History of Test cricket from 1884 to 1889 facts for kids

The history of Test cricket between 1884 and 1889 was a time when the English team was much stronger than the Australians. England won every Test series played during these years. This period also saw the word "Test" first used by newspapers in 1885 to describe this special kind of cricket match. The name has stuck ever since!

In 1883, England had won the first ever Ashes series by beating Australia 2–1 in Australia. Even though they lost an extra match at the end of that tour, England stayed dominant for the rest of the 1880s. Out of 19 Test matches played between England and Australia from 1884 to 1889, England won 14, Australia won 3, and 2 matches were draws.

In 1889, the first English team toured South Africa. England easily won both important matches there. These early games in South Africa were only officially called "Tests" much later. The first official tour didn't happen until 1905–06.

Cricket in England: Summer of 1884

Billy Murdoch, Australia's second Test captain.

The first big match of the 1884 season was played at Old Trafford, which was a first for that ground. Back then, the local cricket club chose the team. A N Hornby, a famous player from Lancashire, ended up captaining the English team. The Australian team, led by Billy Murdoch, played well, and the match ended in a draw.

Rain stopped play on the first day. When England finally batted on the second day, they struggled! They lost their captain early, and even the great WG Grace was out quickly. The English team was dismissed for only 95 runs. Harry Boyle and Fred Spofforth bowled brilliantly for Australia. Australia then scored 182. England batted much better in their second turn, reaching 180 for 9. Since it was late on the last day, the game ended as a draw.

The second important match was at Lord's. Australia scored 229 runs first. During this innings, Billy Murdoch, the Australian captain, made history by becoming the first substitute fielder to take a catch in a Test match! He caught his own teammate, Tup Scott, because WG Grace of England had hurt his finger. England then struggled at 135 for 5. But Dick Barlow and Allan Steel played very well, with Steel scoring 149 runs. England ended up with 379. Australia then scored only 145 in their second innings, thanks to George Ulyett taking 7 wickets. England won this match easily.

The third match was at the Oval. Australia batted first and scored a huge 551 runs! They spent a lot of time batting because back then, teams couldn't declare their innings (stop batting early) until 1889. Billy Murdoch made history again, scoring Test cricket's first ever double century (211 runs!). Percy McDonnell and Tup Scott also scored centuries. All 11 English players even got a chance to bowl, which was a first! England struggled in reply, but Walter Read scored a fast 117 runs. The game ended in a draw, meaning England won the series 1–0.

Australia in England 1884. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 1–0.

England Tours Australia: 1884/5

James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw, and Arthur Shrewsbury organized another cricket tour to Australia in 1884/5. Shaw thought this team was the best England had ever sent! However, the tour had problems with arguments over umpires and money.

In the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, there were arguments even before the game started. The English and Australian teams argued about how to share the money from ticket sales. Also, the Australians didn't want Lillywhite to be an umpire. Two local umpires were used instead.

Australia started well, but then lost many wickets quickly. England's Billy Bates took 5 wickets. England then batted brilliantly, with Billy Barnes scoring 134 runs. England won by 8 wickets.

For the second match at the MCG, the Australians demanded half of the ticket money, but they were refused. Because of this, the Australian team had 11 new players! Lillywhite was allowed to umpire this game, but it was the last time. England easily won this match by 10 wickets. Australia was now losing the series 2–0.

With a stronger team, Australia won the third Test by just 6 runs in a very close game. England's last 4 wickets fell for only 13 runs. In the fourth Test, Australia's George Bonnor scored an amazing 128 runs very quickly on a difficult pitch. England then struggled in their second innings, scoring only 77 runs. Australia easily chased the small target of 38 runs to win. The series was now tied at 2–2!

Sadly, the fifth and final Test was very one-sided. Australia batted first but struggled, scoring only 163. Fred Spofforth scored a half-century batting at number 11! Then, Arthur Shrewsbury became the first England captain to score a century, helping England get a huge 386 runs. England then bowled Australia out for just 125. England won the series 3–2.

England in Australia 1884/5. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 3–2.

The English Summer of 1886

The Australian team that toured England in 1886 was not as strong as previous teams. Many key players were missing. The experts thought they would do well, but they were wrong! The Australians lost all three Test matches.

In the first Test at Old Trafford, Allan Steel captained England. Australia scored 205 runs. England then scored 223. By the end of the second day, Australia had a small lead. On the last day, Australia was bowled out for 105, setting England a target of 106 to win. England lost some early wickets but managed to win by 4 wickets. Dick Barlow was celebrated for his great performance.

