The

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

toured

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in November 1896, playing five matches. They were returning from their 1896 tour of England. It was Australia's fourth tour of New Zealand, after tours in 1877–78, 1880–81 and 1886–87. The Australians played four matches against provincial teams, three of which fielded 18 players (the other team,

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, fielded 15). The final match of the tour was against a

15. It was New Zealand's first international match, following the formation of the

New Zealand Cricket Council New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

in 1894.

Don Neely Donald Owen Neely (21 December 1935 – 16 June 2022) was a New Zealand cricket historian, administrator and player. He served as president of New Zealand Cricket and wrote or co-wrote over 30 books on New Zealand cricket. Early life Neely wa ...

& Richard Payne, ''Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985'', Moa, Auckland, 1986, pp. 35–38. All previous Australian teams had played only against provincial sides. The Australians defeated

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

, Otago and New Zealand, and drew against

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. As none of the matches were 11-a-side they are not considered to have been first-class.

The Australian team

Harry Trott George Henry Stevens Trott (5 August 1866 – 9 November 1917) was an Australian cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "it is a ...

(captain) *

Joe Darling Joseph Darling (21 November 1870 – 2 January 1946) was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test cricket, Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain (cricket), captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, wi ...

Charles Eady Charles John Eady (29 October 1870 – 20 December 1945) was an Australian sportsman, lawyer and politician. Life and career Eady was a cricketer who played for Tasmanian clubs and representative sides in the era before Tasmania was accepted ...

George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...

* Harry Graham *

Syd Gregory Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 – 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches duri ...

Clem Hill Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolifi ...

Frank Iredale Francis Adams Iredale (19 June 1867 – 15 April 1926) was an Australian cricketer who played 14 Test matches between 1888 and 1902. Early life Frank Iredale was born to Thomas Richardson and Margaret Iredale (nee Adams) on 19 June 1867 at th ...

* Alfred Johns * Ernie Jones * James Kelly *

Tom McKibbin Thomas Robert McKibbin (10 December 1870 – 15 December 1939) was an Australian cricketer who played in five Test matches from 1895 to 1898. Early life McKibbin was born in Raglan, on the outskirts of Bathurst, New South Wales. He was educat ...

Hugh Trumble Hugh Trumble (19 May 1867 – 14 August 1938) was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wic ...

Harry Donnan Henry Donnan (12 November 1864 – 13 August 1956) was an Australian cricketer who played in 5 Tests between 1892 and 1896. Donnan scored the first century in the Sheffield Shield when he made 120 for New South Wales against South Australia in ...

, the other member of the side that had toured England, did not play in New Zealand as he had to return to his employment in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

The tour

The Australians arrived in Auckland on 5 November, after a three-week voyage from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on the '' Mariposa''. The Canterbury Cricket Association gave up the chance of a match against the Australians at

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

in order that

could play its first match against another national team. The only previous matches by New Zealand had been against touring New South Wales teams in 1893-94 and 1895–96. The Canterbury association agreed to accept 75 per cent of the profit from the match at Lancaster Park. * Auckland v Australians,

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the oldest park in the city, and at is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land is the remains o ...

, 6, 7, 9 November 1896. Australians 162 and 233;

XVIII 140 and 111 for 11. Drawn. The only fifty in the match was Clem Hill's 51 in Australia's second innings.

Isaac Mills Isaac Mills may refer to: * Isaac Mills (cricketer) (1869–1956), New Zealand cricketer * Isaac N. Mills (1851–1929), American lawyer, judge, and politician from New York. * Isaac Milles Isaac Milles or Mills (19 September 1638 – 6 July ...

