Sydney Riot of 1879
Encyclopedia
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 Harris and New South Wales
, led by Dave Gregory
, who was also the captain of Australia. The riot was sparked by a controversial umpiring decision, when star Australian batsman Billy Murdoch
was given out
by George Coulthard
, a Victorian
employed by the Englishmen. The dismissal caused an uproar among the parochial spectators, many of whom surged onto the pitch
and assaulted Coulthard and some English players. It was alleged that illegal gamblers
in the New South Wales pavilion, who had bet heavily on the home side, encouraged the riot because the tourists were in a dominant position and looked set to win. Another theory given to explain the anger was that of intercolonial rivalry
, that the New South Wales crowd objected to what they perceived to be a slight from a Victorian umpire.
The pitch invasion occurred while Gregory halted the match by not sending out a replacement for Murdoch. The New South Wales skipper called on Lord Harris to remove umpire Coulthard, whom he considered to be inept or biased, but his English counterpart declined. The other umpire, Edmund Barton
, defended Coulthard and Lord Harris, saying that the decision against Murdoch was correct and that the English had conducted themselves appropriately. Eventually, Gregory agreed to resume the match without the removal of Coulthard. However, the crowd continued to disrupt proceedings, and play was abandoned for the day. Upon resumption after the Sunday rest day, Lord Harris's men won convincingly by an innings.
In the immediate aftermath of the riot, the England team cancelled the remaining games they were scheduled to play in Sydney. The incident also caused much press comment in England and Australia. In Australia, the newspapers were united in condemning the unrest, viewing the chaos as a national humiliation and a public relations disaster. An open letter
by Lord Harris about the incident was later published in English newspapers, and caused fresh outrage in New South Wales when it was reprinted by the Australian newspapers. A defensive letter written in response by the New South Wales Cricket Association
further damaged relations. The affair led to a breakdown of goodwill that threatened the future of Anglo
-Australian
cricket relations. However, friction between the cricketing authorities finally eased when Lord Harris agreed to lead an England representative side
at The Oval
in London
against the touring Australians in 1880; this match became the fourth-ever Test and cemented the tradition of Anglo-Australian Test matches
.
-led campaign in 1878 was the first major Australian tour to England. The tour was generally regarded as a success; a highlight was the Australians' famous victory over a very strong Marylebone Cricket Club
outfit, which included W. G. Grace
, the dominant cricketer of the 19th century, in less than four hours.
Keen to make the most of this success, the Melbourne Cricket Club
—the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket
was not created until 1905— invited Lord Harris, an eminent amateur cricketer of the time, to lead a team to Australia. The team was originally meant to be entirely amateur, but two professional Yorkshire
bowlers, George Ulyett
and Tom Emmett, joined the tour team after two Middlesex
players had to withdraw due to a bereavement. The main distinction between amateurs and professionals was social status, and although amateurs were not paid for playing, they did receive generous "expenses". Despite the presence of two professionals in the team, the Englishmen were described as "Gentlemen", a euphemism for amateurs. Now that Ulyett and Emmett were in the team, they did a large part of the bowling, and commentators felt that Harris had overworked them.
At the time, English cricket was dominated by amateurs. These scions of the ruling class were generally educated in elite sandstone private schools—such as Harrow
and Eton
—and universities of the establishment such as Oxford and Cambridge, and to them, sport was a social leisure. In contrast, the Australians were regarded—by the social standards of the 19th century—as coarse, rowdy and uncultured. The likes of bushranger Ned Kelly
heightened perceptions that Australia had a bandit culture. Violence, heckling and abusive chanting among drunken spectators and gamblers at sporting grounds were commonplace in 19th century Australia, and the prevalence of betting was seen as a major cause of crowd unrest. There were many instances of concerning player behaviour during the 1878 tour of England, and Gregory's men were considered to be unrefined and raucous.
Cheating was a regular occurrence in 19th century Australian cricket, and the inter-colonial rivalry was strong—the modern states of Australia were separate colonies until their federation
in 1901. As in real life, the sporting rivalry was at its most bitter between the two most populous and politically powerful colonies, New South Wales
and Victoria
. The endless dispute between the colonies over whether Sydney
or Melbourne
would be the capital of Australia eventually forced the compromise that saw the construction of Canberra
mid-way between the two cities. With regards to sport, cricket administrators from both colonies sought to undermine their cross-border counterparts. On the field, matches were dominated by tit-for-tat throwing
wars. Both colonies sought to stack their teams with players who either had borderline—and sometimes flagrantly—illegal bowling actions to use physical intimidation as a means of negating opposition batsmen. Gregory, whose action was regarded as highly dubious, was prominent in his New South Wales team pursuing a policy of condoning illegal bowling. It was amidst a background of inter-colonial rancour and a belligerent Australian sports culture that the riot broke out.
Soon after Gregory's 1878 Australian team returned home, Lord Harris's Englishmen arrived. Australia won the first match, played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
, by 10 wicket
s. The match was later recognised as the third Test match
in history. New South Wales paceman Fred Spofforth
—nicknamed "The Demon" because of his ferocious pace—took 13 wickets in the match, including the first ever Test hat-trick
. The next tour match was against New South Wales
and started on 24 January at the Association Ground in Sydney. New South Wales won by five wickets, despite the absence of Spofforth—who withdrew from the home side after spraining his wrist the night before the start of the match— and Gregory, who had been dropped for missing a training session and failing to provide an explanation for his absence.
