Cricket in Australia
Encyclopedia
Cricket
is one of the most popular sports in Australia
, at international, domestic and local levels. Unlike most other sports played in Australia, cricket generates equal interest in all states of the nation. In 2007, a survey by Sweeney Sports found that 52% of the Australian public have an interest in cricket, second to none. The peak administrative body for both professional and amateur cricket in Australia is Cricket Australia
. Cricket is often known as Australia's national sport
due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country.
A census conducted on behalf of Cricket Australia found that in the 2010-11 season there were 850,155 professional participants in Australian cricket programs and competitions, putting Australia’s national game ahead of all the football codes and other popular sports such as golf and bowls.
Separately, official audience data shows that 93.6% of Australians watched at least some cricket on TV in 2010-11 calender year, the highest penetration of any sport in Australia.
has been played in Australia for over 207 years. The first recorded cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803 and a report in the Sydney Gazette
on 8 January 1804 suggested that cricket was already well established in the infant colony. Intercolonial cricket in Australia
started with a visit by cricketers from Victoria
to Tasmania in February 1851. The match was played in Launceston on 11–12 February with Tasmania winning by 3 wickets.
The first tour by an English team to Australia was in 1861-62, organised by the catering firm of Spiers and Pond as a private enterprise. A further tour followed in 1863-64, led by George Parr
and was even more successful than the last.
In 1868, a team consisting of Aboriginal cricketers became the first Australian team to tour England. The team played 47 matches, winning 14, drawing 19 and losing 14. The heavy workload and inclement weather took its toll with King Cole contracting a fatal case of tuberculosis
during the tour.
Further tours by English teams took place in 1873-74 (featuring the most notable cricketer of the age W.G. Grace) and 1876-77. The 1876-77 season was notable for a match between a combined XI from New South Wales and Victoria and the touring Englishmen at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
played on 15–19 March. This match, later to be recognised as the first Test Match, was won by Australia by 45 runs thanks mainly to an unbeaten 165 by Charles Bannerman
. The result of this match was seen by Australians and Englishmen as a reflection of the rising standard of Australian cricket.
The rising standards of Australian cricket was further established during the first representative tour of England in 1878. A return visit in 1878-79 is best remembered for a riot
and by the time Australia visited England in 1880, playing the first Test in England at The Oval
, a system of international tours was well established. A famous victory on the 1882 tour of England resulted in the placement of a satirical
obituary
in an English newspaper, The Sporting Times. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media then dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes
. The Sheffield Shield, the premier first-class cricket
competition in Australia, was established in 1892 by the Australasian Cricket Council, the first attempt at a national cricket board.
The era from the mid 1890s to the World War I
has been described as Australian cricket's golden age
. This era saw the emergence of players such as Monty Noble
, Clem Hill
and in particular Victor Trumper
, who was idolised by the Australian public. It also saw the emergence of the first women's cricket club in the colonies, captained by Lily Poulett-Harris http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/9403855?searchTerm=lily+poulett. The Great War lead to the suspension of both international and Sheffield Shield cricket and the enlistment of many cricketers in the AIF
. After the war, a team consisting of cricketers enlisted in the AIF toured the United Kingdom.
International cricket recommenced with a tour by a weakened England team in 1920-21. The strong Australian team, led by Armstrong and with a bowling attack spearheaded by Gregory and Ted McDonald
won the series 5-0, the first time this was achieved in an Ashes series. Don Bradman
, born in Cootamundra
and raised in Bowral
was 20 when he made his Test debut in the first Test of the 1928-29 series against England. He would hold the records for the highest individual Test innings and the most centuries in Test cricket and when he retired in 1948 he had the highest Test batting average, the last a record he still holds. He scored 117 first class centuries
, still the only Australian to score a century of centuries and was knighted
for services to cricket.
The Bodyline
controversy began when Bradman toured England with the Australian team in 1930. Bradman scored heavily, 974 runs at an average of 139.14 including a then world record 334 at Leeds, two other double centuries and another single. Watching these displays of batting was Douglas Jardine
, playing for Surrey
. Following discussions with other observers such as Percy Fender
and George Duckworth
, he developed a tactic to limit the prodigious run scoring of Bradman and the others. The tactic, originally called fast leg theory and later called bodyline
involved fast short pitched bowling directed at the batsman's body and a packed leg side field. Appointed captain of England for the 1932-33 series in Australia, Jardine was able to put these theories into practice. Combined with bowlers of the speed and accuracy of Harold Larwood
and Bill Voce
, the tactic required batsmen to risk injury in order to protect their wicket. In the third Test in Adelaide
, Larwood struck Australian captain Bill Woodfull
above the heart and fractured wicket-keeper
Bert Oldfield
's skull.
In December 1934, the Australian women's team played the English women in the first women's Test match at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground
. Despite a 7 wicket haul to Anne Palmer
in the first innings, the English women were too strong and won by 9 wickets.
. Immediately after the end of the war in Europe
in 1945, an Australian Services XI played a series of Victory Tests
in England. The team was captained by Lindsay Hassett
and it saw the emergence of the charismatic all-rounder Keith Miller
. The series was drawn 2-2. After the retirement of Bradman in 1948, Hassett, Miller and all-rounder Ray Lindwall
formed the nucleus of the Australian team. They were later joined by leg spin
ning all-rounder, Richie Benaud
and batsman Neil Harvey
.
