When the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended in November 1918, thousands of Australian servicemen were in Europe as members of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

(AIF) and many remained until the spring of 1919. In England, a new first-class cricket season was planned, the first since 1914, and an idea that came to fruition was the formation of an Australian touring side made up of servicemen. Agreement was reached with the Australian Corps HQ in London, commanded by Field Marshal

William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

, and the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI was formed, initially under the captaincy of pre-war Test player

Charlie Kelleway Charles Kelleway (25 April 1886 – 16 November 1944) was an Australian cricketer who played in 26 Test matches between 1910 and 1928. In 1911/12, he played against the MCC touring-team captained by Plum Warner. In the Test-series, he took a ...

. Kelleway departed after only six matches following a dispute about the fixtures list. A players' meeting elected future Test player

Herbie Collins Herbert Leslie Collins (21 January 1888 – 28 May 1959) was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Test matches between 1921 and 1926. An all-rounder, he captained the Australian team in eleven Tests, winning five, losing two with another f ...

as team captain for the remainder of the tour, despite the fact that Collins' military rank was

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

and there were seven officers in the party. The bulk of the team remained intact for nearly nine months from May 1919, playing 33 matches in Great Britain, ten in South Africa on their way home and then another three in Australia itself before disbanding in February 1920. Of the 46 matches, 39 are adjudged first-class and the team had only four defeats, all of these in England. The players lived on their army pay and all profits from gate money went to an AIF Sports Control Board. The team toured Great Britain May to September 1919, playing 28 first-class matches with twelve wins, four defeats and twelve draws. Five minor matches were also played, three of these in Scotland, the Australians winning two and drawing three. The AIF team toured South Africa October to December on their way home and were undefeated in ten matches, eight of which were first-class. Two unofficial "Tests" were played at the

Old Wanderers Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946. It has since been replaced by the New Wanderers Stadium. Hi ...

stadium in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, Australia winning both comfortably. Jack Gregory relished the conditions in South Africa while the local newspapers acclaimed Collins as the finest player in the team. On arrival home January 1920 in Australia, the team played three first-class matches, defeating both the reigning

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

champions

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and their main challengers

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. A likely victory against

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

was frustrated by torrential rain. The results in Australia demonstrated the strength of the AIF team and within a few months of the team's dissolution, five players would make their Test débuts: batsmen Collins,

Johnny Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

and

Nip Pellew Clarence Everard "Nip" Pellew (21 September 1893 – 9 May 1981) was an Australian cricketer who played in 10 Test matches from 1920 to 1921. Pellew was also a leading Australian rules footballer who, due to permit problems, was only allowed t ...

; wicketkeeper

Bert Oldfield William Albert Stanley Oldfield (9 September 1894 – 10 August 1976) was an Australian cricketer and businessman. He played for New South Wales and Australia as a wicket-keeper. Oldfield's 52 stumpings during his Test career remains a record ...

and fast bowling all-rounder Gregory.

Preliminaries

During 1917 and 1918, at the height of the

, charity matches were occasionally staged between teams of servicemen, including many players of first-class standard. On 14 July 1917, there was a one-day match at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

between teams representing the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and the First Australian Imperial Force. It was played in aid of St Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Sailors and Soldiers. The AIF scored 130 and the Army were all out for 162 just before the match ended in a draw. The game, a great success, featured notable players, including

Colin Blythe Colin Blythe (30 May 1879 – 8 November 1917), also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of ...

in his final match,

Patsy Hendren Elias Henry "Patsy" Hendren (5 February 1889 – 4 October 1962) was an English first-class cricketer, active 1907 to 1937, who played for Middlesex and England. He also had a concurrent career as a footballer and had a long tenure with Brentfo ...

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport ...

and

Percy Fender Percy George Herbert Fender (22 August 1892 – 15 June 1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests for his country and was captain of Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a middle-order batsman who bowled mainly leg ...

for the British Army. The Australian team included

Charlie Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flam ...

Cyril Docker Cyril Talbot Docker MBE (3 March 1884 – 26 March 1975) was an Australian cricketer active from 1909 to 1920 who played for New South Wales and the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI. He was born in Ryde, Sydney and died in Double Bay, Sydn ...

and Bill Stirling. It was the first match involving a team representative of the AIF. The match was later summarised in the Sydney newspaper, ''The Referee''. In August, an Australian Services XI played against an Indian Gymkhana XI at Lord's. Later in the month, a combined Australian and South African XI played a British Army and Royal Navy team, also at Lord's, both matches to raise money for wartime charities. There were a couple of games involving Australian XIs in 1918 but the main events were three matches played at Lord's and

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

between an England XI and a Dominions XI which included a number of Australian players such as Kelleway, Docker,

, Ed Long and Allie Lampard who were all to play for the AIF team in 1919. All three games were of one-day duration and all were drawn. Following the cessation of hostilities on 11 November 1918, the Australian Army Corps HQ in London had to think of ways to entertain the thousands of servicemen waiting to be sent home. An AIF Sports Control Board was formed and, notice having been taken of the success of the wartime charity matches, issued 31 January 1919 an AIF Order 1539 to all ranks:Harte, p. 269.

