On 17 February, 1882, the first Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia took place. From 17 to 21 February, England and Australia battled at the SCG, then known as the Association Cricket Ground.
The game began with England batting first. The team managed to put 133 on the scoreboard. Dick Barlow was the top scorer of the innings with 31 runs to his name.
Aussie bowlers Joey Palmer and Edwin Evans were pivotal in restricting the English side to a low total. While Palmer scalped 7 wickets for 68 runs, Evans took the remaining three.
England though fought back and bowled Australia out for 197 as off spinner Billy Bates took four wickets. Hugh Massie was the top scorer with 49.
England’s second innings saw them put up a much better effort as they scored 232 runs, with Barlow once again top-scoring with 62. Palmer scalped 4 wickets for 97 runs, while Tom Garrett finished with the figures of 4/42. Evans and Sammy Jones took one wicket each.
The Aussies needed to score 169 to achieve victory. Skipper Billy Murdoch led the charge with a crucial 49. He was assisted by Garrett who scored 31 runs, and Massie, Tom Horan and Percy McDonnell, who scored 22, 21 and 25 runs, respectively. Australia won the first Test match ever held in Sydney by five wickets.
According to ESPNCricinfo, during the course of the game, Aussie skipper Murdoch was given a gold watch, as well as a gold Maltese cross for his score of 321 in the New South Wales vs Victoria match. Both George Ulyett and Barlow were also given a Maltese cross set with diamonds for their fine batting performance in the game.
The SCG is also significant in the origin of the Ashes tournament between Australia and England. In 1882, the Aussies toured England and won their first Test on English soil at the Kennington Oval. With the hosts’ defeat, a satirical obit was published in The Sporting Times, which lamented that English cricket had died, with “the ashes being taken to Australia”, as per a report in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The English team decided to avenge their defeat at the Oval in their 1882-83 tour of Australia. The three match series was won by England 2-1, with the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground becoming the decider.
After winning the series, a pair of bails were burnt and their ashes put into the now famous urn. Till date, the famous Australia-England rivalry continues over this trophy.
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