By the 1958-59 series, Benaud was captain of the Australian side and managed to recover the Ashes. The 1960-61 series at home against the West Indies was widely regarded as one of the most memorable. A commitment by Benaud and his West Indian offsider Frank Worrell
to entertaining cricket revived lagging interest in the sport. The gripping series, including the first tied Test
, saw Australia win 2-1 and become the inaugural holders of the newly commissioned Frank Worrell Trophy
. The West Indian team was held in such affection that a ticker-tape parade
in their honour prior to their departure from Australia attracted a crowd of 300,000 Melburnians to wish them farewell.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was an ongoing controversy regarding illegal bowling actions. A number of bowlers, Australian and international were accused of throwing
or "chucking" over this period including the South Australian pair of Alan Hitchcox and Peter Trethewey and New South Welshman, Gordon Rorke. The controversy reached a high point when Ian Meckiff
was recalled to the Australian team for the first Test of the 1963-64 series against South Africa. Called on to bowl his first over, he was no-balled 4 times by umpire Colin Egar
for throwing before being removed from the attack by his skipper, Benaud. As a consequence, Meckiff retired from all levels of cricket after the match and Egar received death threats from persons aggrieved at his call.
, and were subsequently beaten 4-0. A request by the Australian Cricket Board for the players to play a further match in South Africa was met with resistance by the players, led by the captain, Bill Lawry
.
During the following home series against England, Lawry was sacked as captain and replaced by the South Australian batsman, Ian Chappell
. Lawry remains the only Australian captain to be sacked in the middle of a Test series. Chappell, part of a younger and more assertive generation, saw the board's treatment of Lawry's as disgraceful and made a pledge to never allow himself to be placed in the same situation.
Greg Chappell
, Ian's younger brother, succeeded him as captain in 1975-76 and lead the Australian team in the Centenary Test in Melbourne in March 1977. A celebration of 100 years of Test cricket, Australia won the Test by 45 runs, the precise result of the corresponding game 100 years earlier.
While Australian cricket celebrated, the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer
was making plans to wrest away the television rights for Australian cricket. During the 1977 Ashes tour, the cricket world became aware that Packer had signed 35 of the world's top cricketers for a series of matches, including 18 Australians, 13 of whom were part of the tour party. World Series Cricket
, as the breakaway group was known split Australian cricket in two for nearly three years. Former Australian captain, Bob Simpson
was recalled from retirement to lead an inexperienced team in a home series against India in 1977-78, won 3-2 and then a tour to the West Indies, marred by an ugly riot. For the 1978-79 Ashes series, he was replaced by the young Victorian, Graham Yallop
. The subsequent thrashing, a 5-1 victory for England, and the success of World Series Cricket forced the Australian Cricket Board to concede on Packer's terms.
The settlement between the ACB and WSC lead to the introduction of a series of innovations including night cricket, coloured clothing and an annual limited overs tri-series called the World Series Cup
. It also signalled the return of the champion cricketers Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee
and Rod Marsh
. Their retirement at the end of the 1983-84 season was quickly followed by a series of tours to South Africa by a rebel Australian team in breach of the sporting sanctions imposed on the apartheid regime. The combined effect was to leave Australian cricket at its nadir under reluctant captain, Allan Border
, losing Test series at home (2-1) and away (1-0) to New Zealand in 1985-86.
The long road back for Australian cricket started in India in 1986-87. Border, along with Bob Simpson in a new role as coach, set out to identify a group of players that a team could form around. These players showed some of the steel necessary in the famous tied Test at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
in Chennai
. Returning to the subcontinent for the World Cup in 1987
, Australia surprised the cricket world by defeating England at Eden Gardens
in Kolkata
to win the tournament with a disciplined brand of cricket. By the 1989 Ashes tour
, the development of players such as Steve Waugh
and David Boon
and the discovery of Mark Taylor
and Ian Healy
had reaped rewards. The 4-0 drubbing of England was the first time since 1934
that Australia had recovered the Ashes away from home and marked the resurgence of Australia as a cricketing power. Australia would hold the Ashes for the next 16 years.
The most successful leg spin bowler in the history of the game, Shane Warne
, made his debut in 1991-92 in the third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. He had an undistinguished Test debut, taking 1/150 off 45 overs, and recording figures of 1/228 in his first Test series. From this modest beginning, Warne dominated Australian cricket for 15 years, taking 708 wickets at an average of 25.41. When the fast medium bowler, Glenn McGrath
was first selected in the Australian team for the Perth
test against New Zealand in 1993-94, the core of a highly successful bowling attack was formed. In 1994-95, under new captain Taylor, the Australians defeated the then dominant West Indies in the Caribbean to recover the Frank Worrell Trophy
for the first time since 1978 and staked a claim to be considered the best team in the world.
Following a disappointing World Cup at home in 1992
, Australia then entered a run of extraordinarily successful World Cup campaigns; runners up to Sri Lanka in 1996 in the subcontinent
, fighting back after early setbacks to win in England in 1999
and unbeaten on their way to another victory in South Africa
. The change in captain from Taylor to Steve Waugh made little difference in the success of the Australian team. Waugh made a slightly rocky start to his term as captain, drawing 2-2 with the West Indies in the Caribbean and losing to Sri Lanka 1-0 away. A victory in the Australian team's first ever Test match against Zimbabwe was the start of an unparalleled 16 Test winning streak. The streak was finally ended in 2001 in Kolkata with a remarkable victory by India after being asked to follow-on
. For Waugh, India would remain unconquered territory.
Australia's success was not without its detractors. Accusations of racism
were made against the Australian team, one incident leading to a suspension for Darren Lehmann
in 2003. Contacts between Warne and batsman Mark Waugh
and illegal bookmaker
s, at first kept under cover by the ACB, were later revealed by the Australian press, sparking accusations of hypocrisy given Australian cricket's earlier attitude toward match fixing
allegations. Warne would later be suspended from all forms of cricket for 12 months after testing positive to banned diuretic
s hydrochlorothiazide
and amiloride
. The brand of cricket played by the Australian team was praised for its spirit and aggressiveness but critics charged that this aggressive approach lead to ugly sledging
incidents such as the confrontation between McGrath and West Indian batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan
at the Antigua Recreation Ground
in 2003. Tasmanian batsman Ricky Ponting
would admit to an alcohol problem
after incidents in India and in Sydney.
