English Summer of 1888
Australia toured with what some considered to be the weakest side to leave Australia: the touring party lost the three matches they played before leaving Australia. However, they surprised their critics by winning their first five matches. In a low-scoring Test series, seven of the ten completed innings were completed for 100 or fewer. In the first Test, England only needed 124 runs to win after getting 53 in response to Australia's 116 and 60, on a poor pitch at Lord's, but despite WG Grace's admirable 24, fell 61 runs short. This was Australia's first victory in England since the Test that started the Ashes legend 6 years before.
For the second Test, Surrey County Cricket Club, the ground authority, chose the legendary WG Grace as their captain. As a cricketer Grace was reckoned above those earlier greats, Alfred Mynn and George Parr, and it is probably more to do with the way captains were chosen in the 19th century (with away team's captains being chosen by their promoters, home team's captains chosen by the home ground authority, and deference shown to those with titles, such as Lord Harris) that Grace had not captained England sooner than his forty-first year. The England team included five Surrey players.
Although there was nothing wrong with the Oval wicket, Australia collapsed to 80 all out. Thanks to a 112 stand for the fifth wicket between Abel and Barnes, England reached 317, only for Australia to collapse again, this time to 100 to lose by an innings and 137 runs.
In the third Test, England batted first on a pitch dead after recent rain to reach 172. Australia, who had the misfortune to bat on a stickier wicket, were dismissed for 81 and from 7 for 6 recovered to 70 all out, but that still equated to a further innings defeat. It was a game decided by the toss and the rain: and ended with an English victory at 1.52 p.m. (before lunch) on the second day.
Australia in England 1888. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 2-1.
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 16,17 Jul 1888 | Allan Steel | Percy McDonnell | Lord's | AUS by 61 runs |
| 29 | 13,14 Aug 1888 | WG Grace | Percy McDonnell | The Oval | ENG by Inns&137 runs |
| 30 | 30,31 Aug 1888 | WG Grace | Percy McDonnell | Old Trafford | ENG by Inns&21 runs |
Read more about this topic: History Of Test Cricket From 1884 To 1889
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