The following proposals for the formation of an AIF Board of Control to encourage sport in all units and supervise organisation and selection of representative teams. The Board to consist of a president, two representatives from units in France, one from AIF depots in the United Kingdom, one from London, and one representative of the Australian Comforts Fund.

The AIF Sports Control Board was fully supported by the Australian Board of (Cricket) Control which appointed Major Gordon Campbell, the former

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

wicketkeeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a catch, stump the batsman out, or run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-ke ...

, as its representative in meetings about a proposed AIF team and tour. The Board of Control retained control of the team and awarded first-class status to most of its matches but much of the practical organisation, especially of fixtures, was undertaken by

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South Londo ...

and their representative Howard Lacey became the team manager. Lacey had organised a charity match in August 1918 between his own invitation XI and an Australian XI. The Sports Board began trials in February 1919 and there was an enthusiastic response from many servicemen with first-class or grade cricket experience. Despite the fact that some of the players still carried war injuries, the Sports Board was able to form a strong team which came to be billed as the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI. Given the large number of applicants, the AIF formed a second eleven which toured the minor cricket circuit in England, playing against league clubs, county club colts and public schools teams. The second eleven played 55 matches and lost only eleven but few of its members ever played more than first-grade club cricket when they returned to Australia.

Players

The table below lists all seventeen players who represented the AIF Touring XI in at least one first-class match. Details state the player's military rank, Sheffield Shield state team, date of birth, age on 14 May 1919 when the first match began, batting hand and bowling type:

Tour of England

14 May to 3 June

The tour opened on 14 May with, curiously, a twelve-a-side match that is nevertheless adjudged first-class. The opposition was L. G. Robinson's XII, an invitation team organised by the cricket-loving businessman Lionel Robinson. It was played 14 to 16 May at the Old Buckenham Hall Cricket Ground in

Attleborough Attleborough is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the A11 road (England), A11 between Norwich and Thetford in Norfolk, England. The parish is in the district of Breckland (district), Breckland and has an area ...

, Norfolk, and ended in a draw though all four results were possible in the closing overs. Robinson's team scored 147 and 362 for eight declared, a match total of 509. In reply, the AIF scored 227 and were 274 for nine when time ran out, a match total of 501 leaving them nine runs and Robinson's team one wicket short of victory. The Australian team included the future

and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

Hammy Love Hampden Stanley Bray Love (10 August 1895 – 22 July 1969) was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test match for the Australia national cricket team in 1933. He replaced Bert Oldfield as wicket-keeper for the Ashes match played at Bri ...

in this match. It was his first-class debut but his sole appearance for the AIF. Also making first-class debuts here were Jack Gregory and Bill Trenerry for the AIF and the Kent batsman

Jack Bryan John Lindsay Bryan (26 May 1896 – 23 April 1985) was an English schoolteacher and cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Kent County Cricket Club. Bryan served in the British Army in both World War I and World War II and won the M ...

. The AIF played many of its first-class matches in England over three days although the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

that year consisted (for the only time ever as it was a singularly unsuccessful venture) of two-day matches. AIF's first match against a county team started on 17 May at the

County Ground, Leyton Leyton Cricket Ground (formerly known as the County Ground or the Lyttelton Ground) is a cricket ground in Leyton, London. The ground was the headquarters and main home match venue of Essex County Cricket Club from 1886 until 1933, and was also ...

, against

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and skipper

with 126 made the team's first century. Gregory with seven wickets in the match gave notice of his potential. AIF won inside two days by an innings and 114 runs against a team led by England captain

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

who could only contribute 0 and 14. Two of the next three matches were against the principal University teams. The AIF played

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

21 to 23 May and then

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

The Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, tho ...

29 to 30 May. Cambridge were thrashed by an innings and 239 runs following centuries by Kelleway and

. Gregory took six for 65 in the first innings and Allie Lampard and

bowled Cambridge out in the second. The Oxford match was scheduled for two days and, like so many of the two-day County Championship fixtures that season, was drawn. Kelleway took seven for 47 in the first innings and there were centuries by Jack Murray and

. The AIF team at Oxford included Harry Heath who made his first-class debut there but did not play for AIF again. Heath made two first-class appearances for South Australia in 1923–24. Also making his first-class debut at Oxford was future Australian Test keeper

. In between the university matches, the AIF made the first of three visits to

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

(Lord's) where they played

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

26 to 28 May. The AIF had arguably the best of a keenly fought draw.

made his first century of the tour with 127 and 64. Lampard bowled well and took six for 91 in the Middlesex first innings but it included a fourth wicket partnership of 177 between

and

who both completed centuries. The final match starting May was against

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

31 May to 3 June and it was another draw.

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...