A rehabilitated Ponting would succeed Waugh as captain in 2004. While injured for most of the 2004-05 series against India, his team under acting captain Adam Gilchrist
defeated India in India, the first Australian series win in India since Bill Lawry's team in 1969-70. A 2-1 defeat in the 2005 Ashes series
in England was quickly avenged at home with a 5-0 thrashing of England in 2006-07
. The whitewash
was the first in an Ashes series since Warwick Armstrong's team in 1920-21. Following the series, the successful bowling combination of McGrath and Warne retired from Test cricket, with a record that will be hard to match as the Australian team endeavours to retain its place at the top of world cricket.
Most recently Australia won the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean and were unbeaten through the tournament. Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden
scored the most runs in the tournament. The finals happened to be Glenn McGrath
's last match and he was also the highest wicket taker of the tournament and the player of the tournament.
The Australian national team is one of the most successful teams in international cricket
. Along with England, Australia was recognised as one of the founder nations of the Imperial Cricket Conference, later the International Cricket Council
. Australia generally plays a test series against a visiting team, and a one-day series between two other teams at home each summer, and tours overseas for the remainder of the year
ing nation, with a higher percentage of won matches than any other nation.
In Test cricket, the Australian team compete for various trophies and championships:
There have been only nine Test match venues in Australia since the first Test match in 1877:
. Since then, the team has maintained a good record in One Day Internationals, winning four Cricket World Cup
s, more than any other national team.
Following the end of World Series Cricket
, from 1979-80 the Australian season featured a triangular series of One Day Internationals, featuring the Australian team and two touring teams. The first incarnation of this tournament was called the World Series Cup
and included night cricket, coloured uniforms and a white ball. In 1994-95, the tournament included an Australia A cricket team
, due to the perceived weakness of the invited Zimbabwe team. For the 1996-97 season, the World Series Cup was replaced by a series of tournaments named after a major sponsor, including the Carlton and United Series, the VB
Series and the Commonwealth Bank Series. The successor series followed a similar format.
Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the 1992 Cricket World Cup
. For the first time, the tournament featured the innovations already common in Australian one-day matches such as night cricket and coloured clothing. The tournament featured nine nations, expanded to include a South African team recently admitted back into world cricket. Australia performed poorly, failing to make the semi final stage. Pakistan defeated England in the final in front of 87,182 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
.
5 times, more than any other team. As in men's cricket, Australia and England were the first two women's Test nations, playing in the inaugural women's Test
in Brisbane in 1934. Australia compete with England for the Women's Ashes
, a cricket bat symbolically burned prior to the 1998 test series. The Australian team also compete in the Rose Bowl series
, a series of One-day Internationals
against New Zealand.
Local club cricket is also popular, as well as social cricket which includes variations such as backyard and beach cricket.
competition in Australia. It was established in 1892 using a bequest of ₤150 provided by Lord Sheffield for the improvement of Australian cricket and was originally named the Sheffield Shield in recognition. When established, the competition included the colonies (later states) of New South Wales
, South Australia and Victoria
. Queensland
was admitted to the Shield competition for the 1926-27 season, Western Australia
in 1947-48 and Tasmania
in 1977-78.
In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a 4 year sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup, then to the Pura Cup the following season. As of the 2008-09 season, the title has reverted to its original name.
At the end of the 2006-07 season, all participating teams have won at least one Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup, with New South Wales the most successful state with 44 wins and Tasmania winning their first in 2006-07.
. Originally a knock-out tournament, the format and name has changed several times since inception depending on the naming rights sponsor.
New Zealand withdrew from the competition after the 1974-75 season. The Canberra Comets
, a team from the Australian Capital Territory
were included for three seasons from 1997-98 to 1999-2000. At the end of the 2006-07 season, Western Australia has been the most successful state with 11 wins while South Australia and Tasmania have won two each.
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash is the domestic Twenty20
competition in Australia. This competition was established for the 2005-06 season and expanded in 2006-07 and has proved popular with the public. The current (and final) champion is South Australia.
The Women's National Cricket League is the domestic women's cricket
competition in Australia. The first national competition in Australia was the Australian Women's Cricket Championships, an annual two week tournament established in 1930-31. The championships were replaced by the league format in 1996-97. Victoria and New South Wales have been the most successful teams.
due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country, unlike the main football codes, rugby league
and Australian rules football
. Cricket is also a mass participation sport in Australia; A census conducted on behalf of Cricket Australia found that in the 2003-04 season there were 471,329 participants in Australian cricket programs and competitions, including 47,780 female participants.
The position of Australian Test cricket captain
is regarded as one of the most important roles in Australian sport. It is often said that in Australia the office of Test captain is second in stature behind the office of Prime Minister
. Reflecting this community perception, three Australian cricket captains have been named as Australian of the Year
by the National Australia Day Council
; Allan Border in 1989, Mark Taylor in 1999 and Steve Waugh in 2004. In addition, Steve Waugh has been nominated as an Australian Living Treasure
by the National Trust of Australia
, as was Don Bradman prior to his death in 2001.
Cricket plays an important role in Australia's national identity, in particular its relationship towards the United Kingdom. Ashes Tests can be seen by many Australians as an opportunity to avenge past perceived wrongs by the former imperial power.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is one of the most popular sports in Australia
Sport in Australia
Australia has a long sporting history dating back to the mid 1800s. By the 1920s, a number of sports were being played by both men and women, including cricket, badminton, judo, swimming, tennis, netball, lacrosse, golf, hockey and various codes of football....
, at international, domestic and local levels. Unlike most other sports played in Australia, cricket generates equal interest in all states of the nation. In 2007, a survey by Sweeney Sports found that 52% of the Australian public have an interest in cricket, second to none. The peak administrative body for both professional and amateur cricket in Australia is Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
. Cricket is often known as Australia's national sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country.
