An English cricket team toured Australia and Ceylon in 1882–83. Captained by Ivo Bligh, the team was on a quest "to recover those Ashes", a reference to the famous RIP notice that was published in the aftermath of England's defeat by Australia at The Oval in the previous English season.
Originally, three matches were arranged between Bligh's XI and a Combined Australia XI. Bligh's XI won two of these after losing the first. Although the actual sequence of events has never been completely confirmed, it was after winning the third match that Bligh was somehow presented with a small urn which is believed to contain the ashes of a burnt bail. He brought this back to England and it is now the most famous exhibit in the museum at Lord's Cricket Ground. England and Australia have been contesting these mythical Ashes ever since. A. fourth match was arranged ad hoc after the original series had been completed, and was won by the Australians. Following publication of Clarence P. Moody's proposed Test cricket list in 1894, all four matches were retrospectively recognised as Test matches.
Test matches
editThese matches were not called Tests at the time but they were retrospectively recognised after they were included in Australian Cricket and Cricketers, 1856 to 1893–94 (1894) by Clarence P. Moody. The original title of each match was Combined Australia XI v I. F. W. Bligh's XI.
First Test
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- Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
- 31 December 1882 was taken as a rest day.
- Hon. I. F. W. Bligh, C. F. H. Leslie, W. W. Read, G. B. Studd, E. F. S. Tylecote and G. F. Vernon (all Eng) made their Test debuts.
Second Test
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- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- 21 January was taken as a rest day.
- This was the first Test match to be won by an innings margin.
- Billy Bates became the first England player to take a Test hat-trick with the first-innings wickets of Percy McDonnell, George Giffen and George Bonnor. He was also the first player in Test history to score a 50 and take 10 wickets in a match.
Third Test
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Fourth Test
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Players
editEngland was captained by Ivo Bligh and had Edward Tylecote as its specialist wicket-keeper, the other players being Billy Bates, Dick Barlow, A. G. Steel, Charles Leslie, Walter Read, Charles Studd, Fred Morley, Billy Barnes, George Vernon and George Studd.
Australia was captained by Billy Murdoch and had Jack Blackham as wicket-keeper. Other players to represent Australia were Billy Midwinter, Alec Bannerman, George Bonnor, Tom Horan, Percy McDonnell, George Giffen, Harry Boyle, Edwin Evans, Hugh Massie, Eugene Palmer, Tom Garrett and Fred Spofforth.
Ceylon
editThe team used Colombo as a stopover during its long sea voyage and played two matches against local sides in October 1882 that were not first-class. This was the first time that an overseas team visited Ceylon.
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13 – 14 October 1882
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Europeans
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Match drawn
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23 October 1882
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Match drawn
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Other matches in Australia
editBesides the four against Combined Australia, Bligh's XI played in fourteen matches against colonial and club teams. Some of these were scheduled for two days' play, others for three days.
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10–11 November 1882
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Match drawn
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17–20 November 1882
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by 10 wickets
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22–23 November 1882
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Match Drawn
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Back Creek Ground, Bendigo
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24–25 November 1882
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Match Drawn
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Wattle Flat, Castlemaine
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1–4 December 1882
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by an innings and 144 runs
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6–7 December 1882
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by an innings and 15 runs
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Albion Ground, West Maitland
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8–9 December 1882
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Match Drawn
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11–12 December 1882
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Match Abandoned
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Tamworth No 1 Oval, Tamworth
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26–28 December 1882
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Match Drawn
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8–9 January 1883
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Northern Tasmania CA.
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by an innings and 75 runs
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12–13 January 1883
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Southern Tasmania CA.
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by 7 wickets
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2–3 February 1883
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by an innings and 154 runs
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8–9 February 1883
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I. F. W. Bligh's XI won by an innings and 58 runs
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9–12 March 1883
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Victoria won by an innings and 73 runs
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References
edit- ^ Hilton, Christopher (2006). The birth of the Ashes : the amazing story of the first Ashes test. Banksmeadow, N.S.W.: Renniks Publications. ISBN 978-0-9752245-4-0. OCLC 123232899.
- ^ Bennett, David (2014). From ashes to glory. Capalaba, Qld. ISBN 978-1-921632-76-1. OCLC 865168925.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "South Africa's Superman". ESPN Cricinfo. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
External sources
edit- CricketArchive tour itinerary Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
edit- The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877–1978 by Bill Frindall
- Chris Harte, A. History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993