, known as "The Master", was in brilliant form and scored 205* out of only 344 to give Surrey first innings lead. The AIF built a massive 554 for seven declared in their second innings with centuries by Lampard and Pellew and 96 by Taylor. This set Surrey 441 to win, an impossible target in the time remaining, and Surrey held on for the draw with 128 for five after Hobbs that time was out for seven. During or immediately following the Surrey match, there was a dispute in the AIF team "about the fixtures list" and a players' meeting was held at The Oval which elected Collins as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in place of Kelleway, who did not play for the AIF again. The team was still a military one and cricket writer Ray Robinson expressed surprise at Collins' election as he was a

being asked to lead a team largely comprising officers including one major (

) and four

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

s. Chris Harte wrote that the team "ignored all considerations of (military) rank", Collins "giving orders to seven commissioned officers without anyone questioning his authority". According to Harte, Kelleway was "relieved of the captaincy following a decision by the Army authorities because of (his) poor behaviour", this echoing the problems of the Australian team to England in 1912, of which Kelleway was a member. With Kelleway's departure, the AIF squad was reduced to its nucleus of fourteen principal members:

(

), Eric Bull,

, Jack Gregory, Allie Lampard, Ed Long, Jack Murray,

, Bill Stirling,

, Bill Trenerry, Carl Willis and

Charles Winning Charles Samuel Winning (17 July 1889 – 20 April 1967) was an Australian cricketer active from 1914 to 1920 who played for New South Wales and the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI. He was born in Paddington, New South Wales and died in ...

. Their success was being noticed outside England and in due course the AIF Sports Control Board received a telegram from the South African government in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

asking if the team could tour South Africa ''en route'' to Australia. The players held a meeting and were unanimous in their refusal as they wanted to go straight home once their tour of England was completed. However, the Australian Army thought differently and the Ministry of Defence ordered them, as serving officers and other ranks, to comply. Planning began for a tour of South Africa from October to December.

5 to 28 June

Collins' first game in charge was at Lord's against

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) and the Australians won convincingly by ten wickets inside two days on 5 and 6 June. Gregory, Lampard and Stirling shared 18 wickets in the match as MCC were dismissed for 133 and 228, the Australians replying with 297 and 66 for no wicket. Gregory with 56 top-scored and Trenerry scored 55, these two adding 80 for the eighth wicket after the Australians had struggled to 164 for seven.

made his first-class debut in the match for the AIF. The game against

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

at the

County Cricket Ground, Hove The County Cricket Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as The 1st Central County Ground, is a cricket venue in Hove, in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The County Ground is the home of Sussex County Cricket Club, where m ...

on 9 and 10 June was scheduled for two days only and was drawn. Sussex scored 227 and 241 with Collins taking five for 45 and three for 41. The Australians replied with 289 and 77 for eight, just holding on for the draw at the end after the second innings nearly succumbed to the Sussex seam attack. If a third day had been scheduled, this almost certainly would have been the first AIF defeat. On 11 June, the team took the train north for matches against two of the strongest county sides,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. They played Lancashire at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in Manchester 12 to 14 June and Yorkshire at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

16 to 18 June. The Australians won both matches, comprehensively defeating Lancashire by an innings and 157 runs but only by one wicket against Yorkshire after a dramatic finale. At Old Trafford, Collins won the toss, decided to bat and led the way from the first ball with 103. Trenerry scored a career-highest 82 and the Australians batted into the second day to total a commanding 418. Lancashire collapsed twice with 125 and 136, the match ending same day. Stirling took five for 38 in the first innings and then Lampard produced the remarkable figures of nine for 42 in the second. The match in Sheffield produced an exciting finish as the Australians, needing 170 to win, had been reduced to 116 for nine before Gregory was joined by last man Ed Long. Against the odds, they put on 54 for the tenth wicket to win the game, Gregory scoring 41 * and Long 13*. Yorkshire, featuring

George Hirst George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...

and

Wilfred Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

, went on to win the

in 1919 so this was an outstanding performance by Collins' team. Yorkshire won the toss and batted first. Their opening pair of Rhodes (90) and

Percy Holmes Percy Holmes (25 November 1886 – 3 September 1971) was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and England. Holmes was born in Oakes, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. An opening batsman and a fine fielder, Holmes was a l ...

(71) shared 150 for the first wicket but finally Gregory dismissed Holmes and then, with six for 91, proceeded to bowl Yorkshire out for 224. The Australians began badly and were 59 for four before the middle order rallied and eventually reached 265 on the second day. A key innings was played by one of the bit-part players Eric Bull who scored a career-highest 42 at a crucial time from the end of day one and well into the second morning. Yorkshire scored 210 in their second innings and would have had a very low score but for an outstanding effort by Hirst with 88. Yorkshire again struggled against Gregory who dismissed all the first six batsmen and finished with seven for 79, a match haul of thirteen for 170. The Australians began the fourth innings before lunch on the final day and were soon struggling after Collins was out without scoring and only Trenerry, with 39, made any contribution among the top order batsmen. The total was 71 for five when Bull came in and he played another valuable innings of 27 until he was out at 111 for eight. Gregory was joined by Winning who was out for nought at 116 for nine and this set up the remarkable climax to the game between Gregory and Long. The Australians travelled south again on 19 June, taking the trains from Sheffield to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

where they played

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in a two-day match 20 and 21 June on the

County Ground, Southampton The County Ground in Southampton, England, was a cricket and football ground. It was the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club from the 1885 English cricket season until the 2000 English cricket season. The ground also served as the home groun ...

