Two English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

teams toured

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1887–88. They are generally known as A. Shrewsbury's XI and G. F. Vernon's XI.Wisden 1889
/ref> Shrewsbury's XI also visited

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in March. In previous Australian seasons, no more than one English team had toured. The formation of two teams in 1887-88 was described by ''Wisden'' as "a piece of folly (that) will never be perpetrated again". The situation was perhaps inevitable given that English cricket still lacked a formal system to regulate the organisation of overseas tours. As a result, any promoter was free to form a team. Wisden pointed out that "it was clear from the first that two combinations would not be able to pay their way, and, though we do not know the exact result of Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite's venture, the Melbourne Club frankly admitted a heavy loss over Mr Vernon's team".

A Shrewsbury's XI

This team was formed by

James Lillywhite James Lillywhite (23 February 1842 – 25 October 1929) was an English Test cricketer and an umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining two Tests against Australia in 1876–77, losing the fir ...

Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was a Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North America and fo ...

and

Arthur Shrewsbury Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wou ...

after they received an invitation from various parties in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The players were a mixture of amateur and professional. Although the professional Shrewsbury was effectively the player/manager, the amateur Aubrey Smith was appointed team captain. Shaw himself did not tour, but stayed at home to put together a football side that played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and Victorian rules (now known as

Australian rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

) football in Australia after the cricket tour. The tour was a financial disaster, with the Melbourne Cricket Club, Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury well

out-of-pocket An out-of-pocket expense, or out-of-pocket cost (OOP), is the direct payment of money that may or may not be later reimbursed from a third-party source. For example, when operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-o ...

. Lillywhite defaulted on his debt. The team played seven first-class matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played

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 ...

three times and individual matches versus Victoria and a Combined XI. After the matches in Australia were completed, the team visited New Zealand and played three non-first-class matches, which were all drawn. In all matches in both countries, Shrewsbury's XI played 25, won 14, drew 9 and lost 2. In first-class matches (in Australia only), the team played 7, won 5 and lost 2. Roy Webber, ''The Playfair Book of Cricket Records'', Playfair Books, 1951 The team members were (amateurs denoted by title): * Mr C A Smith, captain (Sussex) * Arthur Shrewsbury (Notts) * George A Lohmann (Surrey) * J Maurice Read (Surrey) * John Briggs (Lancashire) * Richard Pilling (Lancashire) * George Ulyett (Yorkshire) * Joseph M Preston (Yorkshire) * Mr W Newham (Sussex) * Mr George Brann (Sussex) * Mr L C Docker (Warwickshire) * A D Pougher (Leicestershire) * James Lillywhite (Sussex)

G F Vernon's XI

Lord Hawke, then known as the Hon. M B Hawke, was invited by

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...

to form this team which, like Shrewsbury's, comprised both amateurs and professionals. Hawke had to return to England at the start of the tour as his father had died, leaving George Vernon to captain the side. Vernon's XI played eight first-class matches in Australia including two versus an Australia XI. They played twice versus each of

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 ...

and Victoria. The team visited Australia only and in all matches played 26, won 11, drew 14 and lost 1. In first-class matches, the team played 8, won 6, drew 1 and lost 1. The team members were (amateurs denoted by title): * Mr G F Vernon, captain (Middlesex) * The Hon M B (now Lord) Hawke (Yorkshire) * Mr W W Read (Surrey) * Mr M P Bowden (Surrey) * Mr A E Stoddart (Middlesex) * Mr A E Newton (Somerset) * Mr T C O'Brien (Middlesex) * William Bates (Yorkshire) * Robert Peel (Yorkshire) * J T Rawlin (Yorkshire) * William Attewell (Notts) * John Beaumont (Surrey) * Robert Abel (Surrey)

Test Match

Each team played "Combined Australia" sides in matches that are not accorded Test match status. In February 1888 the two touring teams combined as an England team, with Walter Read as captain, to play a

timeless Test A timeless Test is a match of Test cricket played under no limitation of time, which means the match is played until one side wins or the match is tied, with theoretically no possibility of a draw. The format means that it is not possible to play ...

against

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 ...

. England won by 126 runs. England's team in the Test match was: Walter Read (captain),

Andrew Stoddart Andrew Ernest Stoddart (11 March 1863 – 4 April 1915) was an English sportsman who played international cricket for England cricket team, England, and rugby union for England national rugby union team, England and the British and Irish Lions, ...

George Ulyett George Ulyett (21 October 1851 – 18 June 1898) was an English cricketer, noted particularly for his very aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man (who, in later years, kept a pub in his native Sheffield), Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy ...

Maurice Read John Maurice Read (9 February 1859 – 17 February 1929) was an English professional cricketer. Harry Altham wrote of him in ''A History of Cricket'', "Maurice Read had been recognised as a dashing player up to Test match form, to say nothing o ...

, Bobby Peel, Billy Newham,

George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets ...

, Johnny Briggs,

William Attewell William Attewell (; commonly known as Dick Attewell) (12 June 1861 – 11 June 1927) was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and England. Attewell was a medium pace bowler who was renowned for his extraordinary accur ...

and Dick Pilling (wk). Australia's team was: Alec Bannerman,

Sammy Jones Samuel Percy Jones (1 August 1861 – 14 July 1951) was an Australian cricketer who played 12 Test matches between 1882 and 1888.Harry Moses, Frederick Burton,

Jack Worrall John Worrall (20 June 1861 – 17 November 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football Association, VFA, and a Test cricket, Test cricketer. He was also a prominent coach in ...

, Patrick McShane, Percy McDonnell,

Jack Blackham John McCarthy Blackham (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1932) was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the ...

, Tom Garrett, Charlie Turner, John Ferris. ''Wisden'' doubted if the Australian team was truly representative. The match was affected by wet weather and was low-scoring. Australia won the toss and decided to field. This probably looked like the right decision as Ferris and Turner took 9 wickets between them to dismiss England for 113,

top-scoring with 44. When Australia batted, Lohmann and Peel, bowling unchanged, reduced them to 35 for 8 at stumps on the first day. As a result of continuing rain, and an intervening Sunday, there was no play for three days. On resumption, Lohmann and Peel dismissed Australia for 42. Turner took 7 for 43 as England then set Australia 209 to win. They fell well short with Lohmann and Peel sharing 8 wickets and England won by 126 runs.Wisden match report
/ref>

Match summary

References

External links

Bibliography

* Chris Harte, ''A History of Australian Cricket'', Andre Deutsch, 1993 * ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' 1889 {{DEFAULTSORT:English cricket teams in Australia and New Zealand in 1887-88 1887 in Australian cricket 1887 in English cricket 1888 in Australian cricket 1888 in English cricket 1888 in New Zealand cricket

1887 Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

International cricket competitions from 1844 to 1888 New Zealand cricket seasons from 1863–64 to 1889–90 1887-88