The third tour match and the second game between the English XI (led by Lord Harris) and New South Wales—captained by Gregory—commenced on Friday 7 February at the Association Ground. It was usual for each side to select one of the two umpires for a match. The English selected 22-year-old Victorian
George Coulthard
, upon a recommendation from the Melbourne Cricket Club
. As well as being a star footballer
for Carlton
, Coulthard was a ground-bowler employed by Melbourne, but was yet to make his first-class cricket
ing debut. Coulthard accompanied Harris's men from Melbourne following the Test. New South Wales selected Edmund Barton
, who later became the first Prime Minister of Australia
.
As both Gregory and Spofforth were playing for the hosts, bookmakers were offering attractive odds against an English win, and New South Wales were heavily backed, having won the previous match with an even weaker side. The Sydney Morning Herald
condemned the "impunity with which open betting was transacted in the pavilion", in defiance of the prominent notices indicating that gambling was banned.
Lord Harris won the toss and chose to bat. At about 12:10 pm in front of approximately 4,000 spectators, A N Hornby and Lucas started the England innings. They put on 125 for the first wicket before Spofforth bowled Lucas for 51 and Hornby soon after for 67. Hornby had given a chance during his innings but Lucas did not. Ulyett and Harris steadied the innings after the two quick wickets and added 85; Ulyett made 55 before falling victim to a running, diving catch, and Harris made 41. During his innings, Harris edged a ball to wicket-keeper Murdoch, but Coulthard ruled him not out
; this was noticed by the journalists present and reported the following day. Spofforth cut up the wicket with his feet so badly that it became very difficult to play, and Edwin Evans
, bowling from the other end, pitched nearly every ball into the marks. The loss of Ulyett and Harris in quick succession triggered a sudden collapse as England lost 7/34 to be all out for 267. Evans took 5/62 and Spofforth 5/93. The English batsmen were productive against the bowling of Edwin Tindall
, taking 79 runs from his 27 over
s without losing a wicket. At stumps on the first day, NSW were 2/53, with wicket-keeper and opening batsman Billy Murdoch
on 28 and Hugh Massie
on three.
The match recommenced at noon the next day, Saturday 8 February. Ten thousand were in attendance, and New South Wales started well. Murdoch and Massie took the score to 107 before the latter fell, but the hosts reached 3/130 at lunch, having not lost another wicket. However, wickets tumbled through the afternoon, and New South Wales were all out for 177; none of the incoming batsmen passed single figures. Tom Emmett took the last seven wickets to end with 8/47. Murdoch batted through the innings for 82 not out, making him the hero in the eyes of the locals. He hit 11 fours, and Wisden
called his effort a "grand innings". Harris opted to make New South Wales bat again
—the follow-on mark in that era was 80 runs, and the hosts were 90 runs behind— NSW started their second innings around 4 o'clock. Then, when the New South Wales second innings score was 19, the opening partnership between Murdoch and Alick Bannerman
ended when the former was adjudged run out
by Coulthard for 10.
The pavilion stood at an angle to the crease
, so the members were not in an ideal position to see how accurate the decision was. The uproar continued as it became obvious that no batsman was coming out to replace Murdoch, so Harris walked towards the pavilion and met Gregory at the gate, at which point Gregory asked Harris to change his umpire. Harris refused, as the English team considered the decision to be fair and correct. Lord Harris later said that his two fielders in the point and cover positions
, being side on to the crease, had a good view of the incident, and that they agreed with Coulthard's judgement. Barton said that Coulthard's decision was correct, and that the Englishmen were justified in standing by their nominated umpire.
It was while Harris was remonstrating with Gregory that "larrikins" in the crowd surged onto the pitch. A young Banjo Paterson
, who later went on to write the iconic Australian song Waltzing Matilda
, was among the pitch invaders. Of the 10,000 spectators, up to 2,000 "participated in the disorder".On 10 February, the Sydney Morning Herald described the number of riot participants as "not more than 2,000, at the outside, who took an active art in the disorder". On 31 May, following the publication of Harris's letter, The Argus
described a significantly lesser figure, editorialising that "only a few hundred sided with the objectors. Those that were actively violent were fewer still, and they were kept in check by the better-disposed of the crowd." Coulthard was jostled and Lord Harris, who had returned to the field to support Coulthard, was struck by a whip or stick but was not hurt. Hornby, a keen amateur boxer who had been offered the English captaincy before stepping aside for Harris, grabbed his captain's assailant and "conveyed his prisoner to the pavilion in triumph"; it was later said that he had caught the wrong man. Hornby was also attacked and almost lost the shirt off his back. Emmett and Ulyett each took a stump for protection and escorted Lord Harris off, assisted by some members. In the meantime, the crowd anger grew and there was mounting fear that the riot would intensify, due to speculation that the crowd would try to free Hornby's captive. However, there was only jostling as the players were evacuated into the pavilion, and the injuries were limited to minor cuts and bruises. An English naval captain who was at the ground had his top hat pulled over his eyes and was verbally abused by some spectators. After 30 minutes, the field was cleared.
