Australia, captained by Monty Noble, regained the Ashes from Plum Warner's England side 4-1 in the 1907-08 series. Charlie Macartney made his Test debut as a left-arm spinner (and earned the nickname 'Governor General'); Trumper and Noble batted superbly; the series featured two thrilling close finishes at Sydney and Melbourne.
England's 1905 Ashes win had set them up as favourites for a successful tour, but Stanley Jackson had retired and the Yorkshire fast bowlers Hirst and Rhodes were the side's only star turns. Australia, by contrast, had Trumper, Noble, Hill, Bardsley and Armstrong all available; the home conditions favoured them.
Arthur Jones, the Nottinghamshire amateur captain of the touring side, fell ill with pleurisy on the voyage and was unable to take the field for early matches. F.L. Fane led in the first three Tests; Jones returned for the last two.
England, captained on the field by Arthur Jones (who fell ill mid-tour and was replaced by F.L. Fane), arrived in Australia with the Ashes won at home in 1905 still in their possession. The series was tight in the first three Tests but turned decisively to Australia thereafter.
The first Test at Sydney was won by Australia by two wickets in a remarkable last-wicket stand. The second at Melbourne went to England by one wicket — two of the closest Ashes Tests in succession. The third (Adelaide) and fourth (Melbourne) went to Australia by good margins. The fifth at Sydney saw Trumper's 166 dazzle the crowd as Australia won the rubber 4-1.
Charlie Macartney made his Test debut at the Sydney first Test, picked as a left-arm spinner with handy lower-order batting. He took 17 wickets in the series (at 26.94) and earned from Kent's KL Hutchings the nickname 'Governor General' — meant ironically at the time, but a name that stuck. Macartney would later (in the 1920s) become a great attacking batsman; in 1907-08 he was still primarily a bowler.
1st Test, Sydney: Australia win by 2 wickets in a last-wicket finish.
Macartney's Test debut; 'Governor General' nickname coined.
2nd Test, Melbourne: England win by 1 wicket.
3rd Test, Adelaide: Australia win by 245 runs.
4th Test, Melbourne: Australia win by 308 runs.
5th Test, Sydney: Trumper 166; Australia win by 49 runs.
Series result: Australia 4-1; Ashes regained.
13-19 Dec 1907
1st Test, Sydney — Australia win by 2 wickets.
1-7 Jan 1908
2nd Test, Melbourne — England win by 1 wicket.
10-16 Jan 1908
3rd Test, Adelaide — Australia win.
7-11 Feb 1908
4th Test, Melbourne — Australia win.
21-27 Feb 1908
5th Test, Sydney — Trumper 166; Australia win.
Series result
Australia 4, England 1; Ashes regained.
“Trumper's batting was beyond praise.”
Macartney went on to become one of Australia's great attacking batsmen, eventually making 99 before lunch on the first day of a Test (Headingley 1926) and a triple century in his last match for NSW. Noble retired from Test cricket after 1909.
For England, the loss prompted reflection: Warner's 1903-04 success had not been built on. The 1909 home series would also go to Australia, and English Ashes hopes did not revive until 1911-12.
A series that swung Australia's way after two thrilling close Tests. Trumper, Noble and Hill's batting was authoritative throughout; Macartney's emergence and Tibby Cotter's pace gave Noble the bowling depth Warner's England lacked. The Ashes returned to Australia for the first time since 1903.
The 1907-08 series introduced Macartney to Test cricket and confirmed Trumper and Noble at the height of their powers. The two close finishes at Sydney and Melbourne (two wickets and one wicket respectively) made this one of the most exciting Ashes series of the Edwardian era; only the 1902 series and the 2005 series have been considered as tense by cricketing historians.
Macartney's nickname 'Governor General' would follow him through his career and into his obituary; the irony of the original (Hutchings reportedly bestowed it after a particularly slow innings) was forgotten by the time Macartney was dismantling England in the 1920s.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.