Story The Re-History of International Cricket

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USA vs Canada
Germantown
13 Sep 1880 (first concurrent Tests in history!)

Lineups:
- Ridgway Moore, Charles Newhall, George Newhall, Sutherland Law, Robert Newhall, John Thayer, Richard Hargrave, Daniel Newhall, Francis Brewster, Thomas Hargrave, Walter Clark
- H Totten, CJ Logan, DJ Smith, Rainald Gamble, FW Trousdell, GB Behan, John Kirchhoffer, Samuel Ray, Russell Ogden, FC Blake, James Gillean
Debuts: all, Law, Thayer, Clark, R Hargrave

George Newhall, recalled, won the toss and bowled. Canada, rank underdogs, played alright for their 133. The top order was scratchy, but Behan made a decent 30, and Ray bludgeoned 25 late on. The wickets, as usual, were a team effort, but John Thayer stood out - the youth, one of two youngsters selected for America (Clark the other) took 3/8.

America started very poorly. None of the batting Newhalls succeeded, and America teetered at 7/64. But then Daniel Newhall took over again. His 56, plus Francis Brewster's 31, got America to 173. The Canadian mainstream bowlers were good, but none better than Russell Ogden, who took 4/44.

Canada, in response, collapsed. At 5/13, it looked like a truly awful day for their batting. But, as always, the tail wagged, and 20s for Kirchoffer, Ray and Ogden saved the innings and forced America to chase down 68 after Canada were dismissed for 108. The wickets were shared around the Americans, with two each for Newhall, Hargrave and Thayer.

The Canadians made a good fist of their defense. The American batting order again failed, leaving them 6/34 - but from there, Daniel Newhall came to the wicket, and the chase was quickly completed by him. Gillean and Logan had a pair of cheap wickets each, but the Americans held on for the win.

133 (Behan 30, Thayer 3/8) and 108 (Kirchoffer 26, R Hargrave 2/14) lost to 174 (D Newhall 56, Ogden 4/44) and 6/71 (D Newhall 23*, Logan 2/1)
MOTM: Daniel Newhall

@VC the slogger

 

[VC the slogger]

USA vs Canada
Germantown
13 Sep 1880 (first concurrent Tests in history!)

@VC the slogger

It's only fitting that the sport's oldest rivalry gets official status here before The Ashes.

John Thayer stood out - the youth, one of two youngsters selected for America

Ain't that the same chap who sadly went down with the Titanic.. the only known cricketer to have done so unfortunately.

Tough game for Canada, but they ought to be bolstered quite soon by the likes of Walter Wright and Francis Terry which hopefully gets them and upset win or two.

 

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Ain't that the same chap who sadly went down with the Titanic.. the only known cricketer to have done so unfortunately.

Yep!

Wright will get called up as soon as possible. This was a real match I gave Test status, hence both the lack of him for Canada and the lack of William Brewster (MOTM in the US's last two games) for USA - simply availability

 

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Canada vs USA
29 Aug 1881
Hamilton

Lineups:
- Ridgway Moore, Charles Newhall, Sutherland Law, William Morgan, John Thayer, Richard Hargrave, Daniel Newhall, William Brewster, James Soutter, Thomas Hargrave, Walter Clark
- Samuel Ray, F.W. Guerrier, Brian Waud, George Morrison, Alexander Gillespie, GB Behan, Dyce Saunders, Walter Wright, CJ Logan, Russell Ogden, James Gillean
Debuts: Morgan, Guerrier, Waud, Morrison, Gillespie, Saunders, Wright
Note: I messed up. GB Behan was incorrectly left out instead of FW Trousdell. My bad

America won the toss and elected to bowl first. A Canada team that was much stronger than last time with the inclusions of the likes of Gillespie, Saunders and Wright showed as much, scoring 156. Gillespie (34) and Wright (26) were key. America bowled eight players, which may be too many for me in the future lol, but two - Soutter and Law - took three wickets apiece.

