Australian cricket team in England in 1878

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The Australian cricket team made the inaugural first-class tour of England by an overseas team during the 1878 season. The tour followed the one made by an England cricket team to Australia in 1876/77, during which the first Test Matches were played. However, no Tests were played in 1878.

See also: 1878 English cricket season

The tour was a spectacular success. The Australian team was managed by John Conway and captained by DW Gregory. They sailed from Sydney on 29 March in the SS City of Sydney which reached San Francisco on 27 April, having called at Auckland and Honolulu en route. They travelled across America by train, a potentially hazardous undertaking in the era of the James-Younger Gang and others, though Frank & Jesse James were still in hiding after the abortive Northfield Raid in 1876. The Australians sailed from New York on 4 May in the SS City of Berlin. This docked at Liverpool on 13 May. The team caught the train to Nottingham and arrived there at 12:15 on 14 May to a large reception. On 20 May, they began their first match at Trent Bridge against Notts.

The Australian party was: J Conway (manager), DW Gregory (captain), FE Allan, GH Bailey, Alec Bannerman, Charles Bannerman, JMcC Blackham (wk), HF Boyle, TW Garrett, TP Horan, WE Midwinter, WL Murdoch and, last but by no means least, FR Spofforth: the original Demon Bowler. Midwinter was already in England and, as described below, involved in the shenanigans of the Grace clan. He joined the tourists in Nottingham and played against Notts at Trent Bridge.

27 May. MCC versus Australians at Lord's. The Aussies established their reputation for all time by a nine wicket victory inside five hours in one of the most sensational games in history. A very strong MCC team, led by WG Grace himself, was bowled out for 33 (Spofforth 6-4, including a hat trick) and though they in turn dismissed the Aussies for 41 (Shaw 5-10, Morley 5-31), MCC in their second innings were out for just 19 (Boyle 5-3, Spofforth 5-16). The Australians needed 12 to win, which was a substantial total in the conditions, but they lost only their star batsman Charles Bannerman in getting them. Spofforth's match analysis was 14.3 overs, 5 maidens, 20 runs, 11 wickets.

20 – 22 June. Middlesex versus Australians at Lord's and Surrey versus Gloucestershire at The Oval. Shortly before play was due to begin at Lord's, WG Grace and others of the Gloucestershire camp turned up and effectively "nabbed" William Midwinter, taking him to the Oval to play for Gloucestershire. Midwinter had played for them in 1877 and Grace argued that he was bound to continue if required. Since Gloucestershire had arrived at the Oval with only ten players, Midwinter most definitely was required! A dispute took place and all sorts of agreements and contractual arrangements were argued over. It seems that WG was at first rude and insulting, then tried to brazen it out before offering a guarded apology and eventually getting around to his favourite topic: money. Midwinter apparently did quite well out of it all despite being anything but an innocent party. The Aussies got some satisfaction when they beat Middlesex by 98 runs without Midwinter while Gloucestershire, with Midwinter, lost by 16 runs to Surrey. But the real revenge came later.

5 – 6 Sept. Gloucestershire versus Australians (Clifton College). Australians won by 10 wkts. This was the champion county's only home defeat of the season. All three Graces were playing but not William Midwinter. Aussie revenge was complete thanks to a 12-90 match haul by the Demon, though he didn't get WG's wicket.

11 – 12 Sept. Players versus Australians at Prince's Ground ended the Australian tour and was also the last time Prince's Ground (in Chelsea) was used as a first-class venue, Middlesex having moved to Lord's in 1877.

At the end of their tour, the Australians sailed from Liverpool on 18 September in the SS City of Richmond. They arrived in New York over a week later and went on to Philadelphia where they played the local club on 3 – 5 October at the Germantown Ground. This match was subjected to disputes and walk-offs before it ended in a draw! They also played some odds games in America and then went by train to San Francisco which they left on 28 Oct in the SS City of New York, arriving in Sydney on 25 November after being away for almost eight months.

Meanwhile, back in England, the Graces endured months of controversy about the payments they received as supposed amateurs, much of which had come to light as a result of the Midwinter affair. Charges were brought against them at a stormy meeting of the Gloucestershire club's members and they were vilified in the press. In the end, little came of it. The Graces had too much influence. WG was simply too popular to be challenged and EM as a coroner was seen to be a "pillar of the community". So, although their ears burned, they escaped censure and nothing much changed.