English cricket team in Australia and New Zealand in 1876–77

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Cricket series

1876–77 Australia v England Series

Date

15 March – 4 April 1877

Location

Australia

Result

The 2-Test series was drawn 1-1

Teams
Australia	England
Captains
Dave Gregory	James Lillywhite
Most runs
Charles Bannerman (209) Nat Thomson (67)	George Ulyett (139) Allen Hill (101)
Most wickets
Tom Kendall (14) Billy Midwinter (8)	James Lillywhite (8) Alfred Shaw (8)

← →

The Australia and New Zealand tour of the England cricket team in 1876–77 was at the time considered to be another professional first-class cricket tour of the colonies, as similar tours had occurred previously, but retrospectively it became classified as the first Test cricket tour of Australia by the English cricket team. The English team is sometimes referred to as James Lillywhite's XI. In all, they played 23 matches but only three including the two Tests are recognised as first-class. The first match started at the Adelaide Oval on 16 November 1876 and the last at the same venue on 14 April 1877. There were fifteen matches in Australia and, between January and March, eight in New Zealand.

A rival tour had been proposed by Fred Grace but was cancelled, enabling most of the best players of the Australian colonies to participate in two matches against James Lillywhite's side. Fred Spofforth, widely regarded as the best Australian fast bowler, controversially withdrew from the first match in protest over the omission of Billy Murdoch as wicket-keeper. Starting on 15 March 1877 the two sides played two matches, later designated Test matches, and the series was drawn 1-1.

For more details about the establishment of Test cricket, see the first Test tour: 1876/7. Although both matches have Test status, this series is not considered to be part of The Ashes, which began in 1882.

Squads

Australia	England
Dave Gregory (c) Jack Blackham (wk) Charles Bannerman Bransby Cooper Tom Garrett Ned Gregory John Hodges Tom Horan Tom Kendall Billy Midwinter Nat Thomson Thomas Kelly Billy Murdoch Fred Spofforth	James Lillywhite (c) John Selby (wk) Tom Armitage Henry Charlwood Tom Emmett Andrew Greenwood Allen Hill Harry Jupp Alfred Shaw James Southerton George Ulyett

Ted Pooley was also a member of the English touring party, but had had to be left behind in New Zealand after he was charged with assault.

Matches

First Test

15–19 March 1877
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
245 (169.3 overs) Charles Bannerman 165 (r/h) Alfred Shaw 3/51 (55.3 overs)		196 (136.1 overs) Harry Jupp 63 (241) Billy Midwinter 5/78 (54 overs)
104 (68 overs) Tom Horan 20 (32) Alfred Shaw 5/38 (34 overs)		108 (66.1 overs) John Selby 38 (81) Tom Kendall 7/55 (33.1 overs)

Australia won by 45 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: Curtis Reid (Aus) and Ben Terry (Eng)

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
Charles Bannerman, Jack Blackham, Bransby Cooper, Tom Garrett, Dave Gregory, Ned Gregory, John Hodges, Tom Horan, Tom Kendall, Billy Midwinter, Nat Thomson (Aus), Tom Armitage, Henry Charlwood, Tom Emmett, Andrew Greenwood, Allen Hill, Harry Jupp, James Lillywhite, John Selby, Alfred Shaw, James Southerton and George Ulyett (Eng) all made their Test debuts.

Second Test

31 March – 4 April 1877
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
122 (112.1 overs) Billy Midwinter 31 Allen Hill 4/27 (27 overs)		261 (130.2 overs) George Ulyett 52 Tom Kendall 4/82 (52.2 overs)
259 (154.3 overs) Dave Gregory 43 James Southerton 4/46 (28.3 overs)		6/122 (52.1 overs) George Ulyett 63 John Hodges 2/13 (6 overs)

England won by 4 wickets
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: Sam Cosstick (Aus) and Ben Terry (Eng)

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
Thomas Kelly, Billy Murdoch and Fred Spofforth (Aus) all made their Test debuts.