A census conducted on behalf of Cricket Australia found that in the 2010-11 season there were 850,155 professional participants in Australian cricket programs and competitions, putting Australia’s national game ahead of all the football codes and other popular sports such as golf and bowls.
Separately, official audience data shows that 93.6% of Australians watched at least some cricket on TV in 2010-11 calender year, the highest penetration of any sport in Australia.
History
1803–1939
CricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
has been played in Australia for over 207 years. The first recorded cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803 and a report in the Sydney Gazette
Sydney Gazette
The Sydney Gazette was the first newspaper in Australia. Governor King authorised the publication of what was initially called 'The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1803. Subsequently the first edition was published 5 March...
on 8 January 1804 suggested that cricket was already well established in the infant colony. Intercolonial cricket in Australia
Intercolonial cricket in Australia
Intercolonial cricket in Australia was the name used to describe first-class cricket matches played between the various colonies of Australia prior to federation in 1901. After federation, they became known as Interstate matches. By the 1880s regular intercolonials were being played, generally...
started with a visit by cricketers from Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
to Tasmania in February 1851. The match was played in Launceston on 11–12 February with Tasmania winning by 3 wickets.
The first tour by an English team to Australia was in 1861-62, organised by the catering firm of Spiers and Pond as a private enterprise. A further tour followed in 1863-64, led by George Parr
George Parr (cricketer)
George Parr was an English cricketer, whose first-class career lasted from 1844 to 1870....
and was even more successful than the last.
In 1868, a team consisting of Aboriginal cricketers became the first Australian team to tour England. The team played 47 matches, winning 14, drawing 19 and losing 14. The heavy workload and inclement weather took its toll with King Cole contracting a fatal case of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
during the tour.
Further tours by English teams took place in 1873-74 (featuring the most notable cricketer of the age W.G. Grace) and 1876-77. The 1876-77 season was notable for a match between a combined XI from New South Wales and Victoria and the touring Englishmen at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
played on 15–19 March. This match, later to be recognised as the first Test Match, was won by Australia by 45 runs thanks mainly to an unbeaten 165 by Charles Bannerman
Charles Bannerman
Charles Bannerman was an Australian Test cricketer, a right-hand batsman, who played domestic cricket for New South Wales....
. The result of this match was seen by Australians and Englishmen as a reflection of the rising standard of Australian cricket.
Sydney Riot of 1879
The Sydney Riot of 1879 was a civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at the Association Ground, Moore Park, now known as the Sydney Cricket Ground, during a match between a touring English team captained by Lord...
and by the time Australia visited England in 1880, playing the first Test in England at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, a system of international tours was well established. A famous victory on the 1882 tour of England resulted in the placement of a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
in an English newspaper, The Sporting Times. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media then dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. The Sheffield Shield, the premier first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
competition in Australia, was established in 1892 by the Australasian Cricket Council, the first attempt at a national cricket board.
The era from the mid 1890s to the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
has been described as Australian cricket's golden age
Golden Age of cricket
The Golden Age of Cricket is a term that has often been applied in cricket literature to the period in English, Australian, and American cricket from the formation of the official County Championship in the 1890 season to the outbreak of World War I, which occurred just before the scheduled end of...
. This era saw the emergence of players such as Monty Noble
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
, Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
and in particular Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
, who was idolised by the Australian public. It also saw the emergence of the first women's cricket club in the colonies, captained by Lily Poulett-Harris http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/9403855?searchTerm=lily+poulett. The Great War lead to the suspension of both international and Sheffield Shield cricket and the enlistment of many cricketers in the AIF
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
. After the war, a team consisting of cricketers enlisted in the AIF toured the United Kingdom.
International cricket recommenced with a tour by a weakened England team in 1920-21. The strong Australian team, led by Armstrong and with a bowling attack spearheaded by Gregory and Ted McDonald
Ted McDonald
Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald was a cricketer who played for Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire and Australia, as well as being an Australian rules footballer who played with Launceston Football Club, Essendon Football Club, and Fitzroy Football Club.A very fast bowler with the...
won the series 5-0, the first time this was achieved in an Ashes series. Don Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, born in Cootamundra
Cootamundra, New South Wales
Cootamundra is a town and Local Government Area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. At the 2006 census, Cootamundra had a population of 5,566. It is located on the Olympic Highway at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and...
and raised in Bowral
Bowral, New South Wales
-Attractions:Bowral is perhaps the best known of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands, and in recent years has become the commercial centre of the Wingecarribee Shire. Bowral is known for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants, and rich coffee culture.Bowral is home to the...
was 20 when he made his Test debut in the first Test of the 1928-29 series against England. He would hold the records for the highest individual Test innings and the most centuries in Test cricket and when he retired in 1948 he had the highest Test batting average, the last a record he still holds. He scored 117 first class centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
, still the only Australian to score a century of centuries and was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for services to cricket.
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
controversy began when Bradman toured England with the Australian team in 1930. Bradman scored heavily, 974 runs at an average of 139.14 including a then world record 334 at Leeds, two other double centuries and another single. Watching these displays of batting was Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
, playing for Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
. Following discussions with other observers such as Percy Fender
Percy Fender
Percy George Herbert Fender was an English all-round cricketer who played 13 Tests for England. He was a middle order batsman and bowled mainly leg spin.-Biography:...
and George Duckworth
George Duckworth
George Duckworth was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and England....
, he developed a tactic to limit the prodigious run scoring of Bradman and the others. The tactic, originally called fast leg theory and later called bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
involved fast short pitched bowling directed at the batsman's body and a packed leg side field. Appointed captain of England for the 1932-33 series in Australia, Jardine was able to put these theories into practice. Combined with bowlers of the speed and accuracy of Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
and Bill Voce
Bill Voce
Bill Voce was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire and England, and was an instrumental part of England's infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932–1933.-Life and career:...
