The 1958-59 Australians defeated the touring England team 4-0 in the

1958–59 Ashes series The 1958–59 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each scheduled for six days with eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1958–59, and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Ma ...

. They were seen by the English press as having little chance of winning the series against the powerful England touring team. They had only one recognised great player,

Neil Harvey Robert Neil Harvey (born 8 October 1928) is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. A ...

and had lost the fast bowling combination of

Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was an Australian cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight ...

and

Keith Miller Keith Ross Miller (28 November 1919 – 11 October 2004) was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. His ability, irreverent m ...

and the other veterans of

Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...

's Invincible 1948 team. There were, however, signs of recovery to those who would see them and E.W. Swanton believed that on their home ground Australia would be a shade better than England. The best indication of the forthcoming series was the M.C.C. and Australian tours of South Africa in 1956-57 and 1957-58.

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

had a strong team in the 1950s, stunning the cricketing world by drawing 2-2 in Australia in 1953-54, losing 3-2 in the closely fought 1955 series in England and fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 with Peter May's England in 1956-57. In 1957-58

Ian Craig Ian David Craig (12 June 193516 November 2014) was an Australian cricketer who represented the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. A right-handed batsman, Craig holds the records for being the youngest Australian to ...

led a team labelled as the weakest to leave Australia to a 3-0 victory over the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

with

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Australia national cricket team, Australia. Following his retirement from international cricket in ...

, Alan Davidson,

Wally Grout Arthur Theodore Wallace Grout (30 March 1927 – 9 November 1968), known as Wally Grout, was a Test cricketer who kept wicket for Australia and Queensland. Grout played in 51 Test matches between 1957 and 1966. He made his Test debut against S ...

Ken Mackay Kenneth Donald "Slasher" Mackay (24 October 1925 – 13 June 1982) was an Australian cricketer who played in 37 Test matches between 1956 and 1963. Biography He was universally known as "Slasher", an ironic reference to his often back-to-the-wa ...

, Colin McDonald, Jim Burke and

Lindsay Kline Lindsay Francis Kline (29 September 1934 – 2 October 2015) was an Australian cricketer. He played in 13 Test matches for Australia and 88 first-class matches between 1955/56 and 1961/62. He was a left-arm spin bowler, bowling left-arm unort ...

all in fine form.

Norm O'Neill Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressin ...

was not taken on tour, but struck innings of 175 in three hours and 233 in four hours in successive games against

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 ...

and was regarded as the "New Bradman".

The Captain

''Richie's great ability as a captain is best gauged by the fact that he took an ordinary Australian team and shaped it into a winning side...he got some outstanding results with teams under him that would not bear comparison with the finest in Australian cricket history. It was his positive, attack-minded leadership that made all the difference.'' :
Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

was a leg-spin bowler who had taken 49 Test wickets (34.41) when he left England in 1956, but grabbed 23 wickets (16.83) India, including his first three 5 wicket innings and his best Test bowling figures of 7/72. His cricket improved in South Africa in 1957–58 where he took 30 wickets (21.93) and another four 5 wicket hauls and made 329 runs (54.83) with two centuries. His attacking cricket impressed

Sir Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...

and the Australian selectors and he was the surprise choice as captain when

retired due to ill-health.

was vice captain and Australia's best batsman and the "red-hot favourite for the captaincy", but had lost to Peter May by a crushing 345 runs when he led an Australian XI against the tourists and this must have affected their decision. Benaud had been picked as vice-captain to

Arthur Morris Arthur Robert Morris (19 January 1922 – 22 August 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for ...

for the Second Test against England in 1954-55, but Morris sought advice from more senior players and Ian Johnson returned for the next Test. In 1958 Benaud was made captain of

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 ...

, but had yet to lead them in a

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 ...

match when he was made the national captain, but accepted the challenge with energy. A great believer of the saying "practice makes perfect" he trained himself and the team and honed their athletic advantage over the visitors. In particular he heightened their already formidable fielding skills, which he used to dry up the runs of the England batsmen, and their catching became phenomenal. He also encouraged quick running between the wickets to steal runs and unsettle the England bowlers. In the field his tactical genius proved decisive with cunning bowling changes and inventive fields, though he was happy to take advice from the more experienced Harvey and other players. His reputation reached such heights that a simple field change would torment batsmen who tried to work out what he was doing. In the Fourth Test "he moved short leg round a couple of yards...there was no reason for the move other than to apply psychological pressure. He was a master at upsetting the concentration of batsmen" Always aggressive and willing to take risks he proved to be one of the greatest captains in cricket and won his first five Tests series as captain, the sixth he drew to retain

