On this day, March 15, 1877, the first cricket test match was played between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Dave Gregory, the captain of Australia, decided to bat first. With the help of an outstanding 100 from opener Charles Bannerman, the hosts scored 245 runs in their first innings. He made a century scored 165 runs in the first ever test cricket match, became the first player to do so, that included 18 fours. The fact that Tom Garrett, who scored 18 runs, was the second highest run scorer for Bannerman indicates that his teammates did not back him well.
In response, England was bowled out for 196 runs to Australia’s score of 245, giving up a lead of 49 runs. Harry Jupp, their opener, played a crucial innings of 63 runs off 241 balls with the help of two fours. Billy Midwinter, an Australian bowler, took 5 wickets for 78 runs in his 54 overs.
The Australian team’s batsmen were unable to stay longer at the crease in the second innings, as they were all bowled out for just 104 runs in 68 overs. For the England team, Alfred Shaw took 5 wickets, conceding just 38 runs. In order to win the first ever cricket test match, England had to score 154 runs in the fourth innings.
But the Australian bowlers proved to be too strong for the England team, who were routed for 108 runs in 66.1 overs. Eight of England’s starting lineup’s eleven batsmen failed to reach the two-digit threshold. Tom Kendall had a great bowling performance for Australia and took 7 wickets for 55 runs in the second innings. In the first cricket test match (1877), Australia defeated Team England by 45 runs after four days of play.