When the ground was finally cleared Gregory insisted, according to Harris, that Coulthard be replaced. When Harris would not agree, Gregory said, "Then the game is at an end". Harris asked Barton whether he could claim the match on a forfeit. Barton replied "I will give it to you in two minutes if the batsmen don't return". Harris then asked Barton to speak with Gregory to ascertain his intentions. When Barton came out he announced that Alick Bannerman
and Nat Thomson
would resume the NSW innings. They walked onto the arena and reached the stumps, but before they could receive a ball, the crowd again invaded the pitch, and remained there until the scheduled end of play. According to The Sydney Mail
approximately 90 minutes' play had been lost. Lord Harris maintained his position on the ground, standing "erect" with "moustache bristling" among the spectators, fearful that his leaving the arena would lead to a forfeit.
Sunday was a rest day, so the match resumed on Monday, 10 February. As it was a working day, the crowd was much smaller. Rain had fallen and the sun had baked the playing surface into a sticky wicket
, which caused erratic behaviour. Nat Thomson
was out for a duck
without addition to the overnight total, and a collapse ensued. New South Wales made only 49 in their second innings; Bannerman top-scored with 20 while six of his colleagues failed to score, while Emmett and Ulyett took four and five wickets respectively, including four wickets in four balls for the latter. England thus won by an innings and 41 runs.
, a member of the English team, wrote in his diary that "It was a most disgraceful affair and took its origin from some of the 'better' [gambling] class in the Pavilion".
The Australian press and cricket officials immediately condemned the riot, which dominated the front pages of the local newspapers, even though the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly
and his gang had raided Jerilderie on the same weekend. The local media were united in their disgust at the scenes of tumult, fearing a public relations disaster would erupt in England. The Sydney Morning Herald called the riot "a national humiliation", and that it "would remain a blot upon the colony for some years to come". They accused those involved in gambling of inciting "larrikins" and "roughs" to storm the field and attack the Englishmen. However, they also suggested that some of the blame should be put on one of the English professionals, who "made use of a grossly insulting remark to the crowd about their being nothing but 'sons of convicts'". Barton defended the Englishmen and Coulthard, saying that none had done anything wrong. He claimed that Emmett and Ulyett were incapable of insulting the Australians in such a way.
The Australasian claimed that three policemen at the ground idled and allowed the rioters to attack the Englishmen. They said that the riot "forever made the match memorable in the annals of New South Wales cricket", and lamented the fact that "rowdyism became rampant for the rest of the afternoon". The paper asked the question "What will they say in England?" Wisden
condemned the unrest as a "deplorably disgraceful affair" and described the spectators as a "rough and excited mob". Richard Driver
of the New South Wales Cricket Association
(NSWCA) issued a statement of regret for what had happened to the tourists.
On 11 February, one day after the conclusion of the match and three days after the riot, Harris wrote a letter to one of his friends about the disturbance. It was clear that he intended the letter to be printed in the press, and it appeared in full in The Daily Telegraph
on 1 April, among other London newspapers, reigniting the furore. Wisden Cricketers Almanack considered the incident of such significance that it reprinted the whole correspondence. The letter gives a detailed contemporary account of what Lord Harris thought about the riot.
Lord Harris referred to the crowd as a "howling mob" and said "I have seen no reason as yet to change my opinion of Coulthard's qualities, or to regret his engagement, in which opinion I am joined by the whole team". He further added that "Beyond slyly kicking me once or twice the mob behaved very well, their one cry being, 'Change your umpire'. And now for the cause of this disturbance, not unexpected, I may say, by us, for we have heard accounts of former matches played by English teams." Harris further accused a New South Wales parliamentarian of assisting the gamblers in the inciting the unrest, although he did not name the accusee. He said
He further accused the Australian public of being bad losers, claiming that they were sparing in their applause upon his team's victory, and were unable to appreciate skills shown by an opposing team. He summed up his feelings
Spofforth, Australia's leading bowler, commented on the incident in an 1891 cricket magazine interview, but put a different slant on the cause. He thought that the English team were victims of intercolonial rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria:
, Harris spoke publicly for the first time about the riot. He was critical of the way his team had been treated by a portion of the New South Wales press, which had "unintentionally", he trusted, "but with questionable courtesy", described them "as if they were strolling actors, rather than as a party of gentlemen." However, the speech was otherwise regarded as reconciliatory.
The NSWCA pressed charges against two men who were charged with "having participated in the disorder". Their President Richard Driver
, who appeared for the prosecution, told the court that "the inmates of the Pavilion who had initiated the disturbance, including a well-known bookmaker of Victoria who was at the time ejected, had had their fees of membership returned to them, and they would never again be admitted to the ground". The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the two men "expressed regret for what had occurred, and pleaded guilty" and "the Bench fined them 40 shillings, and to pay 21 shillings professional costs of the court". Despite initial cynicism from journalists, the NSWCA announced a crackdown on betting on cricket matches, and it was reported that over the next 10 years, gambling at cricket matches in Sydney mainly died out.