In the second Test at Lord's, Arthur Shrewsbury played an amazing innings of 164 runs for England. This was the highest score by an Englishman in Tests at that time! England scored 353. Australia then struggled, being bowled out for 121 and 126. Johnny Briggs took 11 wickets in the match. England won by an innings and 106 runs.

WG Grace, who scored an English-record 170 at the Oval in 1886.

At the Oval, England batted first. WG Grace and William Scotton put on a huge 170-run partnership for the first wicket. Grace went on to score 170 runs, setting a new record for the highest English Test score! England finished with 434 runs. When Australia batted, rain made the pitch difficult. England's bowlers, George Lohmann and Johnny Briggs, bowled brilliantly. Australia was bowled out for only 68 runs in their first innings and 149 in their second. England won by a massive innings and 217 runs! England had won every single Test match in the series, 3–0.

Australia in England 1886. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 3–0.

England Tours Australia: 1886/7

England captain and tour-promoter, Arthur Shrewsbury.

In 1886, Lillywhite, Shaw, and Shrewsbury organized their third tour. The English team wasn't very strong, and many players were from Nottinghamshire, the organizers' home county. The team also had a reputation for playing slowly, which made the games less exciting and poorly attended.

In the first Test, Australian captain Percy McDonnell made history by asking the other team to bat first after winning the coin toss. This was a first in Test cricket! England was bowled out for only 45 runs, which is still England's lowest ever Test score! Australia then scored 119. England fought back, scoring 184 in their second innings, setting Australia a target of 111 to win. But Billy Barnes and George Lohmann bowled brilliantly, dismissing Australia for just 97 runs. England won by 13 runs!

In the second Test, England scored 151 runs. George Lohmann then bowled amazingly, taking 8 wickets for England, a new record! Australia was bowled out for only 84. England then scored 154, setting Australia a target of 222 to win. Australia struggled again and lost by 71 runs. England had now won six Test matches in a row against Australia! In this match, Billy Gunn played for England and also helped as an umpire when one was missing.

England in Australia 1886/7. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England win 2–0.

England v Australia: 1887/8

In 1887/8, two different English teams toured Australia at the same time! One team was organized by Lillywhite, Shaw, and Shrewsbury. The other was an amateur team led by George Vernon. The two teams joined together to form one united England side for a special Test match. Walter Read was chosen as captain.

The game was affected by wet weather and had low scores. Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. This seemed like a good idea as their bowlers, Jack Ferris and Charlie Turner, took 9 wickets between them. England was bowled out for only 113. When Australia batted, George Lohmann and Bobby Peel bowled brilliantly, dismissing them for just 42 runs! After more rain delays, England set Australia a target of 209 to win. Lohmann and Peel took 8 more wickets together, and England won by 126 runs.

England in Australia 1887/8. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. One-off Test. Result: England won.

Cricket in England: Summer of 1888

The Australian team that toured England in 1888 was thought to be very weak. But they surprised everyone by winning their first five matches! The Test series had very low scores, with seven of the ten innings ending with 100 runs or less.

In the first Test at Lord's, England only needed 124 runs to win, but they fell short by 61 runs! This was Australia's first victory in England since the famous Ashes Test six years earlier.

For the second Test, the legendary WG Grace was chosen to captain England. He was a truly great player. Australia was bowled out for only 80 runs. England then scored 317, thanks to a great partnership between Bobby Abel and Billy Barnes. Australia then collapsed again, scoring only 100 runs. England won by an innings and 137 runs.

In the third Test, England batted first and scored 172. Australia had to bat on a more difficult pitch and were bowled out for 81 and then 70. England won by an innings and 21 runs. The game ended very quickly, before lunch on the second day! England won the series 2–1.

Australia in England 1888. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 2–1.

England Tours South Africa: First Tests 1888/9

This was the first time an English cricket team toured South Africa. The English team wasn't super strong, but the South African team was very new to Test cricket. These games were not considered "Tests" by England at the time, but they are now! The tour was a financial success, and the English cricketers were warmly welcomed.

England was led by Aubrey Smith, who later became a famous Hollywood actor! The English team played 19 games, winning 13 (including the two Tests), losing four, and two were stopped early.

In the first Test, England beat South Africa by 8 wickets on the second day. About 3,000 people watched the first day.

Monty Bowden became England's youngest ever Test captain at 23 years old in the Second Test, because Aubrey Smith was injured. England scored 292 runs. They then bowled South Africa out for only 47 and 43 runs, winning by a huge margin! Sadly, Bowden died three years later in South Africa after an accident. He might not have even known that the games he played were later called Test matches.

England in South Africa 1888/9. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England win 2–0.