Australian cricket team in England in 1880

The Australian cricket team in England in 1880 played nine first-class matches including one Test, which was the first ever played in England. They were captained by W.L. Murdoch. The team had difficulty in arranging fixtures against the counties, and prior to the Test match in early September had played only four matches that are now rated as first-class (as well as many fixtures against weaker opposition), despite having already been in England for almost four months.

The Test was a late addition to the programme, being arranged at the instigation of the Surrey secretary, C. W. Alcock, who asked Lord Harris to put together a side. A. N. Hornby, Tom Emmett and George Ulyett refused to play, having unpleasant memories of the Sydney Riot of 1879, but Australia were also seriously handicapped, being without their star bowler, Fred Spofforth.

The Australians won 4, drew 3 and lost 2 of their first-class fixtures. Their only loss other than to England was to Nottinghamshire. That defeat was by only one wicket and came in a match in which they played a man short.

Australian tour party

The Australian team that toured England in 1880.

The Australian party consisted of: W.L. Murdoch (captain), A.C. Bannerman, J.McC. Blackham, G.J. Bonnor, H.F. Boyle, T.U. Groube, A.H. Jarvis, P.S. McDonnell, W.H. Moule, G.E. Palmer, J. Slight, F.R. Spofforth, G. Alexander (player-manager).

