On 26-27 March 1856 the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted its first inter-colonial fixture, between Victoria and New South Wales. NSW won by three wickets in front of a crowd of around 5,000 — among them many gold-rush emigrants. The match opened the Vic-NSW rivalry that would, with the Sheffield Shield from 1892-93, become the spine of Australian first-class cricket.
Inter-colonial cricket had begun in 1851 with the Van Diemen's Land v Port Phillip match in Launceston, but no fixture between the two big mainland colonies had yet been arranged. The new MCG, opened in 1854, gave Victoria a venue capable of holding the expected gold-rush crowds.
NSW's eleven was drawn principally from Sydney club cricketers; Victoria's from the Melbourne Cricket Club. Both sides were almost entirely amateur. The pitch had not been properly dressed and was widely reported as difficult.
By 1856 cricket was firmly established in both Sydney and Melbourne, and a match between representative sides of the two colonies was overdue. Negotiations between the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Albert Cricket Club of Sydney produced agreement on a fixture to be played at the new MCG (which had hosted its first match only eighteen months earlier) at the end of the southern season. NSW's eleven travelled south by sea. The match was played to single-wicket order on a rough pitch. NSW batted first and made 76; Victoria collapsed for 63 in reply. NSW added 60 in their second innings; Victoria, set 76 to win, were dismissed for a paltry total and lost by three wickets. The crowd of around 5,000 was substantial — Melbourne's population was swollen by gold-rush immigration — and the gate receipts more than covered the cost of the visiting team. Most accounts also note that the match opened with a dispute over the toss: Victoria won it but NSW insisted that, as the visiting team, they had the choice. Victoria eventually conceded and were sent in second.
Toss dispute: Victoria win the toss but NSW insist on choice as visiting side
26 Mar 1856: NSW make 76 in their first innings
Victoria collapse for 63 in reply
NSW make 60 in their second innings
27 Mar 1856: Victoria fall short, lose by three wickets
Crowd of around 5,000 at the MCG
Mar 1856
NSW eleven sails to Melbourne
26 Mar 1856
Match begins; toss dispute; NSW 76, Victoria 63
27 Mar 1856
NSW win by three wickets
1892-93
Sheffield Shield formalises the rivalry
“Before a crowd of 5,000 people, NSW recorded their first ever victory by three wickets.”
The fixture was repeated in subsequent years, with NSW dominating the early matches. The Vic-NSW rivalry would become the central axis of Australian first-class cricket; from 1892-93 the Sheffield Shield formalised the contest.
An ill-tempered and low-scoring start to the inter-colonial rivalry that would dominate Australian first-class cricket for the next 130 years.
The 1856 match is the founding fixture of mainland Australian inter-colonial cricket. Every Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales — and there have been more than 300 — descends from these two days at the MCG.
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.