. This match was rain-affected and the short schedule left no time to make up for stoppages so it was an inevitable draw after Hampshire scored 191 and 67 for one, and the Australians scored 136. The Australian batsmen struggled in the conditions against the seam bowling of

Alec Kennedy Alexander Stuart Kennedy (24 January 1891 – 15 November 1959) was a Scottish cricketer. He played for Hampshire County Cricket Club and in five Test matches for the England cricket team. His career spanned the period between 1907 and 1936 and ...

. Having been unbeaten in their first eleven matches, the Australians finally tasted defeat in the twelfth at Lord's when they played the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surre ...

, captained by

, 23 to 25 June. The Gentlemen batted first after winning the toss and ran up a total of 402, batting into the second morning. Surprisingly, the Australians collapsed against the fast-medium pace of

(four for 34) and Michael Falcon (six for 41) and were bowled out for only 85 in the 35th over. Asked to follow on, the Australians reached 149 for 8 at close of play but were dismissed for 184 in the third morning. Douglas took four for forty this time and the slow left armer

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

took four for 38. The result was a comprehensive victory for the Gentlemen by an innings and 133 runs. The Australians recovered to win the next match at the

County Ground, Northampton The County Ground is a cricket venue on Wantage Road in the Abington area of Northampton, England. It is home to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, and was used by Northampton Town F.C. from 1897 to 1994. Cricket Northamptonshire played ...

, defeating

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

(Northants) by 196 runs in a three-day match 26 to 28 June. The AIF won the toss and batted first. Gregory opened the innings with Taylor and scored 115 in just two and a half hours, AIF totalling 297. Northants reached a creditable 109 for two at the close and were then all out for 246 next day, Gregory taking four for 71. The Australians reached 177 for six at close of play on the second day and went on to total 314, Trenerry with 58 the top score. Collins with five for 26 and Gregory with four for 74 bowled out Northants for 169. It was an outstanding all-round performance by Gregory, whose 115 was his maiden first-class century. He scored 49 in the second innings and held three catches in the match in addition to his eight wickets.

30 June to 8 July

The Australians played four second-class matches in this period, all of them scheduled for two days only. Three were in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and one against

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

which was then a

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

team. They defeated a West of Scotland team in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

by an innings and 560 runs after scoring 733 for six declared with four centuries. Then they played two matches, one in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and one in Glasgow, against the Scotland national team. These were both impacted by the weather and drawn. The game against Durham was played in

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

and also drawn.

11 July to 2 August

The Australians returned to first-class action on 11 July in a two-day match at

Grace Road Grace Road, known for sponsorship reasons as the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road, is a cricket ground in Leicester, England. It is the home ground and administrative base of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. History Leicestershire ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

that was drawn. The AIF opened with 551 for five declared (Pellew 187, Willis 156* and Collins 121) which was their total at the end of the first day.

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

with 224 and 28 for no wicket held on through the second day. The match was another example of the folly of trying to play first-class cricket over two days only. However, the next one was also a two-day affair and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

defeated the AIF by 36 runs at the

County Ground, Derby The County Cricket Ground (usually shortened to the County Ground, also known as the Racecourse Ground) is a cricket ground in Derby, England. It has been the home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club since 1871. The ground was first used by South ...

. It was a low-scoring game with Derbyshire scoring 181 and 112 while the Australians could only muster 125 and 132 in reply. Derbyshire paceman James Horsley did the damage, taking six for 55 and six for 62. There was a two-day draw at the Racecourse Ground, Hereford against Harry Foster's XI and then the AIF defeated Foster's

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

New Road, Worcester Visit Worcestershire New Road is a cricket ground in the English city of Worcester. The home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896, it has been rated as one of the world's most beautiful cricket grounds. Overview The ground is ...

by an innings and 203 runs. Worcestershire did not take part in the

in 1919. Gregory took eleven wickets in the match including his best innings analysis to date of seven for 56. The AIF innings totalled 450 for four declared, featuring an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 300 between Pellew (195*) and Willis (129*). In another two-day affair,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

were beaten by an innings and 38 runs at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

after Collins scored 110 and took five for 73. The Australians must have been pleased to play

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

(Notts) over three days at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

but the match was drawn. They batted first and made 371 featuring another fine innings by Willis with 130, but Notts and George Gunn trumped them with 391 and 131 respectively, batting into the third morning. Collins scored 118 and declared the second innings at 242 for five but this only left time for 25 overs and Notts played out to 62 for one. Collins completed his 1,000 runs for the season in this match. Following a short break, the Australians played

31 July to 2 August and drew. The AIF batted first and scored 436 with Collins top scorer on 95. They had Surrey on 83 for six in the second morning but the county rallied with a seventh wicket partnership of 146 between captain Cyril Wilkinson (103) and Jack Crawford (144*) to reach 322 and avoid the follow-on. The AIF made 260 for four declared and Surrey secured the draw with 121 for one (

68*).