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

. As a player, he grew into the role, becoming the first cricketer to make 2,000 runs and take 200 wickets in Tests and his 248 wickets was an Australian record until beaten by

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

. When he retired he became a famous broadcaster and journalist and would sometimes jokingly depreciate his captaincy, saying that "the hallmark of a great captain is the ability to win the toss at the right time", but in 1958-59 he lost the toss in the first four Tests and still won three the regain

The Batsmen

Colin McDonald was captain of

and an effective opener with a short backlift who had made centuries against South Africa and the West Indies and had stood up to Tyson in 1954-55. He made as fighting 32 and 89 i
"Laker's Test"
but failed in the rest of the 1956 series. In 1958-59 McDonald's 519 runs (64.87) made him the first batsmen to top 500 runs in an Ashes series since

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an Batting order (cricket)#Opening batsmen, opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England national cricket team ...

in 1950-51 and the first Australian to do so since

in 1948. His opening partner was Jim Burke a stonewaller who took 578 minutes to make 189 against South Africa in 1957-5
Cape Town
and was the butt of the Sydney Hill barrackers; "Burkey, you're so like a statue, I wish I were a pigeon" He didn't make many runs in 1958-59 though he tended to hang around and retired at the end of the season rather than face the increasingly number of fast bowlers.

was Australia's premier batsmen after the retirement of

, a left-handed strokemaker whose technique allowed him to make runs while other could hardly get bat to ball.

made his debut in this series and was like a breath of fresh air in the stagnant cricket of the late 1950s. Athletic, good-looking and a positive strokemaker he was hailed as the "New Bradman" and a favourite with the crowds. Crowds flocked to his games just to see the "Australian Hope" and his striking 71 not out to win the First Test made a mockery of the England's funeral second innings. After Harvey and O'Neill came

sarcastically called "Slasher Mackay" as he rarely indulged in strokeplay, instead the ungainly Queenslander set about occupying the crease for as long a possible. He never made a Test century and only averaged 33.48, but always seemed to make runs when Australia was in trouble.

Les Favell Leslie Ernest Favell (6 October 1929 – 14 June 1987) was an Australian cricketer who played in 19 Test matches between 1954 and 1961. South Australia's fourth highest run scorer, Favell was a much loved character and a daring batsman who li ...

had a terrible time as an opener against Tyson and Statham in 1954-55, but was now a powerful middle-order batsman and crowd favourate who replaced Peter Burge after the First Test. Worth a mention is Bobby Simpson, a batting prodigy to match

and an outstanding slip fielder, who made a duck in his only Test innings in the series, but was often 12th man and used as a substitute fielder. In the lower order were

and Alan Davidson, both hard-hitting all-rounders who liked to attack the bowling, but whose late order heroics were seldom needed.

The Bowlers

With the retirement of

, Bill Johnston, Ken Archer and Ian Johnson in 1956 Australia needed to rebuild their bowling attack.

would continue to play until 1960, and would overtake

Clarrie Grimmett Clarence Victor Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He was one of the finest spin bowlers of his all time and usually credited as the developer of the flipper. Early life in New Zealand Gr ...

's Australian record of 216 wickets. However, he was now 37 and was no longer the fast-bowler who had terrorised the England team in the 1940s even though he swung the ball heavily. Considering the bent elbows of Australia's latest talent and the purists dubbed him "the last of Australia's straight-arm bowlers". Fortunately the all-rounders Alan Davidson and

came good in the 1957-58 South African tour after years of underperforming. "Davo" was a left-handed fast-medium swing bowler who came round the wicket and could move the ball either way off the pitch or through the air. Dogged by perennial injuries he took only 16 wickets (34.06) between 1953 and 1957, but starting in 1957-58 he would take 23 wickets or more in six out of seven series.

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

thought he was "possibly the greatest left-arm new-ball bowler in the history of cricket" and with the exceptionally low Test average of 20.53 it is difficult to argue with him. The captain

had in the last year emerged as probably the finest leg spinner in the world and his 31 wickets (18.83) in the series was the most taken for Australia against England since

Monty Noble Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable field ...

in 1901-02. No great spinner of the ball, he was able to produce subtle variations, and unlike most leg-spinners was very economical. After these three greats Australia's bowling was less dependable, or acceptable.

