Billy Midwinter, the Gloucestershire-born Australian all-rounder, took 5 for 78 in England's first innings of the inaugural Test at Melbourne — the first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. He went on to become the only man to play Test cricket for both England and Australia.
Midwinter was a Gloucestershire native who had emigrated to Bendigo as a child. By 1877 he was playing for Victoria and was Gloucestershire's overseas pro in the English summer.
Midwinter was 26, born in St Briavels, Gloucestershire, and emigrated to Australia as a boy. A tall, strong, round-arm medium-pacer who batted usefully in the lower middle order, he was picked for the All-Australian XI in March 1877 alongside the Sydney professionals. Bowling tirelessly through the long English first innings, he took the wickets of Selby, Charlwood, Armitage, Lillywhite and Hill to finish with 5/78 in 54 four-ball overs. It was the first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Midwinter scored 5 and 17 with the bat. The most extraordinary part of his career was still to come: in 1878 he toured England with the Australian XI, in 1881-82 he played for England against Australia in Australia, and over his career he represented Australia in eight Tests and England in four. No other cricketer has played Tests for both countries.
Midwinter dismisses Selby for 7
Removes Charlwood, Armitage and Lillywhite in succession
Bowls Hill to finish with 5/78
First five-wicket haul in Test cricket
1851
William Evans Midwinter born in Gloucestershire
1860s
Family emigrates to Bendigo, Victoria
Mar 1877
Takes 5/78 in first Test
1881-82
Plays for England against Australia, in Australia
1890
Dies in Melbourne asylum, aged 39
“Midwinter was the strongest man on either side; he could bowl all day.”
Midwinter played in the second Test at Melbourne and on the 1878 tour of England, then was famously 'kidnapped' by W.G. Grace at Lord's in June 1878 to play for Gloucestershire instead of the Australians at Surrey. He represented England on the 1881-82 tour of Australia before returning to the Australian side.
The first five-wicket Test innings haul, taken by the only man ever to play Tests for both England and Australia.
Midwinter's dual-nationality Test career is unique. His mental health collapsed in the late 1880s after the deaths of his wife and children; he died in a Melbourne asylum in 1890, aged 39. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2011.
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.