4 to 30 August

The Australians won their first match starting in August by an innings and 54 runs. This was another two-day affair but

collapsed twice at the County Ground in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

to provide the AIF with a straightforward victory after they scored 300 against 120 and 126. Carl Willis, enjoying something of a purple patch in the summer months, scored another century with 127, opening the innings this time and Sussex needed a run out to dismiss him. The next highest Australian score was 31. In the Sussex first innings, Gregory took six for 38 and Collins four for 47. In the second innings, it was Collins with six for 27 (ten for 65 in the match) who dismissed Sussex. Next up were

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

at the

St Lawrence Ground The St Lawrence Ground is a cricket ground in Canterbury, Kent. It is the home ground of Kent County Cricket Club and since 2013 has been known as The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, due to commercial sponsorship. It is one of the oldest grounds o ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and, although this was a three-day match 7 to 9 August, it was drawn. AIF won the toss and batted first to reach only 198 with Kent making 142 for six at close of play on the first day. Gregory, who opened with Collins, had the top AIF score of 67. Kent's great all-rounder

Frank Woolley Frank Edward Woolley (27 May 1887 – 18 October 1978) was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and for the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder, Woolley was a left-handed batsm ...

took four for 37. Woolley got a duck when Kent batted but the team totalled 301 to establish a first innings lead of 103. Gregory took seven for 100. At close of play on day two, the AIF had taken the lead and were 275 for four with Willis on 78 and Stirling on 50. Pellew had earlier scored 91. Willis missed out on another century when he was caught behind off

Tich Freeman Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman (17 May 1888 – 28 January 1965) was an English first-class cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most p ...

for 95. Stirling made 62* and Collins declared on 419 for eight, leaving Kent to make 317 with enough time for 64 overs. This time, Woolley held his side together with 76 and they were 172 for five at the close. The AIF took a break at this point with no matches between Monday, 10 and Wednesday, 20 August inclusive. They returned to action on Thursday, 21 August at Southchurch Park in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, playing

until Saturday, 23 August.

won the toss and put the AIF in to bat. It looked a good decision as he took seven for 50 himself with his fast-medium pace and the Australians were all out for only 130. Essex were 101 for six at the close and reached 151 on the second morning, Gregory and Collins again bowling in tandem and taking four apiece. The Australians started again before lunch and this time their batting excelled with Taylor scoring 146 and Murray 82. From 362 for five overnight, Collins was able to declare at 447 for eight on the Saturday morning. Douglas took four more wickets, but this time conceding 168 runs, giving him eleven wickets in the match. In the fourth innings, the early Essex batsmen were no match for Gregory who took all the first five wickets, leaving the county on 22 for five. They eventually reached 117 and the Australians were easy winners in the end by 309 runs. On Wednesday, 27 August, the Australians were at the

Clifton College Close Ground Clifton College Close is a cricket venue in Clifton College, Bristol, which was used by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire for 96 first-class cricket, first-class matches between 1871 and 1932. It is first recorded as a cricke ...

and its strong associations with

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

, who had died in the autumn of the bleak year of 1915, to play

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. This was another two-day match and another drawn two-day match, but it was Gloucestershire, not the AIF, who were cheated of time in this one. They won the toss and batted, scoring 281 (

Charlie Townsend Charles Lucas Townsend (7 November 1876 – 17 October 1958) was a Gloucestershire cricketer. An all-round cricketer, Townsend was classically stylish, left-handed batsman, who was able to hit well despite his slender build. His off-side stro ...

63, Alf Dipper 61) and then reduced the AIF to 104 for six at close of play. On the second morning, the AIF were all out for 147 and asked to follow on. Gloucestershire's great left arm spinner

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

did the damage with seven for 70. In the second innings, the Australians were struggling against the medium pace of Dipper, bowling in tandem with Parker, but thanks to a determined effort by Bill Trenerry they managed to hold on for the draw. The AIF faced their last county opposition on Friday, 29 August in another two-day match, though they won this one. It was just down the road from Clifton at the Taunton County Ground where they defeated

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

by 95 runs in a very low-scoring game: AIF 85 and 144 for four declared; Somerset 70 and 64. Only 363 runs in the entire game. The first day was impacted by rain and only 59 overs were bowled. The AIF were all out for 85 just before the scheduled close of play. They quickly dismissed Somerset for 70 in only 32 overs of the second morning. Seamer Charlie Winning and slow left armer Collins did all the bowling, Winning taking six for 30 and Collins four for 38. Collins followed up with 67* to give the Australians a useful lead of 159 going into the latter half of the last day. Somerset lasted only 28 overs as Collins wiped them out with a career-best eight for 31.