, with 20 and 28, was Auckland's only batsman to reach 20. Robert Neill took 6 for 71 in Australia's first innings, and William Stemson took 5 for 49 in the second. For Australia, Hugh Trumble took 6 for 37 in Auckland's first innings, and Ernie Jones took 5 for 36 in the second. The Australians had arrived only the day before the match and were still feeling the effects of their voyage. * Wellington v Australians,

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

, 12, 13, 15 November 1896. Australians 147 and 206;

XVIII 124 and 108 for 14; Drawn. Joe Darling scored the only fifty, making 59 and 37. Frank Holdsworth was Wellington's top scorer with 30 in the first innings. Alfred Holdship took 5 for 28 in Australia's first innings. For Australia, Giffen took 7 for 38 in the first innings and Trott 9 for 54 in the second. The match went ahead despite severe vandalism to the pitch a few days earlier. The takings were £255, which gave the local association about £50 in profit. * Southland v Australians,

Queens Park, Invercargill Queens Park is a park in Invercargill, New Zealand, and was part of the original plan when Invercargill was founded in 1856. The park is in extent. It is just north of the city centre, bounded by Queens Drive to the east, Kelvin Street to the ...

, 18, 19 November 1896.

XVIII 42 and 67; Australians 178. Australians won by an innings and 69 runs. Trumble took 10 for 13 in the first innings, and Trott took 11 for 38 in the second. Kelly was the top-scorer in the match with 36; Southland's only player to reach double-figures was the captain, George Burnes, who made 18 in the second innings. Rain on preceding days had dampened the ground, and the match was played on matting laid down over the pitch. The match concluded early on the second day, after which the Australians had a second innings to entertain the crowd, scoring 220 runs for six wickets in 90 minutes. * Otago v Australians,

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, 21, 23, 24 November 1896. Australians 130 and 95;

XV 144 and 64. Australians won by 17 runs. Although they fielded the smallest side of the provinces, Otago provided the closest match. After leading on the first innings they needed only 82 to win, but were dismissed for 64 by Trumble, who took 9 for 30. The Otago number 12, Ralph Spraggon, made the highest score on either side with 36 in the first innings. Otago's opening bowler Arthur Fisher was their outstanding player, with 6 for 39 and 5 for 39. The match takings were £303. Fisher so impressed the Australians that he was invited to go to Australia to play there and qualify for the Australian Test team. He spent some time playing in Melbourne in the 1897–98 season, but with little success, and returned to New Zealand. * New Zealand v Australia,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, 26, 27, 28 November 1896. Australia 304 and 73 for 4;

XV 129 and 247. Australia won by six wickets. Ernie Jones "bowled at a pace quite foreign to the local batsmen" and took 8 for 64 and 5 for 58. New Zealand's second innings included the first two fifties scored by any New Zealand batsmen against the four Australian touring teams: Len Cuff made 50 and Arnold Williams made 73. Their resistance gave Australia a fourth-innings target of 73 runs in the last hour of the match. The scores were tied at the scheduled time for

stumps In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day. Part of ...

, but Cuff, the New Zealand captain, "generously signalled to the umpire for another over", which allowed Australia to score the required run. Almost 10,000 spectators watched the match. Match takings were £550. Shortly after play ended on the third day, the Australians left for Australia on the ''Rotomahana''.

Aftermath and assessments

The Australians' top run-scorer was Darling, with 222 runs at an average of 23.55. Kelly topped the averages with 143 runs at 28.60. Iredale's 75 in the match against New Zealand was the highest score for any side in all of the matches. The leading bowler was Trumble, with 34 wickets at an average of 6.29, while McKibbin, Jones and Trott each took 26 or 27 wickets and averaged between 7 and 9."The Australians in New Zealand"
''Cricket'', 28 January 1897, pp. 11–12. The Australians received £811 as their share of the tour's profits. At its meeting immediately after the tour, the New Zealand Cricket Council resolved to ask the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

to rule on the legality of the extension of time after the scheduled close of play, as occurred in the New Zealand–Australia match.

References

External links

Australia in New Zealand 1896-97
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Australian cricket team in New Zealand in 1896-97 1896 in Australian cricket 1896 in New Zealand cricket

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

International cricket competitions from 1888–89 to 1918 New Zealand cricket seasons from 1890–91 to 1917–18