English cricket team in Australia in 1887-88
Encyclopedia
Two English cricket
teams toured Australia
in 1887-88. They are generally known as A Shrewsbury
's XI and G F Vernon
's XI.
In previous Australian seasons, no more than one English team had toured. The formation of two teams in 1887-88 was described by Wisden as "a piece of folly (that) will never be perpetrated again". The situation was perhaps inevitable given that English cricket still lacked a formal system to regulate the organisation of overseas tours. As a result, any promoter was free to form a team.
Wisden pointed out that "it was clear from the first that two combinations would not be able to pay their way, and, though we do not know the exact result of Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite's venture, the Melbourne Club frankly admitted a heavy loss over Mr Vernon's team".
, Alfred Shaw
and Arthur Shrewsbury
after they received an invitation from various parties in Sydney
. The players were a mixture of amateur and professional. Although the professional Shrewsbury was effectively the player/manager, the amateur Aubrey Smith
was appointed team captain.
Shaw himself did not tour, but stayed at home to put together a football side that played rugby union
and Victorian rules (now known as Australian rules
) football in Australia after the cricket tour. The tour was a financial disaster, with the Melbourne Cricket Club, Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury well out-of-pocket
. Lillywhite defaulted on his debt.
The team played seven first-class
matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played New South Wales three times and individual matches versus Victoria and a Combined XI. Shrewsbury's XI also visited New Zealand but played no first-class matches there. In all matches in both countries, Shrewsbury's XI played 25, won 14, drew 9 and lost 2. In first-class matches (in Australia only), the team played 7, won 5 and lost 2.
The team members were (amateurs denoted by title) :
to form this team which, like Shrewsbury's, comprised both amateurs and professionals. Hawke had to return to England at the start of the tour as his father had died, leaving George Vernon
to captain the side.
Vernon's XI played eight first-class matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played twice versus each of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The team visited Australia only and in all matches played 26, won 11, drew 14 and lost 1. In first-class matches, the team played 8, won 6, drew 1 and lost 1.
The team members were (amateurs denoted by title) :
appointed captain. Wisden doubted if the Australian team was truly representative.
The two teams combined as an England national cricket team during 10–15 February 1888 to play a timeless Test match versus Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. England won by 126 runs.
England's team in the Test match was: Walter Read
(captain), Arthur Shrewsbury
, Andrew Stoddart
, George Ulyett
, Maurice Read
, Bobby Peel
, Billy Newham
, George Lohmann
, Johnny Briggs
, William Attewell
and Dick Pilling
(wk).
Australia's team was: Alec Bannerman, Sammy Jones
, Harry Moses, Frederick Burton, Jack Worrall
, Patrick McShane
, Percy McDonnell
, Jack Blackham
, Tom Garrett
, Charlie Turner
, John Ferris
The match was affected by wet weather and was low-scoring. Australia won the toss and decided to field. This probably looked like the right decision as Ferris and Turner took 9 wickets between them to dismiss England for 113, Arthur Shrewsbury
top-scoring with 44. When Australia batted, Lohmann and Peel, bowling unchanged, reduced them to 35 for 8 at stumps on the first day. As a result of continuing rain, and an intervening Sunday, play could not resume for another 5 days. On resumption, Lohmann and Peel dismissed Australia for 42. Turner took 7 for 43 as England then set Australia 209 to win. They fell well short with Lohmann and Peel sharing 8 wickets and England won by 126 runs.
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...
teams toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1887-88. They are generally known as A Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
's XI and G F Vernon
George Vernon
George Frederick Vernon was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club. He also played one Test match for England during the first-ever Ashes tour in 1882-83.Vernon was the son of George Vernon of 32 Montague Square...
's XI.
In previous Australian seasons, no more than one English team had toured. The formation of two teams in 1887-88 was described by Wisden as "a piece of folly (that) will never be perpetrated again". The situation was perhaps inevitable given that English cricket still lacked a formal system to regulate the organisation of overseas tours. As a result, any promoter was free to form a team.
Wisden pointed out that "it was clear from the first that two combinations would not be able to pay their way, and, though we do not know the exact result of Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite's venture, the Melbourne Club frankly admitted a heavy loss over Mr Vernon's team".
A Shrewsbury's XI
This team was formed by James LillywhiteJames Lillywhite
James Lillywhite was a first-class and Test cricketer and umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining 2 Tests against Australia in 1876-77, losing the first, but winning the second.Lillywhite was born in Westhampnett in Sussex, the son of a...
, Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
and Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
after they received an invitation from various parties in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The players were a mixture of amateur and professional. Although the professional Shrewsbury was effectively the player/manager, the amateur Aubrey Smith
Aubrey Smith
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE , known to film-goers as C. Aubrey Smith, was an English cricketer and actor.-Early life:...
was appointed team captain.
Shaw himself did not tour, but stayed at home to put together a football side that played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and Victorian rules (now known as Australian rules
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...
) football in Australia after the cricket tour. The tour was a financial disaster, with the Melbourne Cricket Club, Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury well out-of-pocket
Out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
. Lillywhite defaulted on his debt.
The team played seven first-class
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...
matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played New South Wales three times and individual matches versus Victoria and a Combined XI. Shrewsbury's XI also visited New Zealand but played no first-class matches there. In all matches in both countries, Shrewsbury's XI played 25, won 14, drew 9 and lost 2. In first-class matches (in Australia only), the team played 7, won 5 and lost 2.