Ian Meckiff Ian Meckiff (born 6 January 1935) is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Test matches between 1957 and 1963. A left-arm fast bowler, he is best known for two matters that were unrelated to his skill as a player: he was the batsma ...

took 17 wickets (17.17) with his fast left hand swing bowling, but was never able to overcome the accusations of throwing that beset his career. His unusual style gave him the ability to swing the ball at high speed and the flick of his hand made it difficult for the batsman to read the ball. Meckiff was definitely fast, saying he "likes to make them whistle", but erratic, sometimes bowling balls two feet off the stumps on either side of the wicket. When Meckiff was ill the 6'5" Giant Rorke came in and proved to be just as dangerous, taking 3/23 in the first innings of the Fourth Test and was sometimes almost unplayable as many balls pitched wide of the crease.

The Fielding

''
Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Australia national cricket team, Australia. Following his retirement from international cricket in ...
has a fine team; he inspired them in the field and the team brought off some wonderful catches, and generally I thought Australia's out-cricket was some of the best I have seen.'' : Peter May

With their

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

experience Australia were traditionally a stronger fielding side than England, but had been outclassed in 1956.

saw this as an area in which they could dominate and set about improving their already athletic skills to an extraordinary level. In this he was helped by having outstanding fielders in

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

and

in the covers, Bobby Simpson and Jim Burke in the

slips Slips (or SLIPS) may refer to: *Slips (oil drilling) *SLIPS (Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces) *SLIPS (Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System) *Slip (cricket), often used in the plural form *The Slips, a UK electronic music duo See also

* ...

, "The Claw" Alan Davidson in any close catching position and Benaud himself in the

gully A gully is a landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given ter ...

. Their efforts make the English fielders look pedestrian, dried up the runs and restricted strokeplay and the spectacular England collapses can be attributed to their ability to turn half-chances were into catches.

had played second string to

Don Tallon Donald Tallon (17 February 1916 – 7 September 1984) was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953. He was widely regarded by his contemporaries as Australia's finest ever wicket-keeper an ...

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 ...

since the war and

Gil Langley Gilbert Roche Andrews Langley (14 September 1919 – 14 May 2001) was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1977 to 1979 ...

and

Len Maddocks Leonard Victor Maddocks (24 May 1926 – 1 September 2016) was an Australian cricketer and cricket administrator who played in seven Tests from 1954 to 1956. He was born in Beaconsfield, Victoria. He played first-class cricket for Victoria a ...

for Australia since Tallon's retirement in 1953. As a result, he was 30 when he played in his first Test on the 1957-58 South African tour, when he held a record 6 catches in an innings. He soon established himself as the best wicket-keeper in the world and when he retired in 1966 his 187 dismissals in 51 Tests was second only to

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test matc ...

's 219 in 91 Tests.p238, Arnold

Test statistics

Below are the Test statistics of the Australian squad.

First Test - Brisbane

''See Main Article - 1958-59 Ashes series''

Second Test - Melbourne

''See Main Article - 1958-59 Ashes series''

Third Test - Sydney

''See Main Article - 1958-59 Ashes series''

Fourth Test - Adelaide

''See Main Article - 1958-59 Ashes series''

Fifth Test - Melbourne

''See Main Article - 1958-59 Ashes series''

References

Bibliography

* * * Ashley Brown, ''The Pictorial History of Cricket'', Bison Books, 1988 * Cris Freddi, ''The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders'', Guinness Publishing, 1996 *

with Norman Giller, ''The Ten Greatest Test Teams'', Sidgewick & Jackson, 1988 * E.W. Swanton, ''Swanton in Australia, with MCC 1946-1975'', Fontana, 1977 *

Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman, (6 February 1931 – 1 July 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He had professional status and later became an author and broadcaster. Acknowled ...

, ''As It Was, The Memoirs of Fred Trueman'', Pan Books, 2004

Annual reviews

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to revie ...

1959 *

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

1960

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Australian cricket team in Australia in 1958-59 1958 in Australian cricket 1959 in Australian cricket Australian cricket seasons from 1945–46 to 1969–70

The Captain

The Batsmen

The Bowlers

The Fielding

Test statistics

First Test - Brisbane

Second Test - Melbourne

Third Test - Sydney

Fourth Test - Adelaide

Fifth Test - Melbourne

References

Bibliography

Annual reviews

Further reading

External links