In 1880, an Australian side captained by Billy Murdoch
toured England. The tourists had difficulty finding good opponents; most county sides turned them down, although Yorkshire
played two unofficial matches against them. There was a lot of bad will, exacerbated by the Australians' arrival in England at short notice, to some extent unexpectedly. This was heightened by an English perception that the Australians came frequently in order to maximise their profits; at the time, professionalism was frowned upon. In his autobiography Lord Harris wrote, "They asked no-one's goodwill in the matter, and it was felt this was a discourteous way of bursting in on our arrangements; and the result was they played scarcely any counties and were not generally recognised ... We felt we had to make a protest against too frequent visits". Harris initially shunned the team and tried to avoid correspondence and meetings with them. An attempt to arrange a game against an English XI for the Cricketers' Fund was turned down, and public advertisements in the newspapers were shunned. W.G. Grace was sympathetic to the Australians and felt that they were not to blame for the riot. He attempted to arrange a game for them at Lord's, but was rebuffed by the Marylebone Cricket Club
, who gave the excuse that the ground was not available.
Despite it being Murdoch's wicket that started the riot, the English public were more sympathetic towards him than Gregory, and although the Australians played against weak opposition, including many XVIIIs, they attracted large crowds, leading the counties to regret their decision to the snub them. Eventually the secretary of Surrey
, C. W. Alcock
asked Lord Harris to put together a representative side to play the Australians, while Grace acted as a mediator. Luckily for the Australians, Lord Harris had a personal rapport with their captain Murdoch and leading player Spofforth, especially as they shared his dim views toward throwing. An agreement was reached, and although Lord Harris was generous in agreeing to lead the side, three cricketers who played in the infamous Sydney game—Hornby, Emmett and Ulyett—refused to play. Harris assembled a strong team, which included the three Grace brothers and Australia, who had not faced strong opposition and were without star bowler Fred Spofforth
, went down by five wickets in front of 45,000 spectators. This game, later recognised as the fourth Test in history, is more important than its result, as the custom of cricket tours between England and Australia was cemented. Overall, the tour was a financial success and an effective exercise in mending relations; the team were received by the Mayor of London
at the end of the tour and were given gifts. Profits were healthy and public awareness of the bilateral cricketing relationship increased.
Civil disorder
Civil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
that occurred at an early international cricket
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...
match. It took place 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...
, New South Wales, Australia, at the Association Ground, Moore Park
Moore Park, New South Wales
Moore Park is a large area of parkland in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Centennial Parklands, a collective of three parks being Moore Park, Centennial Park and Queens Park. Centennial Parklands is administered by the Centennial Park &...
, now known as 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...
, during a match between a touring English team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
captained by Lord Harris and 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...
, led by Dave Gregory
Dave Gregory (cricketer)
David William Gregory was an Australian cricketer of the 19th century. A right-handed batsman, Gregory was the first Australian national cricket captain, leading the side for the first three recognised Test matches between England and Australia in March and April 1877 and January 1879...
, who was also the captain of Australia. The riot was sparked by a controversial umpiring decision, when star Australian batsman Billy Murdoch
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
was given out
Dismissal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
by George Coulthard
George Coulthard
George Coulthard was a star Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton. He was also a notable cricketer who played for the Melbourne Cricket Club and briefly for Australia. As a cricketer he played only six first-class matches, five for Victoria and a Test match for Australia...
, a Victorian
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....
employed by the Englishmen. The dismissal caused an uproar among the parochial spectators, many of whom surged onto the pitch
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
and assaulted Coulthard and some English players. It was alleged that illegal gamblers
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
in the New South Wales pavilion, who had bet heavily on the home side, encouraged the riot because the tourists were in a dominant position and looked set to win. Another theory given to explain the anger was that of intercolonial rivalry
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...
, that the New South Wales crowd objected to what they perceived to be a slight from a Victorian umpire.
The pitch invasion occurred while Gregory halted the match by not sending out a replacement for Murdoch. The New South Wales skipper called on Lord Harris to remove umpire Coulthard, whom he considered to be inept or biased, but his English counterpart declined. The other umpire, Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
, defended Coulthard and Lord Harris, saying that the decision against Murdoch was correct and that the English had conducted themselves appropriately. Eventually, Gregory agreed to resume the match without the removal of Coulthard. However, the crowd continued to disrupt proceedings, and play was abandoned for the day. Upon resumption after the Sunday rest day, Lord Harris's men won convincingly by an innings.
In the immediate aftermath of the riot, the England team cancelled the remaining games they were scheduled to play in Sydney. The incident also caused much press comment in England and Australia. In Australia, the newspapers were united in condemning the unrest, viewing the chaos as a national humiliation and a public relations disaster. An open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
by Lord Harris about the incident was later published in English newspapers, and caused fresh outrage in New South Wales when it was reprinted by the Australian newspapers. A defensive letter written in response by the New South Wales Cricket Association
New South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
further damaged relations. The affair led to a breakdown of goodwill that threatened the future of Anglo
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
-Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
cricket relations. However, friction between the cricketing authorities finally eased when Lord Harris agreed to lead an England representative side
Representative side
In sports a national representative side or team is one that plays under the national name. The phrase is often used to indicate that the team is not the official main national team...
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...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
against the touring Australians in 1880; this match became the fourth-ever Test and cemented the tradition of Anglo-Australian Test matches
Test 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...
.