America, though, did take the lead in their reply. Ridgway Moore made a solid 25, but the real reason was Brewster's 42 and Hargrave's 26 as they added 51 for the ninth wicket to haul the US to 177. Walter Wright further proved his class as he was on a hat-trick early after dismissing C Newhall and Law, and finished with 4/46. Ogden and Gillespie also seemed almost unhittable, and America's score would have been much lower if not for eight expensive Logan overs.

Canada continued to prove that they had the required international chops as they scored 165 in the third innings. This was definitely a team effort, but led by Waud's 25 and Saunders' 26. America again perhaps had too many bowlers going on, but there was a couple of standouts - Walter Clark (2/29) continued to prove he was ready, while William Brewster returned the figures of 2.4-2-0-2.

In reply... America crashed. CJ Logan made up for his earlier error with the ball by helping run through America's top six. The USA was 5/31 when Daniel Newhall came to the wicket. He'd done this so many times before, with so much success, and he had to agai...

0 (2).

Fight as hard as the rest of the tail did - and boy, they did fight, with 32 to Richard Hargrave, 24 to Thomas Hargrave, and 31 to Soutter - but they were never getting there. CJ Logan's 4/23 had led Canada to a truly shocking upset win.

156 (Gillespie 34, Law 3/19, Soutter 3/20) and 165 (Saunders 26, Brewster 2/0) beat 177 (Brewster 42, Wright 4/46) and 125 (R Hargrave 32, Logan 4/23)
MOTM: Walter Wright

 

[VC the slogger]

CJ Logan's 4/23 had led Canada to a truly shocking upset win.

 

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Australia vs England
29 Dec 1881
Melbourne

Lineups:
- Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, John Selby, Billy Bates, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Midwinter, Tom Emmett, William Scotton, Alfred Shaw, Dick Pilling, Ted Peate
- Hugh Massie, Alick Bannerman, Billy Murdoch, Percy McDonnell, Tom Horan, George Giffen, Jack Blackham, Joey Palmer, Edwin Evans, Harry Boyle, Fred Spofforth
Debuts - Pilling, Barlow, Scotton, Massie, Giffen, Evans

Billy Murdoch won the toss, batted, and then put his own choice to good use. After Massie and Bannerman added 62 runs for the first wicket, Murdoch came in and scored his second fifty of his career. Bannerman and McDonnell played helpful supporting hands, but when McDonnell was dismissed, Australia collapsed to a degree. Edwin Evans' 23* got Australia up to 265. Dick Barlow took four wickets, including both Bannerman and Murdoch.

England's second innings was mainstayed by George Ulyett. He stonewalled his way to 70 not out off 255 balls, becoming the first batsman in Test history to carry his bat. The rest of the team was hamstrung by Joey Palmer, who dominated, preventing any partnerships over 35 from forming by taking 5/33 and running out Billy Bates.

Australia lost three cheap wickets before Bannerman and Horan got to work. The two had very little support - especially Horan after Bannerman's dismissal - but they added 63 and both scored 50s. Bannerman's 51 was good, but the star of the show was Horan, who scored 86 including the last 30 coming at just under a run a ball while batting with the tail. Tom Emmett took 3/22 - Giffen, Murdoch, and Horan.

England collapsed in response. Giffen, Evans and Spofforth reduced them to 7/52, with all of the top seven back in the sheds. William Scotton didn't give up and hit a bruising fifty, but he had very little chance of getting there, and when Boyle hit the stumps and he missed, the game was up.

265 (Murdoch 63, Bannerman 47, Barlow 4/34) and 208 (Horan 86, Bannerman 51, Emmett 3/22) beat 218 (Ulyett 70*, Palmer 5/33) and 135 (Scotton 54, Giffen 3/14, Boyle 3/21)
MOTM: Tom Horan

 

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Australia vs England
17 Feb 1882
Melbourne

Lineups:
- Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, John Selby, Billy Bates, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Midwinter, Tom Emmett, William Scotton, Alfred Shaw, Dick Pilling, Ted Peate
- Hugh Massie, Alick Bannerman, Billy Murdoch, Percy McDonnell, Tom Horan, George Giffen, Jack Blackham, Joey Palmer, Edwin Evans, Harry Boyle, Fred Spofforth

For the first time ever, there were no debuts in a Test match. England perhaps wished there were, as after they won the toss and batted, everything collapsed for them. Giffen had three wickets, but the star of the show was Edwin Evans who took 4/7 from 6 overs. Ulyett scored 17, top scoring as England crashed to 99 all out.

