The birth of Test cricket

Cricket's first ever Test match took place on this day in 1877.

www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149524.html

For all the stick England get about overseas players representing them through the years (and fairly so), it should be noted that six of Australia's players in this Test were born overseas.

My favourite story regarding the first Test was that both teams spent the evening at the opera together. Can't quite imagine that happening in this day and age 

The story of Ted Pooley is an interesting one:

www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/26/th...cket-scandals-fixing

Australia was basically England's territory isn't? I learn from my history books that Australia won the very first official match against England. It's really ironic to think though.
By the way, it was really an interesting read, The Birth of Test Cricket.

Nice read !

Nice to see Pooley  drank the entire bottle of Champagne

and had to be replaced as wicket keeper !

There are some fantastic cricket stories dating back to the late 1800s. Another of my favourites was the ongoing series of cricket matches billed as smokers vs non-smokers where prizes included 500 cigars for the best bowler of the smokers and 200 cigars for the best bowler of the non-smokers. I find it ironically humourous that the non-smokers actually received cigars as their prizes.  ::confused::

The Wikipedia entry is a goldmine for hilarious anecdotes of the series, including reports that the Smokers walked onto the pitch smoking cigars and the match ended in unusual circumstances when William Scotton, eager to claim the ball as a souvenir of the high-scoring match, defended the latest delivery and picked the ball up. The fielders—who also wanted the souvenir—appealed, and Scotton was ruled out, having handled the ball.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokers_v_Non-Smok...Second_match.2C_1887

Billy Gunn played a part in both matches for the Smokers. Along with playing international cricket for England, Gunn also represented the England football team and most famously scored a goal in the inaugural 1884 British Home Championship.

Gunn is probably best remembered, however, for founding the sports equipment firm Gunn and Moore in 1885. Among the cricketers to have used Gunn & Moore bats through the years include Joe Root, Steve Waugh, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson, Michael Vaughan, Anil Kumble and Ross Taylor.

First  test matches?  England vs USA/Canada, 1859   :-[

Speaking of cricket in the US, I recently came across this article in the Smithsonian that provides some wonderful stories of cricket in America in the early 1700s.

Read more: www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/the...ted-states-132185661

Pictured below are various bats that were used during cricket's nascent stages:

First international cricket match (1844) in....USA!
First Pom overseas tour (1859) to....USA!
Second OZ overseas tour (1878) to....USA!
First Ireland overseas tour (1879) to....USA!
First Rasta overseas tour (1885) to....USA!


USA once TRENDSETTER in international cricket!!  ::love:: ::love:: ::love::


Today?  Dainty 'n G'yana MAFIA!    ::dead:: ::

Once Upon a Time when Brits were in Amrica during that era

they brought the Game there and organised "Tours" and so called "Test matches"

For example in India they thought the Locals and played them

a Game for Tax elimination : see the movie about it named " Lagaan"

count these 11 men  :-\