Background
England cricket tours to Australia started in 1861, and while successful, were still in their infancy in 1879, despite the first Test match being played in 1877. The teams were of variable quality; while promoters sought the best cricketers, they still had to agree to terms. In addition, many could not afford the time for the long boat trip, the tour itself, and the return voyage—the journey itself often took up to two months. Aside from a tour by an Australian Aboriginal team in 1868, the Dave GregoryDave Gregory (cricketer)
David William Gregory was an Australian cricketer of the 19th century. A right-handed batsman, Gregory was the first Australian national cricket captain, leading the side for the first three recognised Test matches between England and Australia in March and April 1877 and January 1879...
-led campaign in 1878 was the first major Australian tour to England. The tour was generally regarded as a success; a highlight was the Australians' famous victory over a very strong Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
outfit, which included W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
, the dominant cricketer of the 19th century, in less than four hours.
Keen to make the most of this success, the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne 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....
—the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket
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...
was not created until 1905— invited Lord Harris, an eminent amateur cricketer of the time, to lead a team to Australia. The team was originally meant to be entirely amateur, but two professional Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
bowlers, 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...
and Tom Emmett, joined the tour team after two Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
players had to withdraw due to a bereavement. The main distinction between amateurs and professionals was social status, and although amateurs were not paid for playing, they did receive generous "expenses". Despite the presence of two professionals in the team, the Englishmen were described as "Gentlemen", a euphemism for amateurs. Now that Ulyett and Emmett were in the team, they did a large part of the bowling, and commentators felt that Harris had overworked them.
At the time, English cricket was dominated by amateurs. These scions of the ruling class were generally educated in elite sandstone private schools—such as Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
—and universities of the establishment such as Oxford and Cambridge, and to them, sport was a social leisure. In contrast, the Australians were regarded—by the social standards of the 19th century—as coarse, rowdy and uncultured. The likes of bushranger Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
heightened perceptions that Australia had a bandit culture. Violence, heckling and abusive chanting among drunken spectators and gamblers at sporting grounds were commonplace in 19th century Australia, and the prevalence of betting was seen as a major cause of crowd unrest. There were many instances of concerning player behaviour during the 1878 tour of England, and Gregory's men were considered to be unrefined and raucous.
Cheating was a regular occurrence in 19th century Australian cricket, and the inter-colonial rivalry was strong—the modern states of Australia were separate colonies until their federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901. As in real life, the sporting rivalry was at its most bitter between the two most populous and politically powerful colonies, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and 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....
. The endless dispute between the colonies over whether 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...
or Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
would be the capital of Australia eventually forced the compromise that saw the construction of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
mid-way between the two cities. With regards to sport, cricket administrators from both colonies sought to undermine their cross-border counterparts. On the field, matches were dominated by tit-for-tat 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...
wars. Both colonies sought to stack their teams with players who either had borderline—and sometimes flagrantly—illegal bowling actions to use physical intimidation as a means of negating opposition batsmen. Gregory, whose action was regarded as highly dubious, was prominent in his New South Wales team pursuing a policy of condoning illegal bowling. It was amidst a background of inter-colonial rancour and a belligerent Australian sports culture that the riot broke out.
Soon after Gregory's 1878 Australian team returned home, Lord Harris's Englishmen arrived. Australia won the first match, played 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...
, by 10 wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s. The match was later recognised as the third Test match
Test 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...
in history. New South Wales paceman Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
—nicknamed "The Demon" because of his ferocious pace—took 13 wickets in the match, including the first ever Test hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
. The next tour match was against 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...
and started on 24 January at the Association Ground in Sydney. New South Wales won by five wickets, despite the absence of Spofforth—who withdrew from the home side after spraining his wrist the night before the start of the match— and Gregory, who had been dropped for missing a training session and failing to provide an explanation for his absence.
Match
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....
George Coulthard
George Coulthard
George Coulthard was a star Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton. He was also a notable cricketer who played for the Melbourne Cricket Club and briefly for Australia. As a cricketer he played only six first-class matches, five for Victoria and a Test match for Australia...
, upon a recommendation from the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne 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....
. As well as being a star footballer
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...
for Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, Coulthard was a ground-bowler employed by Melbourne, but was yet to make his 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...
ing debut. Coulthard accompanied Harris's men from Melbourne following the Test. New South Wales selected Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
, who later became the first Prime Minister of Australia
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...
.
As both Gregory and Spofforth were playing for the hosts, bookmakers were offering attractive odds against an English win, and New South Wales were heavily backed, having won the previous match with an even weaker side. The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
condemned the "impunity with which open betting was transacted in the pavilion", in defiance of the prominent notices indicating that gambling was banned.
Lord Harris won the toss and chose to bat. At about 12:10 pm in front of approximately 4,000 spectators, A N Hornby and Lucas started the England innings. They put on 125 for the first wicket before Spofforth bowled Lucas for 51 and Hornby soon after for 67. Hornby had given a chance during his innings but Lucas did not. Ulyett and Harris steadied the innings after the two quick wickets and added 85; Ulyett made 55 before falling victim to a running, diving catch, and Harris made 41. During his innings, Harris edged a ball to wicket-keeper Murdoch, but Coulthard ruled him not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
; this was noticed by the journalists present and reported the following day. Spofforth cut up the wicket with his feet so badly that it became very difficult to play, and Edwin Evans
Edwin Evans
Edwin Evans was an Australian cricketer who played in six Tests between 1881 and 1886.Born in Emu Plains, New South Wales and educated at Newington College , Evans was an off spinner with an ability to consistently land the ball wherever he wanted to and had some success in Australian first-class...