Massie and Bannerman added 67 for the opening wicket, but Australia seemed headed down the same drain when they lost 5/10 to crash to 5/77. George Giffen disagreed. He bludgeoned 11 fours in his 51 to get the Aussies to 167 almost on his own, and give them a good shot. Alfred Shaw and Billy Bates both had three inexpensive wickets.

England's second innings had more staying power but not a terribly greater amount of runs. This was largely down to Dick Barlow, who played one of the most impressive stonewall innings in cricket history. As the Aussies probed, he survived 175 balls for his 30. Palmer dismissed him finally, but the stars of the innings were Edwin Evans again (3/27) and George Giffen (2/11 from 10.3 overs). England set Australia 60 to win from their 127.

Australia did struggle a little early, losing the openers cheaply, but Billy Murdoch wanted the game over. He scored 39 of the 60 runs off his own bat, and Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes.

99 (Ulyett 17, Evans 4/7, Giffen 3/27) and 127 (Barlow 30, Evans 3/27) lost to 167 (Giffen 51, Bates 3/10, Shaw 3/21) and 3/60 (Murdoch 39*, Shaw 2/11)
MOTM: George Giffen

 

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Australia vs England
3 March
Sydney

Lineups:
- Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, John Selby, Billy Bates, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Midwinter, Tom Emmett, William Scotton, Alfred Shaw, Dick Pilling, Ted Peate
- Hugh Massie, Alick Bannerman, Billy Murdoch, Percy McDonnell, Tom Horan, George Giffen, Sammy Jones, Jack Blackham, Joey Palmer, Edwin Evans, Harry Boyle
Debuts: Sammy Jones

Australia made the only change of this game - Fred Spofforth was unavailable, and rather than recall Tom Garrett, they gave a Test debut to Sammy Jones. They also won the toss and batted, and Jones played a key role - coming together with wicketkeeper Jack Blackham at 6/61, the pair added 62, with Jones top scoring in the innings with his 31. Australia found the pitch challenging, with none of the English bowlers easy to hit, but the hardest were Shaw and Midwinter, who took three wickets each and both had economy rates under 1.2 RPO.

England took a first innings lead by 25 runs as they scored 160 in response. Again, it was the seventh wicket partnership that delivered - Billy Bates played a lovely hand with his 48, and he found support from William Scotton, who made 35 of their 73-run stand. England were 6/52 beforehand, and that was largely because of Harry Boyle, who got rid of Barlow, Selby and Shrewsbury cheaply on his way to 4/40.

Australia stumbled to 120 in the third innings. None of their batsmen showed much fluency - top scorers Massie (32) and Giffen (25) ground their way there, the only reliably scorer being Alick Bannerman for his 17. Four cheap wickets apiece went to Barlow (4/10 off 6) and Peate (4/18 off 15), while Midwinter didn't take any wickets this time but DID concede just five from his seven overs.

England's chase was marked by consistent wickets falling, and a reasonable total would have spelled doom as only George Ulyett got to 20 (and was then immediately out). However, the target was 96, and that was simple enough, even with Giffen (3/24 from 15) bowling brilliantly.