1 to 13 September

The AIF tour of England concluded with three first-class games against representative sides (i.e., consisting of players chosen from several counties) and finally a one-day exhibition match on what is believed to be the world's oldest cricket ground. The first-class matches were all of three-day duration starting on Monday, 1 September, against a South of England XI ("the South") at the Central Recreation Ground, Hastings; and then another game against the South on the

United Services Recreation Ground The United Services Recreation Ground is a sports ground situated in Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The ground is also bordered to the north by Park Road, along which the railway line to Portsmouth Harbour and Gunwharf Quays o ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, starting Thursday, 4 September. Finally, to end their English programme, the AIF played C. I. Thornton's XI at the

North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough North Marine Road Ground, formerly known as Queen's, is a cricket ground in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Scarborough Cricket Club which hosts the Scarborough Festival and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club plays a se ...

, starting on Monday, 8 September and ending on Wednesday, 10 September. This game also concluded the 1919

Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...

. At Hastings, the South were captained by Kent skipper

Lionel Troughton Lionel Holmes Wood Troughton (17 May 1879 – 31 August 1933) was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club either side of the First World War. Primarily a batsman, Troughton was club captain of K ...

who won the toss and batted first. He led a strong team which included

Phil Mead Charles Phillip Mead (9 March 1887 – 26 March 1958) was an English first-class cricketer. He played as a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was born at 10 Ashton Buildings (since pulled down), second elde ...

, Dick Young,

Wally Hardinge Harold Thomas William Hardinge (25 February 1886 – 8 May 1965),

Arthur Gilligan Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan (23 December 1894 – 5 September 1976) was an English first-class cricketer who captained the England cricket team nine times in 1924 and 1925, winning four Test matches, losing four and drawing one. In fi ...

and the Relf brothers. The South were bowled out for 183, Charlie Winning capturing five for 57, in 64 overs. The AIF collapsed and were 96 for six at the close before going on to total 162 in the second morning. Willis with 54 saved real embarrassment as Woolley took six for 74 and White four for 50. At close of play on day two, the South had advanced to 269 for six with Hardinge 90 not out. They were all out for 280 next morning with Hardinge stumped before he could add to his overnight score. Needing 302 to win with nearly all the final day remaining, the AIF could only make 179, Bill Trenerry topscoring with 54, and the South won by 122 runs. The South made some changes for the match in Portsmouth, including the captaincy which was taken up by Lionel Tennyson. He won the toss and chose to bat first but soon found that conditions were to the liking of Gregory who blew the South away by taking five of the first seven wickets to fall. Gregory then held two catches off Collins before dismissing the last man to post a return of six for 42 off only 14.3 overs. Collins took three for 41 and his third wicket, one of Gregory's catches, was his hundredth of the season which meant he had completed the "

Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season. The South totalled 104 and, at the close of a rain-affected day, the AIF were 23 for two. The Australians were all out for 206 after Murray scored 59 and Collins a steady 46. The South collapsed again and were all out for 115, Charlie Winning capturing five for 30 and Bill Stirling three for 25. The Australians had time to reach the necessary 15 to conclude matters with a day to spare, winning by ten wickets. The Australians travelled up to Scarborough over the weekend ready for their final first-class fixture against "Buns" Thornton's team on the Monday. Thornton had selected a strong team captained by Reggie Spooner and including

, Arthur Dolphin,

Greville Stevens Greville Thomas Scott Stevens (7 January 1901 – 19 September 1970) was an English cricket team, English amateur cricketer who played for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, the University of Oxford and England. A Leg spin, leg-spin and ...

and Bill Hitch. It was a good toss to win and Spooner put the Australians in to face the pace of Hitch who bowled them out for 81 in just 31 overs. Hitch took five of the first six wickets, four of them bowled, and finished with six for 24. The early fire had gone out of the pitch by afternoon although Gregory still caused real problems for the English batsmen. At the close, Thornton's XI were 146 for eight and they extended this to 187, Gregory taking seven for 83. Needing a substantial recovery, the AIF started badly with Trenerry out for a duck but Collins and Willis took the score on to 93 before Collins was out. Willis, the highest runscorer for the AIF in England, made 96 before he was caught behind off Hirst. Taylor (71) and Lampard (36) combined well for the seventh wicket and the Australians were 264 for six at close of play on day two. On the final morning, Hitch again cut loose and the last four wickets went down with only 32 more runs added. AIF 296, Hitch five for 102 and eleven wickets in the match. Thornton's XI needed 191 to win with most of the final day remaining and got them with two wickets to spare but they owed it to Hobbs who held the innings together with 93. This was only the fourth defeat the AIF conceded in England, having won and drawn twelve each of the other 24 matches. Chris Harte's conclusion of the AIF in England was that they were "generally a very sound side" and the crowds watching them were "far above expectation". Collins with 1,615 runs at 38.45 was widely considered the best Australian batsman in England although, statistically, Willis did better with 1,652 runs at 41.30. Pellew and Taylor also topped 1,000 runs while Trenerry (961) and Gregory (942) came close. Gregory held 44 catches at slip while the second best fielder was Taylor with 23 catches. Wicketkeeping duties were shared between Long and Oldfield who claimed 31 and 28 victims respectively. Gregory was easily the outstanding bowler and took 131 wickets at 18.19. Collins, who completed the "double", took 106 at 16.55. Next best was Lampard with 69 at 23.26 including the best analysis by an Australian of nine for 42 against Lancashire. Lampard also scored 821 runs and was a very useful all-rounder.