, the tactic required batsmen to risk injury in order to protect their wicket. In the third Test in Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
, Larwood struck Australian captain Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
above the heart and fractured wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
's skull.
In December 1934, the Australian women's team played the English women in the first women's Test match at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground
Brisbane Exhibition Ground
The Brisbane Exhibition Ground , is a showground established in Brisbane during 1875 especially for Ekka . The Exhibition ground is owned and operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland...
. Despite a 7 wicket haul to Anne Palmer
Anne Palmer (cricketer)
Anne Palmer is an international cricketer who played 3 matches for the Australia national women's cricket team in the inaugural series against the England women's cricket team in the 1934/35 season...
in the first innings, the English women were too strong and won by 9 wickets.
1945–1969
Once again, war brought a stop to Shield and Test cricket as Australia mobilised for World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Immediately after the end of the war in Europe
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
in 1945, an Australian Services XI played a series of Victory Tests
Victory Tests
The Victory Tests were a series of cricket matches played in England from 19 May to 22 August 1945, between a combined Australian Services XI and an English national side...
in England. The team was captained by Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
and it saw the emergence of the charismatic all-rounder Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
. The series was drawn 2-2. After the retirement of Bradman in 1948, Hassett, Miller and all-rounder Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
formed the nucleus of the Australian team. They were later joined by leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
ning all-rounder, Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
and batsman Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
.
By the 1958-59 series, Benaud was captain of the Australian side and managed to recover the Ashes. The 1960-61 series at home against the West Indies was widely regarded as one of the most memorable. A commitment by Benaud and his West Indian offsider Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
to entertaining cricket revived lagging interest in the sport. The gripping series, including the first tied Test
Tied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
, saw Australia win 2-1 and become the inaugural holders of the newly commissioned Frank Worrell Trophy
Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
. The West Indian team was held in such affection that a ticker-tape parade
Ticker-tape parade
A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in a built-up urban setting, allowing large amounts of shredded paper to be thrown from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a celebratory effect by the snowstorm-like flurry...
in their honour prior to their departure from Australia attracted a crowd of 300,000 Melburnians to wish them farewell.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was an ongoing controversy regarding illegal bowling actions. A number of bowlers, Australian and international were accused of throwing
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
or "chucking" over this period including the South Australian pair of Alan Hitchcox and Peter Trethewey and New South Welshman, Gordon Rorke. The controversy reached a high point when Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
was recalled to the Australian team for the first Test of the 1963-64 series against South Africa. Called on to bowl his first over, he was no-balled 4 times by umpire Colin Egar
Colin Egar
Colin John "Col" Egar was an Australian Test cricket umpire.Born in Malvern, South Australia, Egar umpired 29 Test matches between 1960 and 1969.- First-class debut :...
for throwing before being removed from the attack by his skipper, Benaud. As a consequence, Meckiff retired from all levels of cricket after the match and Egar received death threats from persons aggrieved at his call.
1970–present
The 1970s saw players and administrators once again come into conflict. Poor scheduling saw Australia visit South Africa immediately after a tour to India in 1969-70. This would be the last tour to South Africa prior to the application of international sporting sanctions designed to oppose the policy of apartheid. The tired Australians came across a very strong South African team in conditions vastly different from the subcontinentIndian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, and were subsequently beaten 4-0. A request by the Australian Cricket Board for the players to play a further match in South Africa was met with resistance by the players, led by the captain, Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
.
During the following home series against England, Lawry was sacked as captain and replaced by the South Australian batsman, Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation...
. Lawry remains the only Australian captain to be sacked in the middle of a Test series. Chappell, part of a younger and more assertive generation, saw the board's treatment of Lawry's as disgraceful and made a pledge to never allow himself to be placed in the same situation.
Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
, Ian's younger brother, succeeded him as captain in 1975-76 and lead the Australian team in the Centenary Test in Melbourne in March 1977. A celebration of 100 years of Test cricket, Australia won the Test by 45 runs, the precise result of the corresponding game 100 years earlier.
While Australian cricket celebrated, the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
was making plans to wrest away the television rights for Australian cricket. During the 1977 Ashes tour, the cricket world became aware that Packer had signed 35 of the world's top cricketers for a series of matches, including 18 Australians, 13 of whom were part of the tour party. World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
, as the breakaway group was known split Australian cricket in two for nearly three years. Former Australian captain, Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
was recalled from retirement to lead an inexperienced team in a home series against India in 1977-78, won 3-2 and then a tour to the West Indies, marred by an ugly riot. For the 1978-79 Ashes series, he was replaced by the young Victorian, Graham Yallop
Graham Yallop
Graham Neil Yallop is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia briefly during the tumultuous era of World Series Cricket in the late 1970s...
. The subsequent thrashing, a 5-1 victory for England, and the success of World Series Cricket forced the Australian Cricket Board to concede on Packer's terms.
The settlement between the ACB and WSC lead to the introduction of a series of innovations including night cricket, coloured clothing and an annual limited overs tri-series called the World Series Cup
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
. It also signalled the return of the champion cricketers Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
and Rod Marsh
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
. Their retirement at the end of the 1983-84 season was quickly followed by a series of tours to South Africa by a rebel Australian team in breach of the sporting sanctions imposed on the apartheid regime. The combined effect was to leave Australian cricket at its nadir under reluctant captain, Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
, losing Test series at home (2-1) and away (1-0) to New Zealand in 1985-86.
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. Returning to the subcontinent for the World Cup in 1987
1987 Cricket World Cup
The 1987 Cricket World Cup was the fourth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in India and Pakistan — the first held outside England. The format was unchanged from 1983 except for a reduction in the number of overs a team played from 60...
, Australia surprised the cricket world by defeating England at Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
to win the tournament with a disciplined brand of cricket. By the 1989 Ashes tour
Australian cricket team in England in 1989
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1989 season to play a six-match Test series against England. The tour also included matches in Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands and Denmark.Australia won the series 4-0 with two matches drawn...