- For the New Zealand leg of the tour, see: History of New Zealand cricket to 1890
The team members were (amateurs denoted by title) :
- Mr C A Smith, captain (Sussex)
- Arthur Shrewsbury (Notts)
- George A Lohmann (Surrey)
- J Maurice Read (Surrey)
- John Briggs (Lancashire)
- Richard Pilling (Lancashire)
- George Ulyett (Yorkshire)
- Joseph M Preston (Yorkshire)
- Mr W Newham (Sussex)
- Mr George Brann (Sussex)
- Mr L C Docker (Warwickshire)
- A D Pougher (Leicestershire)
- James Lillywhite (Sussex)
G F Vernon's XI
Lord Hawke, then known as the Hon. M B Hawke, was invited by Melbourne Cricket ClubMelbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
to form this team which, like Shrewsbury's, comprised both amateurs and professionals. Hawke had to return to England at the start of the tour as his father had died, leaving George Vernon
George Vernon
George Frederick Vernon was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club. He also played one Test match for England during the first-ever Ashes tour in 1882-83.Vernon was the son of George Vernon of 32 Montague Square...
to captain the side.
Vernon's XI played eight first-class matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played twice versus each of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The team visited Australia only and in all matches played 26, won 11, drew 14 and lost 1. In first-class matches, the team played 8, won 6, drew 1 and lost 1.
The team members were (amateurs denoted by title) :
- Mr G F Vernon, captain (Middlesex)
- The Hon M B (now Lord) Hawke (Yorkshire)
- Mr W W Read (Surrey)
- Mr M P Bowden (Surrey)
- Mr A E Stoddart (Middlesex)
- Mr A E Newton (Somerset)
- Mr T C O'Brien (Middlesex)
- William Bates (Yorkshire)
- Robert Peel (Yorkshire)
- J T Rawlin (Yorkshire)
- William Attewell (Notts)
- John Beaumont (Surrey)
- Robert Abel (Surrey)
Test Match
Both teams played "Combined Australia" sides in matches that are not accorded Test match status. They formed a united England team in one Test with Walter ReadWalter Read
Walter William Read was an English cricketer, who was a fluent right hand bat. An occasional bowler of lobs, he sometimes switched to quick overarm deliveries. He captained England in two Test matches, winning them both...
appointed captain. Wisden doubted if the Australian team was truly representative.
The two teams combined as an England national cricket team during 10–15 February 1888 to play a timeless Test match versus Australia 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...
. England won by 126 runs.
England's team in the Test match was: Walter Read
Walter Read
Walter William Read was an English cricketer, who was a fluent right hand bat. An occasional bowler of lobs, he sometimes switched to quick overarm deliveries. He captained England in two Test matches, winning them both...
(captain), Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
, Andrew Stoddart
Andrew Stoddart
Andrew Ernest Stoddart was an English cricketer and rugby union player. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893.-Cricket career:...
, George Ulyett
George Ulyett
George Ulyett was an English all-round cricketer, noted particularly for his very-aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man , Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack", once musing memorably that Yorkshire played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling...
, Maurice Read
Maurice Read
John Maurice Read was an English professional cricketer. Wrote Harry Altham of him in that truly magisterial work, A History of Cricket, "Maurice Read had been recognised as a dashing player up to Test Match form, to say nothing of being a wonderful fielder in the country." A hard-hitting and,...
, Bobby Peel
Bobby Peel
Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...
, Billy Newham
Billy Newham
William Newham was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club. He also played one Test match for England.He was educated at Ardingly College, where he was a member of the cricket eleven...
, George Lohmann
George Lohmann
George Alfred Lohmann is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time...
, Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (cricketer)
Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...
, William Attewell
William Attewell
William Attewell was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and England. Attewell was a medium pace bowler who was renowned for his extraordinary accuracy and economy...
and Dick Pilling
Dick Pilling
Richard Pilling was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and England....
(wk).
Australia's team was: Alec Bannerman, Sammy Jones
Sammy Jones
Samuel Percy "Sammy" Jones was an Australian cricketer who played twelve Tests between 1882 and 1888....
, Harry Moses, Frederick Burton, Jack Worrall
Jack Worrall
John "Jack" Worrall was an Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy in the VFA and a test cricketer, a coach of both sports and a sporting journalist....
, Patrick McShane
Patrick McShane
Patrick George McShane was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Test matches between 1885 and 1888....
, Percy McDonnell
Percy McDonnell
Percy Stanislaus McDonnell was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian Test team in six matches, including the tour of England in 1888....
, Jack Blackham
Jack Blackham
John McCarthy Blackham was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia.A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the famous Ashes Test match of 1882...
, Tom Garrett
Tom Garrett
Thomas William Garrett was an early Australian Test cricketer and, later, a distinguished public servant.-Early life:...
, Charlie Turner
Charles Turner (cricketer)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia....
, John Ferris
The match was affected by wet weather and was low-scoring. Australia won the toss and decided to field. This probably looked like the right decision as Ferris and Turner took 9 wickets between them to dismiss England for 113, Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
top-scoring with 44. When Australia batted, Lohmann and Peel, bowling unchanged, reduced them to 35 for 8 at stumps on the first day. As a result of continuing rain, and an intervening Sunday, play could not resume for another 5 days. On resumption, Lohmann and Peel dismissed Australia for 42. Turner took 7 for 43 as England then set Australia 209 to win. They fell well short with Lohmann and Peel sharing 8 wickets and England won by 126 runs.