Mitcham v AIF

The AIF tour of England ended on Saturday, 13 September with a one-day single-innings "odds" match against a Mitcham XVI on

Mitcham Cricket Green Mitcham Cricket Green is a List of Test cricket grounds, cricket ground in Mitcham, south London (historically in Surrey). It is the home of Mitcham Cricket Club and is reportedly the oldest cricket ground still in use, having been used for cri ...

, which is believed to be the world's oldest extant cricket ground. The image (see right) is a 1919 poster advertising Australian Imperial Force Touring XI v Sixteen of Mitcham (Bertie Oldfield's initials and Bill Trenerry's name were misprinted). The Australian names include reserve players W. Munday and C. Smith who both played in the match for the AIF, while Bill Stirling played as a

given man This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cr ...

for Mitcham. As advertised in the poster, Mitcham hoped to include

Andy Sandham Andrew Sandham (6 July 1890 – 20 April 1982) was an English cricketer, a right-handed batsman who played 14 Test matches between 1921 and 1930. Sandham made the first triple century in Test cricket, 325 against the West Indies in 1930, and ...

and Herbert Strudwick but none of these took part on the day. Mitcham's sixteen was bolstered by the inclusion of three guest players, one of them Bill Stirling. The other two were Surrey wicketkeeper

Dennis Sullivan Dennis Parnell Sullivan (born February 12, 1941) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the Graduate Center of the City University ...

, who was born in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, and amateur

Burnett Bullock Burnett Wedlake "Burn" Bullock (5 October 1896 – 22 December 1954) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey in a few matches between 1922 and 1924. He was born in Redhill, Surrey and died in Balham ...

, who was "mine host" at the public house opposite the ground that now bears his name. Mitcham batted first and scored 200 all out, their captain Howard Lacey making the top score with 39. Trenerry and Collins shared twelve of the fifteen wickets while Gregory was bowled sparingly. The AIF included a couple of players from their second eleven but they won easily by five wickets, though Stirling took the wickets of Murray and Docker cheaply.

Tour of South Africa

The AIF team arrived in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

on 13 October and Chris Harte recounted that it was on this same day that the Australian state cricket associations "started squabbling over who would host AIF matches in Australia". The

South African Cricket Association Cricket South Africa aka CSA is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South ...

had given a guarantee against any financial loss but the AIF tour of South Africa was a resounding success. The first match in South Africa was played 18 to 21 October at the

Newlands Cricket Ground Newlands Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in Newlands, Cape Town. One of the oldest sporting stadiums in South Africa, the ground is owned by the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) and is the home of Western Province and MI Cape ...

in Cape Town against

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. The Australians conceded first innings lead but won by two wickets, largely thanks to the bowling of Lampard who had match figures of twelve for 100. The next match was 25 to 28 October on the

ground in

against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

and was drawn. From 1 to 4 November, the Australians were in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

to play

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

and won this one convincingly by 310 runs. They batted first and were bowled out for 158, Collins making 76, but then dismissed Natal for only 83 with Gregory taking nine for 32, the best analysis of his entire career. The one wicket he didn't get was a run out. The Australians did much better in their second innings and amassed 341 with Taylor's 81 the highest score. Once again, Natal were no match for Gregory who took five for 54 and bowled them out for 106. Natal should have had enough after that but they played the AIF again on 7 and 8 November in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, a three-day match completed in two with the AIF winning by an innings and 42 runs. In the first innings, Natal were routed in only 19 overs for 45, Gregory taking seven for 21. The Australians replied with 282 and were all out just before close of play, Taylor scoring 78 and Pellew 62. Natal were dismissed for 195 on the second day to end the match, this time Collins being the main bowler with six for 55. The AIF returned to the