, the development of players such as Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
and David Boon
David Boon
David Clarence Boon MBE , nicknamed Boony, is a former Australian cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995...
and the discovery of Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
and Ian Healy
Ian Healy
Ian Andrew Healy is a former cricketer who played for Queensland and Australia. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international cricket in 1988, after only six first-class games. His work ethic and combativeness was much needed...
had reaped rewards. The 4-0 drubbing of England was the first time since 1934
1934 English cricket season
The 1934 English cricket season saw England lose the Ashes they had won via Bodyline in 1932-3, with Don Bradman again the crucial difference between two very strong teams.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire...
that Australia had recovered the Ashes away from home and marked the resurgence of Australia as a cricketing power. Australia would hold the Ashes for the next 16 years.
The most successful leg spin bowler in the history of the game, Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, made his debut in 1991-92 in the third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. He had an undistinguished Test debut, taking 1/150 off 45 overs, and recording figures of 1/228 in his first Test series. From this modest beginning, Warne dominated Australian cricket for 15 years, taking 708 wickets at an average of 25.41. When the fast medium bowler, Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
was first selected in the Australian team for the Perth
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
test against New Zealand in 1993-94, the core of a highly successful bowling attack was formed. In 1994-95, under new captain Taylor, the Australians defeated the then dominant West Indies in the Caribbean to recover the Frank Worrell Trophy
Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
for the first time since 1978 and staked a claim to be considered the best team in the world.
Following a disappointing World Cup at home in 1992
1992 Cricket World Cup
-New Zealand:-Round Robin Stage:Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They...
, Australia then entered a run of extraordinarily successful World Cup campaigns; runners up to Sri Lanka in 1996 in the subcontinent
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
, fighting back after early setbacks to win in England in 1999
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
and unbeaten on their way to another victory in South Africa
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
. The change in captain from Taylor to Steve Waugh made little difference in the success of the Australian team. Waugh made a slightly rocky start to his term as captain, drawing 2-2 with the West Indies in the Caribbean and losing to Sri Lanka 1-0 away. A victory in the Australian team's first ever Test match against Zimbabwe was the start of an unparalleled 16 Test winning streak. The streak was finally ended in 2001 in Kolkata with a remarkable victory by India after being asked to follow-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
. For Waugh, India would remain unconquered territory.
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
were made against the Australian team, one incident leading to a suspension for Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
in 2003. Contacts between Warne and batsman Mark Waugh
Mark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
and illegal bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
s, at first kept under cover by the ACB, were later revealed by the Australian press, sparking accusations of hypocrisy given Australian cricket's earlier attitude toward match fixing
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
allegations. Warne would later be suspended from all forms of cricket for 12 months after testing positive to banned diuretic
Diuretic
A diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
s hydrochlorothiazide
Hydrochlorothiazide
Hydrochlorothiazide, abbreviated HCTZ, HCT, or HZT, is a first-line diuretic drug of the thiazide class that acts by inhibiting the kidneys' ability to retain water. This reduces the volume of the blood, decreasing blood return to the heart and thus cardiac output and, by other mechanisms, is...
and amiloride
Amiloride
Amiloride is a potassium-sparing diuretic, first approved for use in 1967 , used in the management of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Amiloride was also tested as treatment of cystic fibrosis, but it was revealed inefficient in vivo due to it's short time of action, therefore...
. The brand of cricket played by the Australian team was praised for its spirit and aggressiveness but critics charged that this aggressive approach lead to ugly sledging
Sledging (cricket)
Sledging is a term used in cricket to describe the practice whereby some players seek to gain an advantage by insulting or verbally intimidating the opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent's concentration, thereby causing him to make mistakes or underperform...
incidents such as the confrontation between McGrath and West Indian batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan is a West Indian cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin and a member of the West Indies cricket team....
at the Antigua Recreation Ground
Antigua Recreation Ground
Antigua Recreation Ground is the national stadium of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located in St. John's, on the island of Antigua. The ground has been used by the West Indies cricket team and Antigua and Barbuda national football team...
in 2003. Tasmanian batsman Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
would admit to an alcohol problem
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
after incidents in India and in Sydney.
A rehabilitated Ponting would succeed Waugh as captain in 2004. While injured for most of the 2004-05 series against India, his team under acting captain Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
defeated India in India, the first Australian series win in India since Bill Lawry's team in 1969-70. A 2-1 defeat in the 2005 Ashes series
2005 Ashes series
The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors...
in England was quickly avenged at home with a 5-0 thrashing of England in 2006-07
2006-07 Ashes series
The 2006–07 cricket series between Australia and England for the Ashes was played in Australia from 23 November 2006 to 5 January 2007. Australia won the series and regained the Ashes that had been lost to England in the 2005 Ashes series...
. The whitewash
Whitewash (sport)
A whitewash is an informal term in sport describing a game or series in which the losing person or team fails to score.A whitewash may be in a single game where the loser fails to score any points or goals, or in a series where the loser fails to win a game...
was the first in an Ashes series since Warwick Armstrong's team in 1920-21. Following the series, the successful bowling combination of McGrath and Warne retired from Test cricket, with a record that will be hard to match as the Australian team endeavours to retain its place at the top of world cricket.
Most recently Australia won the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean and were unbeaten through the tournament. Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden AM is a former Australian cricketer, and was signed to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until the 2010 season. Hayden is a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day levels.Hayden holds the record...
scored the most runs in the tournament. The finals happened to be Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
's last match and he was also the highest wicket taker of the tournament and the player of the tournament.
International cricket
International structure of cricket
There was no formal structure of international cricket until the early twenty first century. It had long been traditional for countries, without any intervention from a body such as the International Cricket Council , to organize for themselves the various cricket matches...
