Test Cricket Tours - Australia to England 1893

---

Tour of England 1893 Captain: Jack Blackham

Eighth Australians

Seventh Test-playing tour of England by Australia

(April - September )

Mr Victor Cohen, the New South Wales Cricket Association's Treasurer, let it be known that a representative Australian team could visit England in 1892, but the counties were reluctant to extend an invitation. The idea was abandoned when Nottinghamshire proposed that 1894 would be soon enough. Lord Hawke (Yorkshire) and AJ Webbe (Middlesex) among others supported this proposal and it was unanimously carried. However, it was later decided to accept the tour being brought forward by one year, and to accommodate the South Africans in 1894.

At first it was hoped that Billy Murdoch would lead the side again but the selectors ruled him out (as well as Jack Ferris) on the grounds that his home was now in England. So Blackham on his eighth tour of England became captain - a role to which he was to prove unsuited, failing to get the best out of his team.

When the newly-formed Australasian Cricket Council were unhappy with some of the players selected, they found that the rules restricted their power to approval of the team as a whole.

"The team was not a happy family" remarked Trott. Press report had Cohen saying some were drunk time after time and some of the team were absolutely unmanageable.

All Australian tours

Previous tour

England 1890

Next tour

England 1896

Members of the Test tour party (14)

A C Bannerman	NSW	34	RHB opener vice-captain
J M Blackham	Vic	40	WK captain
W Bruce	Vic	29	LHB opener
A Coningham	Q	27	LHB LFM
G Giffen	S A	34	RHB RM
W F Giffen	S A	29	RHB
H Graham	Vic	22	RHB
S E Gregory	NSW	23	RHB
A H Jarvis	S A	32	reserve WK
J J Lyons	S A	30	RHB
R W McLeod	Vic	25	RM
G H S Trott	Vic	26	RHB LB
H Trumble	Vic	26	RM/OB
C T B Turner	NSW	30	RFM

Average age of team at time of first Test match

(17 July 1893) :

29 yrs 6 months

Representation

NSW New South Wales (3)

Q Queensland (1)

SA South Australia (4)

Vic Victoria (6)

Key to type:

RHB Right-handed bat

RM Right arm medium-paced bowler

RFM Right-arm fast medium

OB Off break

WK Wicket-keeper

Test Appearances made before the tour

Blackham 31, Bannerman 25, G Giffen 20, Turner 11, Trott 8, Bruce 7, Jarvis 7, Lyons 7, W F Giffen 3, Gregory 3, McLeod 3, Trumble 2, Coningham 0, Graham 0.

Team Officials

Victor Cohen	Tour manager
Dr Roland Pope	Assistant to manager
- Batchelor	Scorer

Selectors

The manager, Mr Cohen, was responsible for the team and said in an interview “in March, 1892 I invited the co-operation of Messrs. Bannerman, Turner, Bruce, Blackham and Lyons to assist me in choosing the remainder of the team."

Selection

Cohen was appointed manager by the Australasian Cricket Council on 17 September 1892.

Unavailable George Giffen would not tour unless his brother were included. W L Murdoch and J J Ferris, living in England, were not considered.

Tour Party Announced 12 January 1893.

Not selected

Arthur Coningham was a late addition to the tour party when the Australasian Cricket Council insisted on a 14th player.

The captaincy was settled at a meeting on arrival in England on 27 April.

Travel

Bruce and Trumble left on 2 March on the 'Ophir' but most of the team sailed from Sydney on the 'Orizaba' on 11 March 1893, via Melbourne and Adelaide. The ship reached Gibraltar on 22 April and Tilbury on the evening of 26 April. The team headquarters was the Tavistock Hotel in Covent Garden, London.

On-tour selection panel

Bannerman, Giffen and Turner were named as the panel but Coningham said "Bannerman was virtually allowed to pick the teams day after day".

Reinforcements

Manager V Cohen and J Phillips played in the team against Ceylon. Albert Trott played against Leicestershire.

George Giffen suffered from a leg injury and Turner from the effects of flu, badly affecting the bowling strength.

