The five-Test 1938 Ashes series between Australia and England was drawn. England and Australia won a Test each, with two of the other Tests drawn and the third game of the series, scheduled for Manchester, abandoned without a ball being bowled, only the second instance of this in more than 60 years of Test cricket. The Australians retained The Ashes.
In all, 30 first-class matches were played, and the Australian team won 15 of them losing only to England and H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's XI. There were also six minor games, the Australians winning five of them.
The touring team
- DG Bradman (captain - SA)
- SJ McCabe (vice-captain - NSW)
- CL Badcock (SA)
- SG Barnes (NSW)
- BA Barnett (VIC)
- WA Brown (QLD)
- AG Chipperfield (NSW)
- JHW Fingleton (NSW)
- LO Fleetwood-Smith (VIC)
- AL Hassett (VIC)
- EL McCormick (VIC)
- WJ O'Reilly (NSW)
- MG Waite (SA)
- CW Walker (SA)
- FA Ward (SA)
- ECS White (NSW)
Manager: WH Jeanes (SA)
The team travelled to England on the P&O liner RMS Strathmore.
Test series summary
First Test
| 10, 11, 13, 14 June 1938 (4-day match) Scorecard |
England 
|
v |  Australia
|
| 658/8d (188 overs) E Paynter 216* (333) LO Fleetwood-Smith 4/153 (49 overs) |
411 (130.3 overs) SJ McCabe 232 (277) K Farnes 4/106 (37 overs) | |
| 427/6d (f/o) (188 overs) DG Bradman 144* (379) H Verity 3/102 (62 overs) |
| Match drawn Trent Bridge, Nottingham Umpires: F Chester and E Robinson |
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- 12 June was taken as a rest day.
- WJ Edrich, RA Sinfield and DVP Wright (all ENG), and AL Hassett and BA Barnett (both AUS) made their Test debuts.
Second Test
| 24, 25, 27, 28 June 1938 (4-day match) Scorecard |
| England
|
v | Australia
|
| 494 (137.3 overs) WR Hammond 240 (394) WJ O'Reilly 4/93 (37 overs) |
422 (121.4 overs) WA Brown 206* (370) H Verity 4/103 (35.4 overs) | |
| 242/8d (72 overs) DCS Compton 76* (137) EL McCormick 3/72 (24 overs) |
204/6 (48.2 overs) DG Bradman 102* (135) WJ Edrich 2/27 (5.2 overs) |
| Match drawn Lord's, London Umpires: EJ Smith and FI Walden |
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- 26 June was taken as a rest day.
Third Test
| 8, 9, 11, 12 July 1938 (4-day match) Scorecard |
| England
|
v | Australia
|
| Match abandoned without a ball bowled Old Trafford, Manchester Umpires: A Dolphin and W Reeves |
- No toss made.
Fourth Test
| 22, 23, 25 July 1938 (4-day match) Scorecard |
| England
|
v | Australia
|
| 223 (98.1 overs) WR Hammond 76 WJ O'Reilly 5/66 (34.1 overs) |
242 (98.4 overs) DG Bradman 103 K Farnes 4/77 (26 overs) | |
| 123 (50.5 overs) CJ Barnett 29 WJ O'Reilly 5/56 (21.5 overs) |
107/5 (32.3 overs) AL Hassett 33 DVP Wright 3/26 (5 overs) |
| Australia won by 5 wickets Headingley, Leeds Umpires: F Chester and EJ Smith |
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- 24 July was taken as a rest day.
- The match was scheduled for four days but completed in three.
- WFF Price (ENG) and MG Waite (AUS) made their Test debuts.
Fifth Test
| 20, 22, 23, 24 August 1938 (Timeless Test) Scorecard |
| England
|
v | Australia
|
| 903/7d (335.2 overs) L Hutton 364 WJ O'Reilly 3/178 (85 overs) |
201 (52.1 overs) WA Brown 69 WE Bowes 5/49 (19 overs) | |
| 123 (f/o) (34.1 overs) BA Barnett 46 K Farnes 4/63 (12.1 overs) |
| England won by an innings and 579 runs The Oval, London Umpires: F Chester and FI Walden |
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- 21 August was taken as a rest day.
- The match was completed in four days.
- A Wood (ENG) and SG Barnes (AUS) made their Test debuts.
The England total of 903-7d is the highest Test innings total to feature a duck - Eddie Paynter was dismissed for 0.
Ceylon
The Australians had a stopover in Colombo en route to England and played a one-day single-innings match there against the Ceylon national team, which at that time did not have Test status.
References
- Gideon Haigh, The Book of Ashes Anecdotes, p. 61
- Walmsley, Keith (2003). Mosts Without in Test Cricket. Reading, England: Keith Walmsley. p. 353. ISBN 0947540067.
- "Ceylon v Australia 1938". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
External links
Annual reviews
Further reading
- Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979
- Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993
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