Records

Individual records

Most runs	Charles Bannerman	209
Most wickets	Tom Kendall	14
Most catches (excluding wicket-keepers)	Tom Emmett	4
Highest individual innings	Charles Bannerman	165 (retired hurt)
Best innings bowling	Tom Kendall	7/55 (First Test, second innings)
Highest match total	Charles Bannerman	169 (First Test)
Best match bowling	Tom Kendall / Alfred Shaw	8 (First Test)

Team records

Best innings	England	261 (Second Test, first innings)
Worst innings	England	108 (First Test, second innings)
Tosses won	Australia	2 (of 2)

Other records

Alfred Shaw (Eng) bowled the first ball in Test cricket.
Charles Bannerman (Aus) faced the first ball in Test cricket.
Charles Bannerman (Aus) scored the first run in Test cricket.
Ned Gregory (Aus) took the first duck in Test cricket.
Charles Bannerman (Aus) scored the first century in Test cricket.
Charles Bannerman (Aus) scored 69.6% of his team's match runs, still a world record.
Allen Hill (Eng) took the first wicket in Test cricket.
Allen Hill (Eng) took the first catch in Test cricket.
Billy Midwinter (Aus) took the first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Jack Blackham (Aus) took the first catch by a wicket-keeper in Test cricket.
Jack Blackham (Aus) made the first stumping in Test cricket.
Alfred Shaw (Eng) was the first Englishman to have taken a five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Australia is the first team to have won a Test match and remain the only country to win their inaugural Test match.

External links

CricketArchive – tour itinerary. Retrieved 24 May 2014.

The Ashes

List of Ashes series

1850

													1884		1886				1888		1890		1893		1896		1899
												1882–83		1884–85		1886–87		1887–88				1891–92		1894–95		1897–98

1900

	1902		1905		1909		1912		World War I			1921		1926		1930		1934		1938		World War II			1948
1901–02		1903–04		1907–08		1911–12					1920–21		1924–25		1928–29		1932–33		1936–37					1946–47

1950

	1953		1956		1961		1964		1968		1972		1975		1977		1981		1985		1989		1993		1997
1950–51		1954–55		1958–59		1962–63		1965–66		1970–71		1974–75				1978–79		1982–83		1986–87		1990–91		1994–95		1998–99

2000

	2001		2005		2009		2013		2015		2019		2023
		2002–03		2006–07		2010–11		2013–14		2017–18		2021–22

Non-Ashes Australia v England Test series
1876–77 1878–79 1880 1881–82 1882 1945 1976–77 1979–80 1980 1987–88 2027

Matches in white background were played in England, yellow – in Australia.

v t e Australia squad – Australia vs England 1876–77 test series (drawn)
D. Gregory (c) Bannerman Blackham (†) Cooper Garrett N. Gregory Hodges Horan Kendall Kelly Midwinter Murdoch Spofforth Thomson

v t e England squad – Australia vs England 1876–77 Test series (drawn)
Lillywhite (c) Armitage Charlwood Emmett Greenwood Hill Jupp Selby (†) Shaw Southerton Ulyett

International cricket tours of Australia

Test and LOI tours
Afghanistan	2021–22 (cancelled)
Bangladesh	2003 2008
England	1876–77 1878–79 1881–82 1882–83 1884–85 1886–87 1887–88 1891–92 1894–95 1897–98 1901–02 1903–04 1907–08 1911–12 1920–21 1924–25 1928–29 1932–33§ 1936–37 1946–47§ 1950–51§ 1954–55§ 1958–59§ 1962–63§ 1965–66§ 1970–71§ 1974–75§ 1977 1978–79 1979–80 1982–83 1986–87 1987–88§ 1990–91 1994–95 1998–99 2002–03 2006–07 2010–11 2013–14 2017–18 2021–22 2022–23
India	1947–48 1967–68§ 1977–78 1980–81§ 1985–86 1991–92 1999–2000 2003–04 2007–08 2011–12 2014–15 2015–16 2018–19 2020–21 2024–25
New Zealand	1973–74 1980–81 1982–83 1985–86 1987–88 1989–90 1993–94 1997–98 2001–02 2004–05 2008–09 2011–12 2015–16 2016–17 2019–20 2022–23
Pakistan	1964–65§ 1972–73§ 1976–77 1978–79§ 1981–82 1983–84 1989–90 1992–93 1995–96 1996–97 1999–2000 2002 2004–05 2009–10 2016–17 2019–20 2023–24 2024–25
South Africa	1910–11 1931–32§ 1952–53§ 1963–64§ 1971–72 (cancelled) 1993–94 1997–98 2000 2001–02 2005–06 2008–09 2012–13 2014–15 2016–17 2018–19 2022–23
Sri Lanka	1987–88 1989–90 1995–96 2004 2007–08 2010–11 2012–13 2016–17 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22
West Indies	1930–31 1951–52§ 1960–61 1968–69§ 1975–76 1979–80§ 1981–82 1984–85 1988–89 1992–93 1995–96 1996–97 2000–01 2005–06 2009–10 2012–13 2015–16 2020–21 2022–23 2023–24
Zimbabwe	1994–95 2003–04 2022

