William Gilbert Grace was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He was nominally amateur as a cricketer, but he is said to have made more money from his cricketing activities than any professional cricketer. He was an extremely competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and moneymaking.
Test matches in the period 1877 to 1883 were organised somewhat differently from international cricket matches today. All were between Australian and English sides, the teams were rarely representative, and the lengthy boat trip required was one that many cricketers were unable or unwilling to undertake. As such, the home teams enjoyed a great advantage.
Frederick Robert Spofforth, also known as "The Demon Bowler", was an Australian cricket team pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a Test hat-trick, in 1879. He played in Test matches for Australia between 1877 and 1887, and then settled in England where he played for Derbyshire. In 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
William Evans Midwinter was a cricketer who played four Test matches for England, sandwiched between eight Tests that he played for Australia. Midwinter holds a unique place in cricket history as the only cricketer to have played for both Australia and England in Test Matches against each other.
George Frederick Grace was an English first-class cricketer active from 1866 to 1880 who played for Gloucestershire and the United South of England Eleven (USEE). He played in one retrospectively recognised Test match for England. He was born in Downend, near Bristol and died in Basingstoke, Hampshire. A right-handed batsman who bowled right arm fast roundarm, he appeared in 195 matches that are generally rated first-class for statistical purposes. In these matches, Grace scored 6,906 runs with a highest score of 189*. An outstanding fielder and occasional wicket-keeper, he held 170 catches and completed three stumpings. He took 329 wickets with a best performance of eight for 43.
Nicholas "Tom" Cole, sometimes known as T. N. Cole, was an umpire who officiated in one Test match in Australia in 1884.
1878 was the 92nd season of cricket in England since the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The first official tour by an Australian team was undertaken, although it played no Test matches. A match at Old Trafford inspired a famous poem.
1882 was the 96th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). England lost to Australia in the match which gave rise to the Ashes.
1884 was the 98th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Australia toured England to compete for the Ashes. It was the seventh test series between the two sides. Fred Spofforth, an overseas bowler, took the most wickets, but England avenged its loss to the touring Australians in 1882 winning 1 test to 0.
This is an article that describes the history of Australian cricket from its known beginnings until the eve of the first-ever Test matches between Australia and England, which took place in the 1876–77 season.
The Australia national cricket team toured England in 1884. The team is officially termed the Fourth Australians, following three previous tours in the 1878, 1880 and 1882 seasons. The 1884 tour was a private venture by the thirteen players who each invested an agreed sum to provide funding, none of Australia's colonial cricket associations being involved. Billy Murdoch captained the team and George Alexander acted as player-manager. The Australians played a total of 32 matches in England, 31 of which have first-class status.
The Australia and New Zealand tour of the England cricket team in 1876–77 was at the time considered to be another professional first-class cricket tour of the colonies, as similar tours had occurred previously, but retrospectively it became classified as the first Test cricket tour of Australia by the English cricket team. The English team is sometimes referred to as James Lillywhite's XI. In all, they played 23 matches but only three including the two Tests are recognised as first-class. The first match started at the Adelaide Oval on 16 November 1876 and the last at the same venue on 14 April 1877. There were fifteen matches in Australia and, between January and March, eight in New Zealand.
Variations in published cricket statistics have come about because there is no official view of the status of cricket matches played in Great Britain prior to 1895 or in the rest of the world prior to 1947. As a result, historians and statisticians have compiled differing lists of matches that they recognise as (unofficially) first-class. The problem is significant where it touches on some of the sport's first-class records, especially in regards to the playing career of W. G. Grace.
W. G. Grace is believed to have considered retirement from cricket before the 1878 season after he was seriously injured in a shooting accident the previous autumn which nearly cost him the sight of an eye. Having recovered, he reconsidered and in 1878 played in 33 matches, 24 of which are generally recognised as first-class. His main roles in the season were captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and both match organiser and captain of the United South of England Eleven (USEE). In addition, he represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture and the South in the North v South series. 1878 was a cold, wet summer and not one of Grace's better seasons as a batsman, but he was very effective in such conditions as a right arm medium pace roundarm bowler and completed a sixth successive "double" by scoring 1,151 runs and taking 152 wickets in the recognised first-class matches.
W. G. Grace played in 31 matches in the 1895 English cricket season, 29 of which are recognised as first-class.
Following his father's death in December 1871, W. G. Grace increased his involvement with the United South of England Eleven (USEE) in order to provide more income for his mother, with whom he and his younger brother Fred were still living. Grace continued to play regularly for Gloucestershire and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and, when required, by the Gentlemen. In the late summer of 1872, he toured North America with a team of players who all had amateur status. In the 1873 season, he performed his first season "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.
W. G. Grace qualified as a doctor in 1879 made his first appearance in Test cricket the following year, scoring the first-ever century by an England batsman.
George Moore was an Australian cricketer who played three first-class matches for New South Wales during the early 1870s. Born in Bedfordshire, England, he emigrated to Maitland, New South Wales, aged 32, and first played cricket for the colony during the 1861–62 English tour of Australia led by H. H. Stephenson. A round-arm bowler, Moore's first match at first-class level came when he was almost 51 years old, and he played two more matches over the following two seasons, finishing with 15 first-class wickets. He continued his involvement in cricket well into old age, and died at his home in Maitland aged 96. Many members of Moore's family also played cricket at high levels, most notably his grandson Charlie Macartney, who went on to play Test cricket for Australia.
The match between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the First Australians, at Lord's on Monday, 27 May 1878, is the lowest scoring completed first-class match on record. It was a media sensation which radically altered English perception of Australian cricketers and was hailed in years to come as "(the match which) marked the commencement of the modern era of cricket".
The Australian cricket team toured New Zealand in January and February 1878, before their 1878 tour of England. It was the first overseas tour by a representative Australian team.
