Australia England Most runs Percy McDonnell (299) | Captains Billy Murdoch Most wickets Joey Palmer (24) | |
Dates 31 December 1881 – 14 March 1882 Result Australia won the 4-match series 2–0 | ||
The 1881–82 Australia v England Test series was part of a first-class cricket tour of Australia, New Zealand and the United States by an England team led by Alfred Shaw. The four matches between Australia and the England team were later classified as Test matches, but are included in The Ashes which began later in 1882. The English tourists also played three other first-class matches in Australia.
Contents
The team travelled across the Atlantic first and played five matches in the USA during October. Their first match in Australia began on 23 November. Having played the first Test at the turn of the year, the team went to New Zealand and played seven matches before returning to Australia in February. The final match ended on 18 March.
First Test
Whilst this match was designated as a timeless Test, the ship that was due to take the tourists to New Zealand was set to depart on the morning of 4 January. The authorities pushed back the departure time to 3:45 pm in the hope that match would yield a result. However, it was all in vain as after 55 overs bowled in the 4th innings Australia were still 156 runs short of their target with three wicket down. The resulted in Test cricket's first ever draw.
Fourth Test
Whilst this match was designated as a timeless Test, the tourist were due to depart Melbourne on the evening on 14 March in order to play a two-day match in Dunolly the following day. With rain washing out the entire fourth day's play, this resulted in Test cricket's second ever draw and Australia taking out the series 2–0.
Note: 4 ball overs for whole series.