Tour matches

No.	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Ref
	13–14 May	18 of St Luke's	Antelope Ground, Southampton	Won by an innings and 22 runs	[1]
1	17–18 May	Derbyshire	County Ground, Derby	Won by eight wickets	[2]
	18 May	Derbyshire (fill-up match)	County Ground, Derby	Drawn	[3]
	20–22 May	18 of Longsight	East Road, Longsight, Manchester	Won by ten wickets	[4]
	22 May	18 of Longsight (fill-up match)	East Road, Longsight, Manchester	Drawn	[5]
	27–29 May	18 of Rochdale	Butcher Meadow, Rochdale	Won by an innings and 26 runs	[6]
	29 May	18 of Rochdale (fill-up match)	Butcher Meadow, Rochdale	Drawn	[7]
	31 May–2 June	18 of Keighley	Hard Ings Road, Keighley	Drawn	[8]
	3–4 June	18 of Burnley and District	Turf Moor, Burnley	Won by an innings and 27 runs	[9]
	5 June	18 of Burnley and District (fill-up match)	Turf Moor, Burnley	Drawn	[10]
	7–9 June	18 of Malton	Old Malton Road, Malton	Won by four wickets	[11]
2	10–11 June	Yorkshire	Dewsbury and Savile Ground, Dewsbury	Won by five wickets	[12]
	11–12 June	Yorkshire (fill-up match)	Dewsbury and Savile Ground, Dewsbury	Drawn	[13]
	14–16 June	18 of North	Ormeau Cricket Ground, Belfast	Won by nine wickets	[14]
	17–18 June	18 of Dublin University	College Park, Dublin	Drawn	[15]
	21–23 June	18 of Birmingham	Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham	Won by an innings and 9 runs	[16]
	23 Jun 1880	18 of Birmingham (fill-up match)	Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham	Drawn	[17]
	24–26 June	18 of Northampton	St. James' End, Northampton	Won by eight wickets	[18]
	28–29 June	18 of Harrogate	St. George's Road, Harrogate	Won by ten wickets	[19]
	29–30 June	18 of Harrogate	St. George's Road, Harrogate	Drawn	[20]
	1–3 July	18 of Newcastle upon Tyne	Bath Road Ground, Newcastle upon Tyne	Drawn	[21]
	5–6 Jul 1880	18 of Middlesbrough	Linthorpe Road West Ground, Middlesbrough	Won by an innings and 26 runs	[22]
	7 July	18 of Middlesbrough (fill-up match)	Linthorpe Road West Ground, Middlesbrough	Drawn	[23]
	8–10 July	18 of Broughton	Broughton Cricket Club Ground, Salford	Drawn	[24]
	12–14 July	Leicestershire	Grace Road, Leicester	Drawn	[25]
	16–17 July	18 of Werneth	The Coppice, Oldham	Won by an innings and 21 runs	[26]
	17 July	18 of Werneth (fill-up match)	The Coppice, Oldham	Drawn	[27]
	19–20 July	18 of Crystal Palace	Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace	Won by ten wickets	[28]
3	22–24 July	Yorkshire	Fartown, Huddersfield	Drawn	[29]
	26–28 July	18 of Hull	Argyle Street, Hull	Drawn	[30]
	29–31 July	18 of Crewe	Alexandra Athletic Ground, Crewe	Drawn	[31]
4	2–4 August	Gloucestershire	Clifton College Close Ground, Clifton, Bristol	Won by 68 runs	[32]
	4 August	Gloucestershire (fill-up match)	Clifton College Close Ground, Clifton, Bristol	Won by ten wickets	[33]
	5–7 August	18 of Hunslet	Woodhouse Hill Ground, Hunslet	Won by eight wickets	[34]
	7 August	18 of Hunslet (fill-up match)	Woodhouse Hill Ground, Hunslet	Drawn	[35]
	9–10 August	18 of Bradford	Park Avenue Cricket Ground, Bradford	Won by ten wickets	[36]
	10–11 August	18 of Bradford (fill-up match)	Park Avenue Cricket Ground, Bradford	Won by three wickets	[37]
	12–13 August	18 of Sunderland	Chester Road, Sunderland	Won by an innings and 38 runs	[38]
	13–14 August	18 of Sunderland (fill-up match)	Chester Road, Sunderland	Drawn	[39]
	19–21 August	18 of Scarborough	North Marine Road, Scarborough	Lost by 90 runs	[40]
	23–25 August	18 of Yeadon	White Swan Ground, Yeadon	Won by an innings and 65 runs	[41]
	26–28 August	18 of Stockport	Higher Hilgate, Stockport	Lost by 100 runs	[42]
	28 August	15 of Stockport (fill-up match)	Higher Hilgate, Stockport	Drawn	[43]
	30 August–1 September	18 of Hastings	Central Recreation Ground, Hastings	Drawn	[44]
5	6–8 September	ENGLAND	Kennington Oval, London	Lost by five wickets	[45]
	10–11 September	18 of Glasgow	Titwood, Glasgow	Drawn	[46]
6	13–15 September	Sussex	County Ground, Hove	Drawn	[47]
	16–18 September	Scotland	Raeburn Place, Edinburgh	Won by six wickets	[48]
7	20–22 September	Players of the North	Park Avenue Cricket Ground, Bradford	Drawn	[49]
8	23–25 September	Nottinghamshire	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	Lost by one wicket	[50]
9	27–29 September	Players	Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace	Won by two wickets	[51]
	29 September	Players (fill-up match)	Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace	Drawn	[52]

Test match

6–8 September 1880 Scorecard

England	v	Australia
420 (210.3 overs) W. G. Grace 152 (294) William Moule 3/23 (12.3 overs)		149 (75.1 overs) Harry Boyle 36* (47) Fred Morley 5/56 (32 overs)
57/5 (33.3 overs) Frank Penn 27* (46) Joey Palmer 3/35 (16.3 overs)		327 (f/o) (176.3 overs) Billy Murdoch 153* (358) Fred Morley 3/90 (61 overs)

England won by 5 wickets Kennington Oval, London Umpires: H. H. Stephenson (Eng) and Bob Thoms (Eng)

• England won the toss and elected to bat.
• George Alexander (Aus), George Bonnor (Aus), Thomas Groube (Aus), Percy McDonnell (Aus), William Moule (Aus), Joey Palmer (Aus), Jim Slight (Aus), Billy Barnes (Eng), E. M. Grace (Eng), Fred Grace (Eng), W. G. Grace (Eng), Alfred Lyttelton (Eng), Fred Morley (Eng), Frank Penn (Eng) and A. G. Steel (Eng) made their Test debut.

See also

• History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883