took the last place on 6 September. Washbrook was re-invited on 27 August and given permission to fly
out later rather than travel by sea. Tour
party announced : 6 September 1950 Brian Close became the youngest M.C.C. tourist. Close had to
obtain release from national service with Royal Signals to join the tour. Not
selected: A Commonwealth tour of India took
place in 1950-51, allowing players who narrowly missed selection like Les
Jackson and Jim Laker, to go abroad and play during the winter season. | Time between selection and departure from England 18 days (27 August - 14 September) | | | Travel Tilbury T Colombo,
Fremantle ‘Stratheden’ | The team sailed from Tilbury on the ‘Stratheden’ on 14 September. The
number of pressmen (22) exceeded the number of players. Reg Hayter was the
representative of the English press and Tom Goodman of the Australians. Calling at Colombo
on 1 October (where a match was played) the ship finally arrived at Fremantle
on 9 October. Cyril Washbrook flew out on 17 October. Replacement
players Statham and Tattersall arrived on 15 January. At the end of the Australian tour, on 4 March sixteen players
flew by seaplane from Rose Bay, Sydney, to Auckland, New
Zealand | Time spent in Australia 146 days (9 October - 4 March) Time spent in New Zealand 28 days (4
March - 1 April) | | | On-tour
selection panel | Freddie Brown (captain),
Denis Compton (vice-captain), Godfrey Evans,
Len Hutton, Cyril Washbrook. The make-up of the committee was decided on board
the “Stratheden” and announced on 20 September. Brown wrote : “Our
Test selection committee was made up
of myself, Hutton, Compton, Washbrook and Evans but for all matches outside
the Tests, I took on a dictatorial role, the others being quite willing to
leave the job to me” | | | | Reinforcements | Manager Green wrote that at the start of the tour “Bailey
was so unfit and showed so little inclination to get to work that his return
to England was discussed…
but he was constantly improving from Adelaide
onwards as a bowler and in temperament.” The tour committee sent an SOS for fresh bowlers when Wright
(groin muscle) and Bailey (fractured thumb) were unfit. Also, Close missed several matches through
a muscle strain. The M.C.C.
Committee back in England
chose Brian Statham and Roy Tattersall on 8 January. The flew
in via Singapore
and were met at the airport on 15 January by Walter Robins and John Woodcock
("Both looked winter pale and poplar thin"). Eric
Bedser, as on so many M.C.C. tours, accompanied his brother, Alec, and
was drafted into the side for one match against Tasmania. The tour party had consequently grown to twenty players and, even
though there were continual injuries occurring, the committee decided on 20
January that Berry, Close and Hollies would
not go to New Zealand | | | | Fixtures/Results | a | ϯ Colombo | Ceylon | Drawn | b | ϯ Northam | Western
Australia Country | Drawn | c | ϯ Perth | Western
Australia Colts | Won inns 149 r | d | Perth | Western
Australia | Drawn | e | Adelaide | South
Australia | Won 7 w | f | Melbourne | Victoria | Drawn | g | Sydney | New
South Wales | Drawn | h | ϯ Newcastle | New
South Wales Country | Drawn | i | ϯ Lismore | Northern New South Wales | Drawn | j | Brisbane | Queensland | Drawn | k | BRISBANE | AUSTRALIA First Test | LOST
70 r | l | ϯ Toowoomba | Queensland
Country | Drawn | m | ϯ Canberra | Southern New South Wales | Drawn | n | Sydney | Australian XI | Drawn | o | MELBOURNE | AUSTRALIA Second Test | LOST
28 r | p | Sydney | New
South Wales | Drawn | q | SYDNEY | AUSTRALIA Third Test | LOST
inns 13 r | r | Hobart | Tasmania | Won 9 w | s | Launceston | Tasmania
Combined XI | Won 10 w | t | ϯ Renmark | South
Australia Country | Won inns 25 r | u | Adelaide | South
Australia | Won 152 r | v | ADELAIDE | AUSTRALIA Fourth Test | LOST
274 r | w | Melbourne | Victoria | Drawn | x | ϯ Geelong | Victoria Country | Drawn | y | ϯ Euroa | Victoria Country | Drawn | z | MELBOURNE | AUSTRALIA Fifth Test | WON 8
w | | | | | a’ | Auckland | Auckland | Won 10 w | b’ | Dunedin | Otago | Won inns 161 r | c’ | CHRISTCHURCH | NEW ZEALAND First Test | DRAWN | d’ | WELLINGTON | NEW ZEALAND Second Test | WON 6
w |
| † not first-class Time spent in Australia before First Test: 2 days (September - 17 November) | | | Test
appearances on tour (v Australia
and New Zealand 1950-51) | 7 - Bedser, Brown, Evans, Hutton, Simpson, Wright. 6 - Bailey, Compton, Washbrook. 5 - 4 - Tattersall. 3 - Parkhouse, Sheppard. 2 - Dewes, Warr. 1 - Close, McIntyre, Statham. 0 - Berry,