Fixtures/Results

†  Colombo	XVI of Ceylon	Drawn
Uckfield	Lord Sheffield's XI	Lost 8 w
†  Edgbaston	Warwickshire	Won 10 w
Bristol	Gloucestershire	Drawn
Lord's	M C C & Ground	Drawn
Sheffield	Yorkshire	Lost 64 r
Old Trafford	Lancashire	Won inns 14 r
Kennington Oval	Surrey	Lost 58 r
Oxford	Oxford University	Won 19 r
Bradford	Yorkshire	Drawn
Cambridge	Cambridge University	Won 117 r
Lord's	M C C & Ground	Lost 3 w
Kennington Oval	South of England	Lost 10 w
Lord's	Players of England	Won 6 w
Gravesend	Kent	Won inns 1 r
Trent Bridge	Arthur Shrewsbury's England XI	Lost inns 153 r
Old Trafford	North of England	Won 3 w
†  Derby	Derbyshire	Won inns 71 r
†  Leicester	Leicestershire	Won inns 51 r
Headingley	Yorkshire	Won 145 r
Hove	Sussex	Won 8 w
LORD'S	ENGLAND First Test	DRAWN
Taunton	Somerset	Won 6 w
Lord's	Middlesex	Won 390 r
Kennington Oval	Surrey	Won 6 w
Portsmouth	Oxford & Cambridge Past & Present	Drawn
†  Leyton	Essex	Drawn
Canterbury	Kent	Lost 36 r
Aigburth, Liverpool	Liverpool & District	Won inns 34 r
KENNINGTON OVAL	ENGLAND Second Test	LOST inns 43 r
Cheltenham	Gloucestershire	Won 8 w
Edgbaston	Second-class Counties XI	Won 4 w
OLD TRAFFORD	ENGLAND Third Test	DRAWN
†  Blackpool	XVI of Blackpool	Won 79 r
Trent Bridge	Nottinghamshire	Won inns 154 r
Scarborough	C I Thornton's XI	Drawn
Hastings	South of England	Lost 6 w
Philadelphia	Gentlemen of Philadelphia	Lost inns 68 r
†  New York	XVIII of New York & District	Drawn
Manheim, Philadelphia	Gentlemen of Philadelphia	Won 6 w
†  Boston	XII of Massachussets	Won 8 w
Toronto	Canada	Won inns 70 r
†  Detroit	XII of Detroit	Won inns 107 r

†  not first-class

Test appearances on tour

3 - Bannerman, Blackham, Bruce, G Giffen, Graham, Gregory, Lyons, McLeod, Trott, Trumble, Turner.

0 - Coningham, W F Giffen, Jarvis.

Highlights

- Harry Graham scored a century (107) on debut at Lord's, also his maiden century in first-class cricket.

- George Giffen took 7 wickets for 128 in England's massive innings of 483 at The Oval.

- In the first match against MCC Jack Lyons played a great innings of 149 and Bob McLeod took 5 for 29.

- On his third and last tour of England Turner was often ill but nevertheless topped the bowling again. His number of wickets was 283 in 1888, 179 in 1890, and 148 in 1893, giving a total of 610; average 12.90.

Tour Summary

	P	W	L	D	Aban
Test Matches	3	0	1	2	-
Other first-class matches	28	14	9	5	-
Minor matches	5	4	0	1	-
In America	6	4	1	1	-
All Matches	42	22	11	9	-

Return to Australia

On 19 September the team left Euston Station, London, for Liverpool and sailed for America the next day on the 'Germanic'. They were welcomed at New York on 28 September by Captain Greene of the Philadelphia Club, and six matches were played.

Turner did not go to America being compelled to return direct to Australia. He was chosen to play for WG Grace's XI in an end of season benefit but in the end he did not play. He returned to Australia on the ' Orizaba' on 22 September.

The team returned to Sydney on 10 December.

Finances

The players complained about the dividend paid, and that they were unable to see satisfactory accounts.

Written accounts of the tour