Australian Services Cricket Team

Australian Services Cricket Team

The Australian Services XI was a cricket team comprising solely military service personnel during World War II. They became active in May 1945 after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The team played matches against English cricket sides of both military and civilian origins to celebrate the end of the war. These matches were aimed at increasing morale in the war-ravaged English cities and as a means of reviving cricket after the conclusion of fighting.

The end of the war marked the start of the 1945 cricket season. Plum Warner organised a series of matches between England and Australian servicemen, known as the Victory Tests, to celebrate the end of hostilities. However, Australian cricket administrators would not accredit the three-day matches as official Test matches, arguing that there were not enough Test-level players in the armed services; Lindsay Hassett was the only Australian who had Test experience.

The side was composed of an amalgam of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) team, which had already been stationed in England during the war, and another group of mostly Australian Imperial Force (AIF) soldiers from Australia. The players were deliberately stationed with each other in England for the express purpose of forming a cricket team to tour the country, with Australian prime minister John Curtin pushing for the immediate resumption of international cricket after the war was over. The team was officially a military unit, led by Squadron Leader Stan Sismey, the team's wicket-keeper.

England were close to full strength, so the AIF and the RAAF teams merged to strengthen their quality. As a result, the Australian Services cricket team was formed under the leadership of Warrant Officer Lindsay Hassett to compete in the Victory Tests.

The Australian team, despite being split by rank and service, all took their place in the side in good spirit and not much was made of the fact that Hassett, a warrant officer who was outranked by almost every other member of the team, was appointed captain.

The Victory Tests were greeted by packed English grounds, and raised a lot of money for war charities. Against expectations, the Australians managed to draw the series 2–2 against an England team filled with Test cricketers. As a result, the Australian government, cricket administrators and military officials ordered the team to travel home via India to play more fundraising matches, before finishing their campaign against the Australian state teams. By the time the team arrived in Australia they were extremely tired and their performances deteriorated, leading analysts who had not seen them in England to regard them as a weak team.