Hollies. | | | | Match
appearances T Test match x other match ∙ played for opposition W won L lost D drawn N no
result A abandoned u unknown
result | | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z | a ‘ | b ‘ | c ‘ | d’ | Bailey | x | | | x | x | x | x | | x | | T | x | x | | T | | T | | | | | | x | x | | T | | | T | T | Bedser A V | x | x | | x | | | x | x | x | x | T | | x | x | T | | T | x | x | | | T | | | | T | | | T | T | Bedser E A | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | Berry | x | x | x | | x | x | | x | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | x | x | | | x | x | | | | | | | Brown | x | x | x | x | x | | | x | x | x | T | | x | x | T | x | T | | | x | x | T | | | | T | | | T | T | Close | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | | x | | x | x | | T | | | | x | x | x | | x | x | | | | | | | Compton | | x | x | x | | x | x | | | x | T | x | | x | | | T | x | x | x | | T | x | | | T | x | x | T | T | Dewes | | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | T | | x | x | T | | | x | x | x | | | x | x | x | | x | x | | | Evans | | | | x | x | | | x | x | x | T | x | | x | T | x | T | x | x | x | | T | | | | T | | | T | T | Hollies | x | | x | | | x | x | x | | x | | x | | x | | x | | x | x | | x | | x | x | x | | | | | | Hutton | x | | | | x | x | x | | | x | T | | x | | T | x | T | | | | x | T | x | | x | T | x | | T | T | McIntyre | x | x | x | | | x | x | | x | | T | | x | | | | | | | | x | | x | x | x | | x | x | | | Parkhouse | x | x | x | x | | | | x | x | | | x | x | x | T | x | T | | x | x | | | x | x | x | | x | x | | T | Sheppard | | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | | | x | x | x | | x | | x | x | x | x | T | | x | x | T | x | x | | T | Simpson | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | T | x | | x | T | x | T | x | | x | x | T | | x | x | T | | x | T | T | Statham | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | x | | x | | x | x | T | | Tattersall | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | T | | | | T | x | x | T | T | Warr | x | x | x | | x | x | | x | x | x | | x | | x | | x | T | x | x | | | T | | x | x | | x | x | | | Washbrook | | | | | x | x | x | | | x | T | | x | | T | x | T | x | x | | x | T | x | x | | T | x | x | T | | Wright | | x | | x | x | | x | | | | T | x | x | | T | x | T | | | | x | T | | | x | T | x | x | T | T | R E S U L T S | D | D | W | D | W | D | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | D | L | D | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | D | W | W | W | D | W |
| | | | Highlights | • T • • • | | | | Tour
Summary | | F | W | L | D | Aban | Test Matches | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | Other first-class matches | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | - | †Minor matches | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | - | All Matches | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | - |
| F Fixtures W Won
L Lost
D Drawn T Tied Canc Cancelled
Aban abandoned | | | Return
to England Melbourne T Tilbury ‘Strathaird’ Auckland Q New York New York QLondon | “As the New Zealand Cricket
Council had booked the trip for sixteen players and by this time we had
Tattersall and Statham on the strength, we had to send three men home to England.
I asked for volunteers but the only one I got was Eric Hollies who is
allergic to air travel. I therefore had to nominate two men to accompany
him.” (Brown, Cricket Musketeer
). Brown had evidently tired of Close and was maddened by him playing golf
while unfit for selection; yet Brown joked years later about sneaking out to
play a round of golf himself while he was supposed to be acting as a twelfth
man. Berry, Close
and Hollies sailed home from Melbourne on the ‘Strathaird’ and reached Tilbury on 9 April, which was
later than the rest of the team’s return from New Zealand by air. The New Zealand
authorities had booked passages on Pan American Airways and on 1 April the
team flew from Auckland via Nandi, Honolulu and San
Francisco. When the party, with Denis Compton in charge, arrived in New
York, a BOAC official suggested to Denis that it would be a good thing to
‘fly British’ and the party should transfer to a BOAC plane at no extra
charge. They arrived back in London
on 3 April. Manager Mike Green left NZ two days after the main party (and was
given the same native welcome party in Fiji). He followed the same route
but stayed in America, not
reaching Heathrow
Airport until 12 April.