, bowling from the other end, pitched nearly every ball into the marks. The loss of Ulyett and Harris in quick succession triggered a sudden collapse as England lost 7/34 to be all out for 267. Evans took 5/62 and Spofforth 5/93. The English batsmen were productive against the bowling of Edwin Tindall
Edwin Tindall
Edwin Tindall played first-class cricket for New South Wales between 1874/75 and 1880/81. He was a right-arm medium pace bowler.His career best bowling was 6/31 in match against Victoria in February 1878...
, taking 79 runs from his 27 over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
s without losing a wicket. At stumps on the first day, NSW were 2/53, with wicket-keeper and opening batsman Billy Murdoch
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
on 28 and Hugh Massie
Hugh Massie
Hugh Hamon Massie was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia.Massie's role in the 1882 Ashes Test at The Oval was almost as pivotal in deciding the result as Fred Spofforth's celebrated performance with the ball...
on three.
The match recommenced at noon the next day, Saturday 8 February. Ten thousand were in attendance, and New South Wales started well. Murdoch and Massie took the score to 107 before the latter fell, but the hosts reached 3/130 at lunch, having not lost another wicket. However, wickets tumbled through the afternoon, and New South Wales were all out for 177; none of the incoming batsmen passed single figures. Tom Emmett took the last seven wickets to end with 8/47. Murdoch batted through the innings for 82 not out, making him the hero in the eyes of the locals. He hit 11 fours, and Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
called his effort a "grand innings". Harris opted to make New South Wales bat again
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...
—the follow-on mark in that era was 80 runs, and the hosts were 90 runs behind— NSW started their second innings around 4 o'clock. Then, when the New South Wales second innings score was 19, the opening partnership between Murdoch and Alick Bannerman
Alick Bannerman
Alexander Chalmers Bannerman was an Australian cricketer who played in 28 Tests between 1879 and 1893....
ended when the former was adjudged run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
by Coulthard for 10.
Riot
Many in the crowd disagreed with the decision and took exception to it being made by an umpire employed by the Englishmen. That Coulthard was a Victorian added to the emotions of the crowd, who thought along intercolonial lines. The Sydney Evening News propagated rumours that Coulthard had placed a large bet on an English victory, something that the umpire and Lord Harris later denied. Loud hooting came from the pavilion, especially the section where the gamblers, who had overwhelmingly backed a New South Wales victory, were situated. It was reported that well-known gamblers were prominent in inciting the other members of the crowd, amid loud chants of "not out" and "Go back [to the playing field], Murdoch". Gregory was later accused of trying to fan the dispute and encourage the crowd to gain an advantage for his team. The crowd was already suspicious of Coulthard's competence and impartiality; the Sydney Morning Herald commented in that morning's edition, "The decision [to give Lord Harris not out on the first day] was admittedly a mistake".The pavilion stood at an angle to the crease
Crease (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, the crease is a certain area demarcated by white lines painted or chalked on the field of play.The term crease also refers to any of the lines themselves, particularly the popping crease. Law 9 of the Laws of Cricket governs the size and position of the crease markings...
, so the members were not in an ideal position to see how accurate the decision was. The uproar continued as it became obvious that no batsman was coming out to replace Murdoch, so Harris walked towards the pavilion and met Gregory at the gate, at which point Gregory asked Harris to change his umpire. Harris refused, as the English team considered the decision to be fair and correct. Lord Harris later said that his two fielders in the point and cover positions
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
, being side on to the crease, had a good view of the incident, and that they agreed with Coulthard's judgement. Barton said that Coulthard's decision was correct, and that the Englishmen were justified in standing by their nominated umpire.
It was while Harris was remonstrating with Gregory that "larrikins" in the crowd surged onto the pitch. A young Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
, who later went on to write the iconic Australian song Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
, was among the pitch invaders. Of the 10,000 spectators, up to 2,000 "participated in the disorder".On 10 February, the Sydney Morning Herald described the number of riot participants as "not more than 2,000, at the outside, who took an active art in the disorder". On 31 May, following the publication of Harris's letter, The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
described a significantly lesser figure, editorialising that "only a few hundred sided with the objectors. Those that were actively violent were fewer still, and they were kept in check by the better-disposed of the crowd." Coulthard was jostled and Lord Harris, who had returned to the field to support Coulthard, was struck by a whip or stick but was not hurt. Hornby, a keen amateur boxer who had been offered the English captaincy before stepping aside for Harris, grabbed his captain's assailant and "conveyed his prisoner to the pavilion in triumph"; it was later said that he had caught the wrong man. Hornby was also attacked and almost lost the shirt off his back. Emmett and Ulyett each took a stump for protection and escorted Lord Harris off, assisted by some members. In the meantime, the crowd anger grew and there was mounting fear that the riot would intensify, due to speculation that the crowd would try to free Hornby's captive. However, there was only jostling as the players were evacuated into the pavilion, and the injuries were limited to minor cuts and bruises. An English naval captain who was at the ground had his top hat pulled over his eyes and was verbally abused by some spectators. After 30 minutes, the field was cleared.