15 to 18 November and played a second match against Transvaal, this time winning by an innings and 14 runs. Transvaal were dismissed for 165 with Stirling taking five for 29. The AIF replied with 352, Gregory scoring 73 and Pellew 61. Transvaal scored 173 in their second inning with Test batsman Billy Zulch making 95. Cyril Docker took five for 20. The next two matches, both at the Old Wanderers, were scheduled for four days each and the AIF played against a South African national team in what may be termed "unofficial Tests". The first played 21 to 25 November was won by eight wickets and the second played 29 November to 2 December by an innings and 129 runs. In the first game, South Africa won the toss and batted first but Gregory and Collins took five apiece to dismiss them for 127. The AIF responded with 441 and Collins produced the outstanding batting performance of the entire tour with a magnificent knock of 235 in 315 minutes with 23 boundaries. South Africa scored 359 to avoid the innings defeat, Zulch this time reaching his century with 135. The AIF then scored 47 for two to win on the fourth day. The second match was even more conclusive. South Africa again won the toss and batted first but Gregory with six for 46 and Collins with four for 28 were too much for them and they were out for only 117. The Australians piled on the agony with 456 including four half-centuries, the top score being 73 by Lampard. Reduced by injuries to nine men, the South Africans could only make 210 in their second innings, Gregory taking four for 60. The Australians returned to Cape Town and played Western Province again at Newlands 6 to 9 December. This match was drawn after the AIF scored 269 (Willis 94) and 164 for six declared, with Western Province scoring 153 (Docker five for 37) and 141 for seven.

Tour of Australia

After a very public row, it was finally decided in Australia that the AIF would play three of the state teams:

and

. The team arrived home in December and were at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

(MCG) 16 to 19 January for the first match against Victoria which they won by six wickets. Collins won the toss against his future Test captain

Warwick Armstrong Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winn ...

and put Victoria in. Gregory took seven for 22 and bowled them out for only 116. The AIF batsmen had to contend with

Ted McDonald Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald (6 January 1891 – 22 July 1937) was a cricketer who played for Tasmanian Tigers, Tasmania, Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire and Australia national cricket team, Australia ...

, Gregory's future Test bowling partner, and he took a modest three for 76 as Willis scored 111 in a total of 311. At close of play on the second day, Victoria had reached 31 for one. They totalled 270 all out with Lampard taking seven for 99. The AIF needed 76 to win and made hard work of it, losing four wickets to McDonald and Armstrong before Gregory saw them home. The second match was at

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

against Queensland 24 to 27 January. This was a rain-affected draw in which the AIF, batting first, scored 215 and 319 for five declared. Queensland scored 146 and held on at the end with 144 for six to frustrate the AIF. Collins with 135 in the AIF second innings was the outstanding performer. The last match of the tour and the swansong of the AIF team was played 31 January to 3 February at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

(SCG) against New South Wales (NSW) and the AIF won by 203 runs. The AIF batted first and Gregory opened against his home state, for whom he had yet to make his debut, and scored 122. They totalled 185 for three at the end of day one and went to 265 all out. Gregory batted for 170 minutes and hit nineteen boundaries. Bill Trenerry's brother Edwin was playing for NSW. NSW managed a slender first innings lead thanks to Test players

Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...

and Stork Hendry who added 121 for the second wicket. Gregory followed his century with five for 65. In the second innings, Collins scored 129 and Gregory again reached three figures with 101 in 102 minutes with sixteen boundaries. Like Gregory, Collins was opposing his home state. The AIF totalled 395 to lead by 381 with nearly all the third day still to be played. NSW had no real hope of winning and collapsed instead, scoring 178 in 200 minutes with only Tommy Andrews offering any real resistance. He scored 65 and Gregory, looking for a match double, had to be content with three for 65.

Aftermath and legacy

The

New South Wales Cricket Association Cricket NSW (officially known as the ''New South Wales Cricket Association'') is an Australian sporting association that administers cricket in New South Wales. It is based at the Sydney Olympic Park. The New South Wales Blues, the New South ...

said in its July 1920 annual report that "(it is to be hoped) many of these players will be seen in our big matches next season".Harte, p. 272. Unfortunately, many of the fourteen players had pre-war careers in other spheres, such as banking or farming or medicine, to which they soon returned. Bull, Docker, Long and Winning never played first-class cricket again after the AIF team disbanded. Trenerry played only three more first-class games. Lampard spent two more seasons with Victoria and retired in February 1922. Love, Murray and Willis continued to play in the

for several seasons and Love eventually played for Australia just once in the 1932–33 Bodyline series. Even so, the AIF did bequeath a legacy to Australian Test cricket as Collins, Gregory, Oldfield, Pellew and Taylor formed the nucleus of

's team in the next two years, during which they overwhelmed

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in two series.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * * {{International cricket tours of South Africa 1919 in Australian cricket 1919 in English cricket 1919 in South African cricket 1920 in Australian cricket Australian cricket seasons from 1918–19 to 1944–45

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

1919-20 English cricket seasons in the 20th century International cricket competitions from 1918–19 to 1945 Military history of Australia during World War I Military sport in Australia South African cricket seasons from 1918–19 to 1944–45 Military cricket teams Australian first-class cricket teams