. Along with England, Australia was recognised as one of the founder nations of the Imperial Cricket Conference, later the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
. Australia generally plays a test series against a visiting team, and a one-day series between two other teams at home each summer, and tours overseas for the remainder of the year
Test cricket
On 15 March 1877, an Australian representative team played England in what would later be recognised as the first Test match. They are the most successful Test cricketTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
ing nation, with a higher percentage of won matches than any other nation.
In Test cricket, the Australian team compete for various trophies and championships:
- ICC Test ChampionshipICC Test ChampionshipThe ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
, a notional competition in the sense that it is simply a ranking scheme overlaid on all international matches that are otherwise played as part of regular Test cricket scheduling. - The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
, played between England and Australia from 1882 - The Frank Worrell TrophyFrank Worrell TrophyThe Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
, named for West Indian captain, Frank WorrellFrank WorrellSir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
and played between Australia and the West Indies from 1960-61. - The Trans Tasman TrophyTrans Tasman TrophyThe Trans Tasman Trophy is a trophy played for by Australia and New Zealand in the sport of cricket. The trophy is awarded to the team that wins a Test series, or one-off Test match, between the two nations. If the series is a draw, the holder keeps the trophy. It was first competed for in the...
, played between Australia and New Zealand from 1985-86. - The Border-Gavaskar TrophyBorder-Gavaskar TrophyThe Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia. It has witnessed some of the most competitive Test series played in recent years, with results usually either being a narrow win for one of the sides or a closely fought draw...
named for Allan BorderAllan BorderAllan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
and Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
and played between Australia and India - The Aus-Africa Trophy, played between Australia and South Africa.
- The Warne-Muralidaran TrophyWarne-Muralidaran TrophyThe Warne-Muralidaran Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test cricket series from 2007/08 season onwards. The trophy is named after the two leading wicket takers in Test cricket, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne...
, played between Australia and Sri Lanka.
There have been only nine Test match venues in Australia since the first Test match in 1877:
- Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
- v. England, 1877-03-15 - Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
- v. England 1882-02-17 - Adelaide OvalAdelaide OvalThe Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
- v. England 1884-12-12 - Brisbane Exhibition GroundBrisbane Exhibition GroundThe Brisbane Exhibition Ground , is a showground established in Brisbane during 1875 especially for Ekka . The Exhibition ground is owned and operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland...
- v. England 1928-11-30 - Brisbane Cricket GroundBrisbane Cricket GroundThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
"the 'Gabba" - v. South Africa 1931-11-27 - Western Australia Cricket Association Ground "the WACA" - v. England 1970-12-11
- Bellerive OvalBellerive OvalBellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
(Hobart) - v. Sri Lanka 1989-12-16 - TIO Stadium (formerly Marrara Oval) - v. Bangladesh 2003-07-18
- Cazaly Stadium - v. Bangladesh 2007-07-25
One Day Internationals
The Australian team took part in the first One Day International on 5 January 1971, once again also against England at the Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. Since then, the team has maintained a good record in One Day Internationals, winning four Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
s, more than any other national team.
Following the end of World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
, from 1979-80 the Australian season featured a triangular series of One Day Internationals, featuring the Australian team and two touring teams. The first incarnation of this tournament was called the World Series Cup
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
and included night cricket, coloured uniforms and a white ball. In 1994-95, the tournament included an Australia A cricket team
Australia A cricket team
The Australia A cricket team is a cricket team representing Australia and is the second team of the Australian cricket team. They have also played far more one-day than first-class matches; indeed they have played only three first-class games against equivalent A sides, against South Africa A in...
, due to the perceived weakness of the invited Zimbabwe team. For the 1996-97 season, the World Series Cup was replaced by a series of tournaments named after a major sponsor, including the Carlton and United Series, the VB
Victoria Bitter
Victoria Bitter is one of the many iconic beers manufactured in the Australian state of Victoria. VB currently maintains the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged...
Series and the Commonwealth Bank Series. The successor series followed a similar format.
Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the 1992 Cricket World Cup
1992 Cricket World Cup
-New Zealand:-Round Robin Stage:Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They...
. For the first time, the tournament featured the innovations already common in Australian one-day matches such as night cricket and coloured clothing. The tournament featured nine nations, expanded to include a South African team recently admitted back into world cricket. Australia performed poorly, failing to make the semi final stage. Pakistan defeated England in the final in front of 87,182 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
.
Women's cricket
The Australia national women's cricket team also competes internationally and has won the Women's Cricket World CupWomen's Cricket World Cup
The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is a Women's one-day international cricket competition. The first tournament was held in England in 1973, two years before the first men's ICC Cricket World Cup....
5 times, more than any other team. As in men's cricket, Australia and England were the first two women's Test nations, playing in the inaugural women's Test
Women's Test cricket
Women's Test cricket is the longest format of women's cricket and is the gender equivalent to men's Test cricket. Matches comprise four-innings and are held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations...
in Brisbane in 1934. Australia compete with England for the Women's Ashes
The Women's Ashes
The Ashes or the Women's Ashes is the Women's Test cricket series between England and Australia. It is named after the Ashes. The series was first played in 1934 and was the first ever women's Test series...
, a cricket bat symbolically burned prior to the 1998 test series. The Australian team also compete in the Rose Bowl series
Rose Bowl series
The Rose Bowl series is a series of Women's One-day International cricket matches between Australia and New Zealand that has been running since February 1985. It was originally known as the Shell Rose Bowl and the name was changed to the Rose Bowl Series as recently as 2001.Until 2000, the...
, a series of One-day Internationals
Women's One-day International cricket
Women's One Day International cricket is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was held in England...
against New Zealand.