When the ground was finally cleared Gregory insisted, according to Harris, that Coulthard be replaced. When Harris would not agree, Gregory said, "Then the game is at an end". Harris asked Barton whether he could claim the match on a forfeit. Barton replied "I will give it to you in two minutes if the batsmen don't return". Harris then asked Barton to speak with Gregory to ascertain his intentions. When Barton came out he announced that Alick Bannerman
Alick Bannerman
Alexander Chalmers Bannerman was an Australian cricketer who played in 28 Tests between 1879 and 1893....
and Nat Thomson
Nat Thomson
Nathaniel Frampton Davis Thomson was an Australian cricketer who played in the first two Tests ever played, in 1877...
would resume the NSW innings. They walked onto the arena and reached the stumps, but before they could receive a ball, the crowd again invaded the pitch, and remained there until the scheduled end of play. According to The Sydney Mail
The Sydney Mail
The Sydney Mail was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. The weekly edition of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, it ran from 1860 to 1938....
approximately 90 minutes' play had been lost. Lord Harris maintained his position on the ground, standing "erect" with "moustache bristling" among the spectators, fearful that his leaving the arena would lead to a forfeit.
Sunday was a rest day, so the match resumed on Monday, 10 February. As it was a working day, the crowd was much smaller. Rain had fallen and the sun had baked the playing surface into a sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
, which caused erratic behaviour. Nat Thomson
Nat Thomson
Nathaniel Frampton Davis Thomson was an Australian cricketer who played in the first two Tests ever played, in 1877...
was out for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
without addition to the overnight total, and a collapse ensued. New South Wales made only 49 in their second innings; Bannerman top-scored with 20 while six of his colleagues failed to score, while Emmett and Ulyett took four and five wickets respectively, including four wickets in four balls for the latter. England thus won by an innings and 41 runs.
Reaction
There were widespread allegations by the media and English players that the riot was started by bookmakers, or at least encouraged by the widespread betting that was known to be occurring at the match. Vernon RoyleVernon Royle
The Reverend Vernon Peter Fanshawe Archer Royle . He was the son of Dr. Peter Royle and Marina Fanshawe. He played cricket for Oxford University and Lancashire. He was a member of Lord Harris's cricket team to tour Australia in 1878/9...
, a member of the English team, wrote in his diary that "It was a most disgraceful affair and took its origin from some of the 'better' [gambling] class in the Pavilion".
The Australian press and cricket officials immediately condemned the riot, which dominated the front pages of the local newspapers, even though the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
and his gang had raided Jerilderie on the same weekend. The local media were united in their disgust at the scenes of tumult, fearing a public relations disaster would erupt in England. The Sydney Morning Herald called the riot "a national humiliation", and that it "would remain a blot upon the colony for some years to come". They accused those involved in gambling of inciting "larrikins" and "roughs" to storm the field and attack the Englishmen. However, they also suggested that some of the blame should be put on one of the English professionals, who "made use of a grossly insulting remark to the crowd about their being nothing but 'sons of convicts'". Barton defended the Englishmen and Coulthard, saying that none had done anything wrong. He claimed that Emmett and Ulyett were incapable of insulting the Australians in such a way.
The Australasian claimed that three policemen at the ground idled and allowed the rioters to attack the Englishmen. They said that the riot "forever made the match memorable in the annals of New South Wales cricket", and lamented the fact that "rowdyism became rampant for the rest of the afternoon". The paper asked the question "What will they say in England?" Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
condemned the unrest as a "deplorably disgraceful affair" and described the spectators as a "rough and excited mob". Richard Driver
Richard Driver
Richard Driver was a Sydney solicitor, politician and cricket administrator.Driver was born in Cabramatta, New South Wales, son of Richard Driver, hotel-keeper, and his wife Elizabeth, née Powell...
of the New South Wales Cricket Association
New South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
(NSWCA) issued a statement of regret for what had happened to the tourists.
Lord Harris
The NSWCA appealed to Lord Harris, and in reply he said he did not blame them or the cricketers of Sydney in any way, but said that "it [the riot] was an occurrence it was impossible he could forget".On 11 February, one day after the conclusion of the match and three days after the riot, Harris wrote a letter to one of his friends about the disturbance. It was clear that he intended the letter to be printed in the press, and it appeared in full in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
on 1 April, among other London newspapers, reigniting the furore. Wisden Cricketers Almanack considered the incident of such significance that it reprinted the whole correspondence. The letter gives a detailed contemporary account of what Lord Harris thought about the riot.