135 (Jones 31, Shaw 3/17, Midwinter 3/20) and 120 (MAssie 32, Barlow 4/10, Peate 4/18) lost to 160 (Bates 48, Scotton 35, Boyle 4/40) and 8/99 (Ulyett 20, Giffen 3/24)
MOTM: Billy Bates

 

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Australia vs England
10 March
Melbourne

Lineups:
- Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, John Selby, Billy Bates, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Midwinter, Tom Emmett, William Scotton, Alfred Shaw, Dick Pilling, Ted Peate
- Hugh Massie, Alick Bannerman, Billy Murdoch, Percy McDonnell, Tom Horan, George Giffen, Tom Garrett, Jack Blackham, Joey Palmer, Harry Boyle, Fred Spofforth

Australia recalled Tom Garrett and reinstated Fred Spofforth, with Evans and Jones making way. The Aussies also won the toss and bowled. They then took four early wickets to leave England in a bind. George Ulyett was not among them, though, and he applied himself to carry his bat AGAIN for the second time this series. No ton, though, as aside from Billy Midwinter, he got no support. That was because the recalled Garrett, plus Harry Boyle, ran through the British batsmen, taking four wickets each. England were left on 159 on a pitch that had more in it.

Australia's 195, in response, perhaps didn't entirely prove it. Hugh Massie and Percy McDonnell were the keys, adding 56 together and both setting Test high scores. George Giffen also hit five boundaries, before Dick Barlow cleaned up the Aussie tail, his 3/31 being the leading English bowling performance.

England crashed to 8/54 in their reply. Alfred Shaw and Dick Pilling were able to survive Harry Boyle, though, and added 61 runs together to give England just a sniff. They were eventually all out for 116, with Boyle matching his first innings 4/19 in the second and the Aussies needing just 81 to win. A target that they got to for only the losses of Murdoch and Horan, to take the series 3-1.

159 (Ulyett 94*, Boyle 4/19, Garrett 4/27) and 116 (Pilling 30, Boyle 4/19) lost to 195 (Massie 43, McDonnell 37, Barlow 3/31) and 2/81 (Murdoch 37, Shaw 1/7)
MOTM: Harry Boyle

 

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Slight correction here. This match actually happens before the Ashes series, I just can't read properly.

USA vs England
1 May 1882
Germantown

Lineups:
- Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, John Selby, Billy Bates, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Midwinter, Tom Emmett, William Scotton, Alfred Shaw, Dick Pilling, Ted Peate
- Francis Brewster, Charles Newhall, Robert Newhall, William Morgan, John Thayer, George Wright, Walter Clark, Daniel Newhall, Richard Hargrave, Charles Haines, William Brewster
Debuts: George Wright

The Americans won the toss and bowled. They actually did a pretty decent job. George Ulyett scored 44, but consistent breakthroughs from the bowlers prevented any other English batsmen from scoring 20 or greater. Four bowlers took two wickets on the way to dismissing England for 166.

America lost five cheap wickets in their response, but again their pick of the batsmen were in the lower order, and it showed. Walter Clark and Daniel Newhall both came very close to fifties, Clark scoring 49 and Newhall 46, and they dragged America to a first-innings lead as they scored 174, eight more than the British. For England, Dick Barlow was the best bowler, with 3/27.

Ulyett again succeeded in the second innings, scoring 45, but the big star was Billy Midwinter. Midwinter's 68 was a critical knock in the context of the game, as with the help of first Ulyett and then Alfred Shaw, he dragged England's score to 194, setting a target of 186 for the Americans to win. The Brewster brothers split seven wickets between them.

America finally started a chase well, only to lose 4/3 when they did lose a wicket. From 4/30, the middle order scrapped - 20s for Thayer, Wright, Clark and Daniel Newhall were all nice - but none could go on with it to the required extent. William Brewster at 11 tried his hardest, bludgeoning four fours, but he fell with 27 runs still needed.

166 (Ulyett 44, Clark 2/23, D Newhall 2/23) and 194 (Midwinter 68, Ulyett 45, F Brewster 4/25) beat 174 (Clark 49, D Newhall 46*, Barlow 3/27) and 160 (Thayer 27, Bates 2/15)
MOTM: Billy Midwinter

 

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Scotland vs Australia
27 Jul 1882
Edinburgh

Lineups:
- Leslie Balfour-Melville, Henry Brown, Joseph Cotterill, James Walker, Thomas Fleming, Augustus Asher, Alexander Pearson, Alfred Wood, Peter Thompson, John Craig, David Brown
- Hugh Massie, Billy Murdoch, Tom Horan, Percy McDonnell, George Giffen, Jack Blackham, George Bonnor, Sammy Jones, Tom Garrett, Harry Boyle, Joey Palmer
Debuts: all

Billy Murdoch won the toss and bowled. This looked prudent when the first five wickets fell for 34, but then Pearson (39) and Asher (38) added 71, and Scotland, despite collapsing again after their dismissals, clawed their way to a respectable 121 to start their life in international cricket. Boyle (4/29) and Garrett (4/15) both had four wickets.

Scotland went from respectable to great in their second innings, as they knocked Australia over for 127. Australia were in dire straits at 7/41, but Sammy Jones' 33* and Tom Garrett's 28, plus adequate support from the last two, saw them take the first innings lead. Peter Thompson was the best bowler with 3/30.

The Scots' second innings would have been match-losingly bad if not for Augustus Asher at 6. Asher scored the first Test 50 by a Scot, adding 51, while his compatriots ate balls (Pearson had a thoroughly Marnus-esque 1 (40) this time around) to get them to 162. Boyle and Giffen had three each, although in a potential exposing of Australia's four bowler strategy, Giffen was targeted by Asher.

Australia's second innings seemed to be going swimmingly enough. Billy Murdoch was completely in control, and although Hugh Massie was out early, Tom Horan and then Percy McDonnell provided support. But...
3/111 (Murdoch) -> 4/111 (Giffen) -> 5/117 (Blackham) -> 6/117 (Bonnor) -> 7/119 (McDonnell)
Australia ceded control of the game, losing 5/8 and leaving a monumental task to Sammy Jones - score 38 with the tail to avoid a humiliating loss. Jones added 14 with Garrett, then 10 with Boyle. He needed 14 more with Palmer, who hung in there while Jones looked to score when possible. Slowly the target narrowed down until Jones hit a single off Pearson to tie the scores. Joey Palmer had to survive the over. Palmer propped forward... and was bowled. The Test was tied. The result caused joy in Scotland, and excitement in England, as perhaps this Australian team was so bad that they wouldn't challenge the English in the one Test they had against them. Then again, more knowledgeable critics looked at Australia's team for this game...

121 (Pearson 39, Garrett 4/15) and 162 (Asher 51, Boyle 3/25) tied with 127 (Jones 33*, Thompson 3/30) and 156 (Murdoch 69, Pearson 4/20)
MOTM: Alexander Pearson

 

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Forgot to attach the score to the last post, which feels like a particularly big mistake considering how insane that result is:

 

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England vs Australia
28 Aug 1882
The Oval

Lineups:
- Alick Bannerman, Hugh Massie, Billy Murdoch, George Bonnor, Tom Horan, George Giffen, Sammy Jones, Jack Blackham, Tom Garrett, Harry Boyle, Fred Spofforth
- WG Grace, Dick Barlow, George Ulyett, Bunny Lucas, Alfred Lyttleton, CT Studd, Maurice Read, Billy Barnes, Allan Steel, Fred Morley, Ted Peate
Debuts: CT Studd, Maurice Read

Australia won the toss and batted. It went poorly. Allan Steel and friends knocked Australia over for 80. Studd, Peate and Barlow had three wickets each, while Boyle scored 18, the top score.

England produced a great innings in response. Seven batsmen made 24 or more; five of those made it to 30. But the star of the show was Maurice Read, who scored 64 on debut. Steel's 38 and Morley's 30* supported him while Grace's 33 and Lyttleton's 37 laid the platform. Spofforth (4/96) led the bowlers. England made 305, putting Australia in a tough position.

Australia needed 225 just to make England bat again. And again, no one batsmen stood up. It was a better general effort, with Giffen (26) and Jones (25) top scoring, but the Aussies could only get to 168. Nine Brits bowled (perhaps I should fix this in the ratings), with the standout being Dick Barlow's 2/19.

80 (Boyle 18, Steel 3/16) and 168 (Giffen 26, Barlow 2/19) lost to 305 (Read 64, Spofforth 4/96)
MOTM: Allan Steel

 

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USA vs Australia
11 Oct 1882
Germantown

Lineups:
- Alick Bannerman, Hugh Massie, Billy Murdoch, Tom Horan, George Bonnor, George Giffen, Jack Blackham, Sammy Jones, Tom Garrett, Harry Boyle, Fred Spofforth
- Charles Newhall, John Thayer, Sutherland Law, Walter Clark, Daniel Newhall, Francis Brewster, William Morgan, William Brockie, Richard Caldwell, Richard Hargrave, Charles Haines
Debuts - Brockie

Looking to end a horror tour on the right note, the Aussies did at least win the toss, with Murdoch electing to bat. His team produced their best first innings of the three Tests on the tour, making 163. Admittedly, the top order failed again, but this time the other bats stood up to right the trouble - 34 from Bonnor and 48 from Blackham leading a resurgence. John Thayer's 4/53 stood out from the Americans, but one wonders why they didn't bowl Charles Newhall (2/7 from 7 overs) more.

Harry Boyle dismissed both American openers for ducks. That was much of the story for the top seven, with only Sutherland Law (22) providing any real assistance. But Caldwell and debutant Brockie added 68 for the eighth wicket, saving American blushes and batting them to 123. Boyle ended up taking 4/21, while Giffen was also miserly for his three.

Hugh Massie was the star of the third innings; the Aussie opener made 97, coming within a hair of making Test cricket's second ton. Supporting knocks from Bannerman, Murdoch and Giffen saw Australia up to 246 even after Massie fell to the continually troubling Thayer, who claimed four more Aussie wickets.

The US reply... was an unmitigated disaster.


163 (Blackham 48, Bonnor 34, Thayer 4/53) and 246 (Massie 97, Giffen 40, Thayer 4/39) beat 123 (Caldwell 34, Boyle 4/21) and 49 (Brockie 20, Giffen 4/17, Spofforth 3/7)
MOTM: George Giffen

 

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Australia vs England
30 Dec 1882
MCG

Lineups:
- Alick Bannerman, Hugh Massie, Billy Murdoch, Tom Horan, George Bonnor, George Giffen, Sammy Jones, Jack Blackham, Tom Garrett, Joey Palmer, Fred Spofforth
- Dick Barlow, Ivo Bligh, Charles Leslie, CT Studd, Allan Steel, Walter Read, Billy Bates, Edward Tylecote, George Studd, Billy Barnes, Fred Morley
Debuts: Bligh, Leslie, Read, Tylecote, G Studd

Billy Murdoch won yet another toss and elected to bat. Murdoch himself stood up to deliver Australia a first innings total over 200. Murdoch's 54 was supported by thirties for Bonnor and Giffen, while Blackham hit four fours in 16 balls. Billy Bates dominated, taking 4/22, while Barlow held three wickets but was expensive.

England also had a fifty scored in their first innings, but could have been bowled out for 100 if not for it. Otherwise, CT Studd's 60 held together an innings of struggles, with Edward Tylecote holding on for him at the other end. Slower bowlers did the damage, as Giffen and Palmer took 7/46 between them, justifying the benching of Harry Boyle.

The third innings had a weird similarity to the 1879 MCG Test played by Lord Harris' XI. In both innings, Australia made between 170 and 185 (171 in this case), with Tom Horan top scoring with 36 both times. Garrett (35*), Bonnor (26) and Blackham (20) supported this one, and Morley (4/49) was the pick of the bowlers.

England needed 219, and a withering opening pairing of Garrett and Spofforth had them 3/1. Even thirties from Tylecote and George Studd, plus an obdurate 26 from Barlow, couldn't make them remotely recover from that, as the Aussies - led by Spofforth's 4/20 - went on to win by 95 runs.

204 (Murdoch 54, Bates 4/22) and 171 (Horan 36, Morley 4/49) beat 157 (CT Studd 60, Giffen 4/20, Palmer 3/26) and 123 (Tylecote 32, G Studd 31, Spofforth 4/20)
MOTM: George Giffen