England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

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 the 1897–98 season to play a five-match Test series against the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in international cricket. Along with England, it is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing and winning the first ever Test match in 1877; the team also plays One ...

. The team was captained by

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, ...

and, except in the Test matches when it was called England, it was generally known as A. E. Stoddart's XI. The playing strength of the team was weakened by Stoddart acceding to a request from the Australians to bring “new blood”. As a result, established players including JT Brown, Albert Ward and

Bobby Peel Robert Peel (12 February 1857 – 12 August 1941) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire between 1883 and 1897. Primarily a left-arm spin bowler, Peel was also an effective left-handed batsman ...

were not selected. Stoddart only played in the third and fourth Test matches, following the news before the first Test that his mother had died. Archie MacLaren captained England in the first, second and fifth Tests. England won the first Test comfortably by nine

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

s after Ranjisinhji played one of the great Test innings. Weakened by illness he batted at number 7 he scored 175 in 223 minutes, hitting 26 fours, a performance which set up the victory. Australia then emphatically won the next four Tests. Australia, captained by Harry Trott, therefore regained

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, ...

. Australia were well served in batting by Joe Darling (he scored 537 runs, including three centuries),

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

and Charlie McLeod; and in

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

by Ernie Jones, Monty Noble and

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

. J. T. Hearne and Tom Richardson were England's most successful bowlers but the team was largely let down by its batting, with only MacLaren and

Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...

earning any distinction. The English team played a total of 23 matches on tour: five Tests; seven

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

against state teams; and eleven minor matches against local teams. In the state matches, Stoddart's XI won three, drew three and lost one.

Players

The English party consisted of thirteen players, twelve of whom played for England in the Test series: * Jack Board (

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 ...

;

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 ...

; did not play in any of the Test matches) * Johnny Briggs (

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 ...

) * Frank Druce (

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 ...

and

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 ...

) * Tom Hayward (Surrey) * J. T. Hearne (

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 ...

) *

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 ...

(

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 ...

) * Archie MacLaren (Lancashire; vice-captain) * Jack Mason (

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 ...

) * KS Ranjitsinhji (

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, ...

) * Tom Richardson (Surrey) *

(Middlesex; captain) * Bill Storer (

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 ...

; wicketkeeper) * Ted Wainwright (Yorkshire) The following players represented Australia in the Test series:CricketArchive – Australia Test bowling
/ref> * Joe Darling (

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 ...

) *

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

(

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 ...

) *

(South Australia) * Bill Howell (New South Wales) * Frank Iredale (New South Wales) * Ernie Jones (South Australia) *

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...

(New South Wales; wicketkeeper) * Jack Lyons (South Australia) * Tom McKibbin (New South Wales) * Charlie McLeod ( Victoria) * Monty Noble (New South Wales) * Harry Trott (Victoria; captain) *

(Victoria) *

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 ...

(Victoria)

Test series summary

Australia won the Test series 4–1.

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

Fourth Test

Fifth Test

References

Annual reviews

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 ...

1899

External links

ESPNcricinfo – tour itinerary

{{DEFAULTSORT:English cricket team in Australia in 1897-98 1897 in Australian cricket 1897 in English cricket 1898 in Australian cricket 1898 in English cricket Australian cricket seasons from 1890–91 to 1917–18 1897-98 International cricket competitions from 1888–89 to 1918 1897-98