The History of Australian cricket begins over 200 years ago. The first recorded cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803 and a report in the Sydney Gazette on 8 January 1804 suggested that cricket was already well established in the infant colony. By 1826, clubs including the Currency Cricket Club, the Military Cricket Club and the Australian Cricket Club had been formed and Hyde Park was the venue for these organised matches The formation of clubs in Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) was not far behind with clubs formed in Hobart in 1832 and Launceston in 1843. In Victoria in 1838, arguably Australia's most exclusive and influential cricket club was formed, the Melbourne Cricket Club. Clubs in the other colonies followed in South Australia in 1839, and in Western Australia in 1835 a match was arranged between the labourers and mechanics against the builders of the new Government House.
Intercolonial cricket in Australia started with a visit by cricketers from Victoria to Tasmania in February 1851. The match was played in Launceston on 11–12 February with Tasmania winning by 3 wickets. Another three matches between the two teams were played before 1854 but in time the crossing of Bass Strait became less attractive to the Victorians and the focus turned to the neighbouring colony of New South Wales. These matches attracted large crowds, including a crowd of 15,000 at a match in Sydney in January 1853. Boards of control were formed in the various colonies were formed; New South Wales in 1857, Victoria in 1864 and South Australia in 1871.
Read more about History Of Australian Cricket: Early Tours, First Australian Team To Tour England, Origin of The Ashes and Sheffield Shield, Golden Age and The Great War, Between The Wars: Bradman and Bodyline, Post War Consolidation, Rebel Tours and Revolution, Modern Dominance
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