Domestic cricket
On a domestic level, each of the six states has a cricket team which competes in three separate competitions over summer:- A four-day first-classFirst-class cricketFirst-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
competition known as the Sheffield Shield - A one-day competition, known as the Ryobie Cup
- Since the 2005-06 season, a Twenty20 competition called the KFC Twenty20 Big BashKFC Twenty20 Big BashThe KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The competition was organised by Cricket Australia, and sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC. The competition was replaced by the Big Bash League as Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition after the 2010–11...
Local club cricket is also popular, as well as social cricket which includes variations such as backyard and beach cricket.
First Class cricket
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricketFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
competition in Australia. It was established in 1892 using a bequest of ₤150 provided by Lord Sheffield for the improvement of Australian cricket and was originally named the Sheffield Shield in recognition. When established, the competition included the colonies (later states) of New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, South Australia and Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
. Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
was admitted to the Shield competition for the 1926-27 season, Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
in 1947-48 and Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
in 1977-78.
In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a 4 year sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup, then to the Pura Cup the following season. As of the 2008-09 season, the title has reverted to its original name.
At the end of the 2006-07 season, all participating teams have won at least one Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup, with New South Wales the most successful state with 44 wins and Tasmania winning their first in 2006-07.
Limited Overs cricket
The Ford Ranger One Day Cup is the domestic List A cricket (limited overs cricket) competition in Australia. It was established in 1969-70 and featured the state teams and a team from New ZealandNew Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
. Originally a knock-out tournament, the format and name has changed several times since inception depending on the naming rights sponsor.
New Zealand withdrew from the competition after the 1974-75 season. The Canberra Comets
Canberra Comets
The ACT Comets are a cricket team that represent the Australian Capital Territory. They were participants in the Australian domestic limited-overs Mercantile Mutual Cup competition. They did not, however, field a team in the four-day Sheffield Shield competition...
, a team from the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
were included for three seasons from 1997-98 to 1999-2000. At the end of the 2006-07 season, Western Australia has been the most successful state with 11 wins while South Australia and Tasmania have won two each.
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash is the domestic Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
competition in Australia. This competition was established for the 2005-06 season and expanded in 2006-07 and has proved popular with the public. The current (and final) champion is South Australia.
Women's cricket
The Women's National Cricket League is the domestic women's cricket
Women's cricket
Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket that is played by women.-History:The first recorded match of women's cricket was reported in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745, a match contested "between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white." The...
competition in Australia. The first national competition in Australia was the Australian Women's Cricket Championships, an annual two week tournament established in 1930-31. The championships were replaced by the league format in 1996-97. Victoria and New South Wales have been the most successful teams.
Club Cricket
Club cricket is popular and the first step for players looking to be selected for their state and national teams. Each state association has a peak club cricket championship variously known as 'district' or 'grade' cricket:- Sydney Grade CricketSydney Grade CricketSydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs, which had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis, voted to create a formal competition structure....
- Victorian Premier CricketVictorian Premier CricketVictorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
- South Australian Grade Cricket LeagueSouth Australian Grade Cricket LeagueSouth Australian Grade Cricket is the semi-professional State league based in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. It is currently the highest level of cricket played in South Australia outside first class cricket...
- Queensland Cricket Association
- Western Australian Grade CricketWestern Australian Grade CricketGrade Cricket in Western Australia refers to the semi-professional cricket league played at a level below the first-class Western Warriors and colts teams. The competition is administered by the Western Australian Cricket Association...
- Tasmanian Grade CricketTasmanian Grade CricketTasmanian Grade Cricket, or the Tasmanian Grade Competition, refers to the hierarchically graded cricket competitions played in Tasmania, Australia...
Cricket in Australian culture
Cricket is the most popular sport in Australia, in terms of both community interest and participation. In 2007, a survey by Sweeney Sports found that 59% of the Australian public have an interest in cricket, second to none. Cricket is often known as Australia's national sportNational sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country, unlike the main football codes, rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
. Cricket is also a mass participation sport in Australia; A census conducted on behalf of Cricket Australia found that in the 2003-04 season there were 471,329 participants in Australian cricket programs and competitions, including 47,780 female participants.
The position of Australian Test cricket captain
Australian national cricket captains
Australia played in the first-ever Test match in cricket in 1877, the first-ever One Day International in 1971 and the first-ever Twenty20 international in 2005...
is regarded as one of the most important roles in Australian sport. It is often said that in Australia the office of Test captain is second in stature behind the office of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
. Reflecting this community perception, three Australian cricket captains have been named as Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
by the National Australia Day Council
National Australia Day Council
The coordinating body for the Australian of the Year Awards and Australia Day celebrations across the nation is the National Australia Day Council ....
; Allan Border in 1989, Mark Taylor in 1999 and Steve Waugh in 2004. In addition, Steve Waugh has been nominated as an Australian Living Treasure
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
by the National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
, as was Don Bradman prior to his death in 2001.
Cricket plays an important role in Australia's national identity, in particular its relationship towards the United Kingdom. Ashes Tests can be seen by many Australians as an opportunity to avenge past perceived wrongs by the former imperial power.
See also
- List of Australian Test batsmen who have scored over 5000 Test runs
- List of Australian Test cricketers
- List of Australian ODI cricketers
- List of Australian Test wicket-keepers
- Australian Cricket Hall of FameAustralian Cricket Hall of FameThe Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This Hall of Fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time....
- Allan Border MedalAllan Border MedalThe Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
Further reading
- Hornadge, Bill. (2006) Cricket in Australia 1804-1884 Dubbo, NSW : Review Publications. ISBN 0909895627
- Hutchinson, Garrie and John Ross (editors) (1997) 200 seasons of Australian cricket Sydney : Macmillan ISBN 0330360345
- Pollard, Jack (1983) Pictorial history of Australian cricket Melbourne : J.M. Dent in association with Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 086770019X
- Whitington, R. S. (1974) An illustrated history of Australian cricket with forewords by Sir Robert Menzies and Lindsay Hassett. London: Pelham ISBN 0720707412