John Nash arrived home from Port
Said by air on 28 April. Brown flew back to Australia
to spend time in Sydney, Melbourne
and Perth before departing on the Orontes to Marseilles,
and then overland to Calais and Dover, arriving home on
3 May. | Time away from England 201 days
(14
September - 3 April) | | | Finances | The tour made a profit of £4,000.
Because of uncovered wickets in a wet summer, the finances were set
back. The Australian Board proposed covering
but M.C.C. declined as the tour conditions had been set in advance. | | | | Accounts
of the tour | Chapters 1 and 2 in “Cricket
Musketeer” by Freddie Brown (Nicholas Kaye, 1954) "In
Sun and Shadow" by Denis Compton
(Stanley Paul, 1952) "Brown
and Company" by Jack Fingleton (Collins, 1951) Chapters 11 to 16 in “Sporting
Campaigner” by Brigadier Mike Green (Stanley Paul &
Co, 1956) "In
Quest of the Ashes" by
Bruce Harris (Hutchinson,
1951) “Ashes
to Hassett” by John Kay (John
Sherratt, 1951) “Catch:
an Account of two Cricket Tours” by Keith Miller & R S Whitington
(Latimer House, 1951) "The
Fight for The Ashes 1950-51" by A G 'Johnnie' Moyes (Harrap, 1951). “Cricket
Task-Force” by Bill O’Reilly (Laurie,
1951) “English
Cricket: What’s Wrong and Why” by Herbert Sutcliffe (Banks,
1951) "Elusive
Victory" by E W
Swanton (Daily Telegraph, 1951) “The
Story of the Test Matches” (Times Newspapers, 1951) “Ashes To Ashes” by Rex Warner & Lyle Blair (MacGibbon
& Kee, 1951) “No
Ashes for England
– The Story of The Ashes Tour 1950-51” by E.M. Wellings | | | | Postscript | Brown later wrote in Cricket
Musketeer “We did not select quite
the right or the best possible side …I think I would have selected the same
bowlers but I would probably have left several of the batsmen behind” Sheppard, Parkhouse, Close, Warr, Berry,
Hollies and Dewes were all failures while Compton was a disappointment in the
Test matches though he scored well in state games. “The young players were
not yet good enough for this class of cricket” (Green) After the 1946-47 Australian
tour two managers were recommended for Australia in 1950-51 so John Nash and
Mike Green were appointed but they felt that neither of them had enough work
to do to justify both being there, and in 1954-55 there was only one manager,
Geoffrey Howard. | | | | Other
Test tours in 1950-51 | None | ©Test Cricket Tours 2015 | | | Acknowledgements
To general reading of The Times newspaper digital archive
(Gale Group); Jamaica Gleanor
archive; National Library of Australia
Trove; Papers Past NZ. From former British Newspaper
Library, Colindale and online: The
Age, Melbourne Argus, Bangladesh Daily Star, Barbados Advocate, Canberra
Times, Daily Telegraph, Dawn, Eastern Daily Press, The Hindu, The Independent
(Dhaka), Indian Express, The Island (Lanka), Lahore Times, New Nation, New
Zealand Auckland Herald, Sri Lanka Daily News, Stabroek News, Straits Times,
Sydney Morning Herald, The Telegraph (Calcutta), Times of India , The Tribune
Chandigarh, Trinidad Guardian, The West Australian. cricketweb.net; ESPN cricinfo; cricket archive; www.cricketcountry;
www.coverpoint Magazines/periodicals including
Australian Cricket, B & H West Indies Annual, The Cricketer
International, Cricketer Quarterly, Indian Cricket, Indian Cricket Field
Annual, Playfair Cricket Monthly, Shell Cricket Almanack of New Zealand,
Wisden Cricket Monthly, Wisden Book of Test Cricket, Wisden’s Cricketers’
Almanack. Men In White, A History of
Australian Cricket (Harte), A History of Indian Cricket (Bose), A History of West Indies Cricket (Manley) Biography and tour books (own collection and at the M.C.C.
Library at Lord’s Ground) ALL CONTENTS OF THE TEST-CRICKET-TOURS.CO.UK
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