Lord Harris referred to the crowd as a "howling mob" and said "I have seen no reason as yet to change my opinion of Coulthard's qualities, or to regret his engagement, in which opinion I am joined by the whole team". He further added that "Beyond slyly kicking me once or twice the mob behaved very well, their one cry being, 'Change your umpire'. And now for the cause of this disturbance, not unexpected, I may say, by us, for we have heard accounts of former matches played by English teams." Harris further accused a New South Wales parliamentarian of assisting the gamblers in the inciting the unrest, although he did not name the accusee. He said
He further accused the Australian public of being bad losers, claiming that they were sparing in their applause upon his team's victory, and were unable to appreciate skills shown by an opposing team. He summed up his feelings
Response in New South Wales
The NSWCA were outraged by Lord Harris's letter and convened a special meeting to consider their response and subsequently had their honorary secretary, Mr J.M. Gibson, write to The Daily Telegraph in reply. Gibson argued that "that the misconduct of those who took possession of the wickets has been exaggerated" and that Lord Harris's account was "universally regarded here as both inaccurate and ungenerous." The letter said that "We cannot allow a libel upon the people of New South Wales so utterly unfounded as this to pass without challenge". It went on to accuse Harris of omitting certain facts in his account, which according to the NSWCA, depicted Australia and the cricket authorities in a poor light. These included an accusation that Harris had failed to note that the NSWCA and the media had immediately and strongly condemned the disturbance and treatment of the English visitors. Gibson also criticised Lord Harris for claiming that Coulthard was "competent", while "admitting 'he had made two mistakes in our innings'", especially as Coulthard's not out ruling against Lord Harris "was openly admitted by his lordship to be a mistake" that favoured the Englishmen. The letter further denied the claim that those who incited the riot were associated with the NSWCA and accused Harris of inflammatory conduct during the disorder.Spofforth, Australia's leading bowler, commented on the incident in an 1891 cricket magazine interview, but put a different slant on the cause. He thought that the English team were victims of intercolonial rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria:
Aftermath
Immediately after the game, Lord Harris led his men from Sydney, cancelling the planned return match against a representative Australian side that would have become the fourth-ever Test match. The England team returned to Melbourne where two further matches were played against Victoria on 21–25 February and 7–10 March. At the farewell banquet hosted by the 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....
, Harris spoke publicly for the first time about the riot. He was critical of the way his team had been treated by a portion of the New South Wales press, which had "unintentionally", he trusted, "but with questionable courtesy", described them "as if they were strolling actors, rather than as a party of gentlemen." However, the speech was otherwise regarded as reconciliatory.
The NSWCA pressed charges against two men who were charged with "having participated in the disorder". Their President Richard Driver
Richard Driver
Richard Driver was a Sydney solicitor, politician and cricket administrator.Driver was born in Cabramatta, New South Wales, son of Richard Driver, hotel-keeper, and his wife Elizabeth, née Powell...
, who appeared for the prosecution, told the court that "the inmates of the Pavilion who had initiated the disturbance, including a well-known bookmaker of Victoria who was at the time ejected, had had their fees of membership returned to them, and they would never again be admitted to the ground". The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the two men "expressed regret for what had occurred, and pleaded guilty" and "the Bench fined them 40 shillings, and to pay 21 shillings professional costs of the court". Despite initial cynicism from journalists, the NSWCA announced a crackdown on betting on cricket matches, and it was reported that over the next 10 years, gambling at cricket matches in Sydney mainly died out.
Impact on later tours
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
toured England. The tourists had difficulty finding good opponents; most county sides turned them down, although Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
played two unofficial matches against them. There was a lot of bad will, exacerbated by the Australians' arrival in England at short notice, to some extent unexpectedly. This was heightened by an English perception that the Australians came frequently in order to maximise their profits; at the time, professionalism was frowned upon. In his autobiography Lord Harris wrote, "They asked no-one's goodwill in the matter, and it was felt this was a discourteous way of bursting in on our arrangements; and the result was they played scarcely any counties and were not generally recognised ... We felt we had to make a protest against too frequent visits". Harris initially shunned the team and tried to avoid correspondence and meetings with them. An attempt to arrange a game against an English XI for the Cricketers' Fund was turned down, and public advertisements in the newspapers were shunned. W.G. Grace was sympathetic to the Australians and felt that they were not to blame for the riot. He attempted to arrange a game for them at Lord's, but was rebuffed by the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, who gave the excuse that the ground was not available.
Despite it being Murdoch's wicket that started the riot, the English public were more sympathetic towards him than Gregory, and although the Australians played against weak opposition, including many XVIIIs, they attracted large crowds, leading the counties to regret their decision to the snub them. Eventually the secretary of 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...
, C. W. Alcock
C. W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock was an influential English sportsman and administrator. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup....
asked Lord Harris to put together a representative side to play the Australians, while Grace acted as a mediator. Luckily for the Australians, Lord Harris had a personal rapport with their captain Murdoch and leading player Spofforth, especially as they shared his dim views toward throwing. An agreement was reached, and although Lord Harris was generous in agreeing to lead the side, three cricketers who played in the infamous Sydney game—Hornby, Emmett and Ulyett—refused to play. Harris assembled a strong team, which included the three Grace brothers and Australia, who had not faced strong opposition and were without star bowler Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
, went down by five wickets in front of 45,000 spectators. This game, later recognised as the fourth Test in history, is more important than its result, as the custom of cricket tours between England and Australia was cemented. Overall, the tour was a financial success and an effective exercise in mending relations; the team were received by the Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
at the end of the tour and were given gifts. Profits were healthy and public awareness of the bilateral cricketing relationship increased.
See also
- History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883
- Violence in sportsViolence in sportsViolence in sports refers to physical acts committed in contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, rugby football, soccer, boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and water polo beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport...