On 27 May 1878 the touring Australians, on their first visit to England, bowled MCC out twice in a single day at Lord's. MCC made 33 and 19; Australia made 41 and 12 for 1 to win by 9 wickets. Fred Spofforth took 6/4 (including a hat-trick) and 4/16; Harry Boyle 3/14 and 6/3. W.G. Grace was clean-bowled by Spofforth for 4. The match made Australian cricket's reputation in a single afternoon.
The 1878 Australian tour had a difficult start: a defeat against a Nottinghamshire XI in early May had encouraged the English press to write the tourists off. MCC's secretary R.A. Fitzgerald scheduled the Lord's match as a quick exhibition.
Heavy overnight rain left the Lord's pitch soft. MCC chose to bat. Their side included W.G. Grace, A.N. Hornby, Alfred Shaw and George Hearne — among the strongest XIs of the summer.
The Australian XI under Dave Gregory had landed in England with little reputation. MCC, the home of cricket, agreed to a one-day fixture at Lord's at short notice. The pitch was wet from overnight rain. MCC, batting first, were dismissed for 33 in 65 minutes. W.G. Grace was bowled by Spofforth for 4, leaping in the air at the wicket as the bails flew; in the dressing-room afterwards Tom Horan recorded Spofforth chanting 'Ain't I a demon? Ain't I a demon?' — the moment generally credited as the origin of his nickname. Australia replied with 41, an 8-run lead. MCC, batting again, collapsed to 19 — Spofforth 4/16, Boyle 6/3 — and Australia knocked off the 12 needed for the loss of one wicket before close of play. Including the hat-trick (Hearne, Shaw, Vernon) Spofforth took 10 wickets in the match. The English press, which had patronised the tourists on arrival, switched to extraordinary respect overnight. The Australian XI's fixtures for the rest of the summer were upgraded to first-class status; the match is regularly cited as the moment international cricket became a serious commercial proposition in England.
MCC win toss; bat first
Spofforth bowls Grace for 4 — leaps in air, declares 'Ain't I a demon?'
MCC 33 all out in 65 minutes; Spofforth 6/4, Boyle 3/14
Spofforth's hat-trick: Hearne, Shaw, Vernon
MCC 19 in second innings; Boyle 6/3, Spofforth 4/16
Australia 12-1 chasing 13; win by 9 wickets
Morning, 27 May 1878
MCC bat first in soft conditions; bowled out for 33
Early afternoon
Australia 41 in reply for 8-run lead
Late afternoon
MCC 19 second innings; Boyle 6/3
End of day
Australia 12-1, win by 9 wickets
“Ain't I a demon? Ain't I a demon?”
“The defeat of the MCC was a nine-days' wonder, and made the reputation of the Australians at a single stroke.”
The match upgraded the Australian tour from curiosity to sensation. Fixtures across England were renegotiated. Spofforth's nickname spread in print within days; a Vanity Fair cartoon by 'Spy' followed soon after, captioned 'The Demon'. Punch ran a celebrated verse beginning 'The Australians came down like a wolf on the fold'.
The day Australian cricket arrived in England. Spofforth 6/4 and 4/16, Grace clean-bowled, MCC humiliated at headquarters. Cricket's first international shock.
The Lord's massacre of 27 May 1878 is one of the founding moments of international cricket as a commercial and emotional contest. It made Spofforth a star and Australian cricket a serious force. The match is honoured by the Father Time wall at Lord's and on the Lord's tour as a defining day in the ground's history.
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.