page_title: History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883
section_title: Australia win in England 1882
hierarchical_section_title: History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883 / The Ashes legend / Australia win in England 1882
caption_attribution_description: Format: Albumen photoprint Players: Back row, left to right - Eugene Palmer, Harry Boyle, William Murdoch (seated), Percy McDonnell, Fred Spofforth, Tom Horan, Samuel Jones. Front row, left to right - Mr Beal (manager), George Giffen, Alick Bannerman, Tom Garrett, Hugh Massie, G.J. Bonner (manager). Missing: John Blackham, George Bonnor. In 1882 the third Australian team to tour England won the test match at The Oval, London that established the Ashes legend. Find out more about our passion for cricket at Discover Collections - Cricket in Australia www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/society_art/cricke... From the collections of the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales www.sl.nsw.gov.au Information about photographic collections of the State Library of New South Wales: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/SimpleSearch.aspx Persistent url: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=447367
context_page_description: 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.
  Thirteen Test Matches were played during the period between Australian and English sides. Most were not styled as representative "England v. Australia" contests, however: this description was only applied later by cricket statisticians. The same is true of their designation as "Test matches", which did not enter into the vernacular until 1885. Eleven of the thirteen matches played to 1883 were in Australia, where the colonials made the most of their home advantage, winning seven while England won four, and two matches were drawn.
  By 1883, the tradition of England-Australia tours was well established, that year having concluded the first Ashes series.
context_section_description: Billy Murdoch's Australian side only played one Test in their 1882 tour. As hosts, Surrey County Cricket Club asked A N Hornby to captain the side against them. It turned out to be Spofforth's match, however, as Australia's "Demon bowler" took fourteen wickets for ninety runs to bowl England out for 77 and give Australia victory by seven runs.
  The rain-damaged pitch helped England's two left-arm bowlers, Barlow and Peate, who dismissed Australia for 63 in two-and-a-quarter hours. England made 101 in reply, with Spofforth taking 7 for 46. After more rain on the second day, Australia lifted its score to 122, thanks to a quickfire 55 from Massie. The match was fiercely contested, as evidenced by W. G. Grace's gamesmanship in running out the naïve 21-year-old Sammy Jones, who had been batting well with his captain. Murdoch hit one into the legside, and Jones reached the other end comfortably in time to make the single. He then left his crease to go and attend to a divot on the wicket. Grace whipped off the bails and appealed. Square-leg umpire Bob Thoms delivered his verdict: "If you claim it, Sir! Out!" Murdoch's protests fell on deaf ears; the run-out was quite legitimate, but Grace's unsporting behaviour irked the Australians, whose collective will to win was fired-up by it.
  During the interval, Spofforth made an announcement to his team-mates in the dressing-room: "This thing can be done.!" In spite of being reduced to fifteen for two early on, England made a good start in its pursuit of a victory target of 85. The score rose to 51 for two, with Grace and Ulyett hitting out strongly. Spofforth changed ends, and Neville Cardus wrote thus of this move: "Now I was behind his arm; I could see his superb break-back. And he bowled mainly medium pace at this time. With each off-break I could see his right hand, at the end of the swing over, finish near the left side, 'cutting' under the ball. Sometimes his arm went straight over and continued straight down in the follow-through – and then the batsmen had to tackle fierce topspin. There was the sense of the inimical in his aspect now. He seemed taller than he was half an hour ago, the right arm more sinuous. There was no excitement in him he was ... cold-blooded."
  Spofforth presently claimed Ulyett, and Boyle had Grace caught by Bannerman at mid-off, making it 53 for four. Now, amidst great tension, Lucas and Lyttleton played out twelve maiden overs in succession. "Suddenly", wrote C. P. Moody (the man famous for compiling the first accepted list of Test Matches), "a new phase came over the innings. The batsmen could not get the ball past fieldsmen. Spofforth was bowling the most remarkable break-backs at tremendous pace; Boyle, from the other end, maintained a perfect length; Blackham with matchless skill took every ball that passed the batsmen ... every fieldsman strained his nerves to the utmost." It was now that Spofforth suggested to his captain Murdoch that they allow the batsmen to change ends. Alec Bannerman deliberately misfielded a stroke from Lyttleton, allowing the batsmen to take a single and end the monotony. "Something of the spirit of the struggle", wrote Moody, "pervaded the thousands of spectators, and their oppressive silence was punctuated by a mighty shout when Lyttleton broke the spell with a single." This meant that Spofforth could now have a go at him. After four more runless overs, Spofforth knocked over Lyttleton's stumps. That made it 66 for five, England needing nineteen more to win.
  "I observed the incoming batsmen", Tom Horan wrote later. "They had ashen faces and parched lips."." England had collapsed to 75 for 8, at which time Charles Studd, a batsman who had twice scored centuries against the Australians that summer arrived at the wicket. Studd had earlier been seen shivering, covered in a blanket in the pavilion. Studd denied the story that was put about that he was the victim of nerves, saying that he was cold due to the freezing weather.
  "Now Boyle's pertinacious accuracy was rewarded", wrote Moody. "Off the first ball of his over Barnes was c
caption: The 1882 Australian cricket team
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