Tournaments hosted
World Cup	1992 2015
T20 World Cup	2022
Tri-series	1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2011–12 2014–15 2017–18
Other multi-team tournaments	1985 1987

Other tours
Afghanistan	2014–15
Australian Forces	1919–20 1945–46
English	1861–62 1863–64 1873–74 1902–03 1922–23 1929–30 1935–36 1979–80
England Lions	2012–13 2021
Fijian	1907–08
Ireland	2014–15
Multi-national	1971–72 2005–06
Nepal	2023–24
New Zealand	1898–99 1913–14 1925–26 1927–28 1937–38 1953–54 1961–62 1967–68 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1974–75
PNG	2014–15
Scotland	2014–15
Sri Lanka	1982–83
UAE	2014–15
World Series Cricket (West Indies & World XI)	1977-78 1978-79
Pakistan A	2024

§: Toured New Zealand as well as Australia

v t e International cricket tours of New Zealand
Test and LOI tours
Australia	1945–46 1973–74 1976–77 1981–82 1985–86 1989–90 1992–93 1997–98 1999–2000 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2009–10 2015–16 2016–17 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2023–24
Bangladesh	2001–02 2007–08 2009–10 2016–17 2018–19 2020–21 2021–22 2023–24
England	1929–30 1932–33 1946–47 1950–51 1954–55 1958–59 1962–63 1965–66 1970–71 1974–75 1977–78 1982–83 1983–84 1987–88 1990–91 1991–92 1996–97 2001–02 2007–08 2012–13 2017–18 2019–20 2022–23 2024–25
India	1967–68 1975–76 1980–81 1989–90 1993–94 1998–99 2002–03 2008–09 2013–14 2018–19 2019–20 2022–23
Ireland	2023–24
Pakistan	1964–65 1972–73 1978–79 1984–85 1988–89 1992–93 1993–94 1995–96 2000–01 2003–04 2009–10 2010–11 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2020–21 2023–24
South Africa	1931–32 1952–53 1963–64 1994–95 1998–99 2003–04 2011–12 2014–15 2016–17 2021–22 2023–24
Sri Lanka	1982–83 1990–91 1994–95 1996–97 2000–01 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2014–15 2015–16 2018–19 2022–23 2024–25
West Indies	1930–31 1951–52 1955–56 1968–69 1979–80 1986–87 1994–95 1999–2000 2005–06 2008–09 2013–14 2017–18 2020–21
Zimbabwe	1995–96 1997–98 2000–01 2011–12
Tournaments hosted
Multiple teams	1989–90 1991–92 1994–95 2014–15 2017–18 2022–23
Other tours
Australian	1877–78 1880–81 1886–87 1896–97 1904–05 1909–10 1913–14 1920–21 1927–28 1949–50 1956–57 1959–60 1966–67 1969–70
Bangladeshi	1997–98
Dutch	1987–88 1992–93 2021–22
English	1863–64 1876–77 1878–79 1881–82 1887–88 1902–03 1906–07 1922–23 1935–36 1936–37 1938–39 1960–61 1979–80
Fijian	1894–95 1947–48 1953–54 1961–62 1967–68 1977–78
Multi-national	1961–62 1978–79

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