#billy murdoch

5 incidents tagged

Billy Murdoch's 211 — First Test Double Century, Oval 1884

England v Australia

1884-08-12

On 11-12 August 1884, Australia's captain Billy Murdoch became the first man to score a double century in Test cricket — 211 against England at The Oval, in 525 minutes off 525 deliveries with 24 fours. Australia made 551, then a Test record. England, in desperation, used all eleven players as bowlers; the wicketkeeper Hon Alfred Lyttelton, bowling underhand lobs with his pads on, finished with the best figures, 4 for 19.

#billy-murdoch#1884#oval

⭐Serious

Billy Murdoch — Australia's First Great Captain, 1880s

Australia / England (one Test)

1882-08-29

William Lloyd Murdoch captained Australia in 16 Tests through the 1880s, scored the first Test 200 (211 at the Oval in 1884), held the Test record score (153* against England in 1880) for several years, and was the architect of Australia's 7-run win at the Oval in 1882. He later (controversially) played one Test for England against South Africa in 1891-92.

#billy-murdoch#australia#captain

🔥Explosive

The Sydney Riot — Lord Harris vs NSW, 8 February 1879

Australia (NSW) vs England

1879-02-08

On 8 February 1879 a crowd at the Association Ground in Sydney invaded the pitch after Victorian umpire George Coulthard gave Billy Murdoch run out. Lord Harris was struck across the back by a stick or whip, his teammate Monkey Hornby seized the assailant and frog-marched him to the pavilion, and 2,000 of the 10,000 spectators joined the disorder. It is cricket's first international riot.

#sydney-riot#1879#lord-harris

⭐Mild

Billy Murdoch — From NSW Wicketkeeper to Australia's Captain, 1878

Australia in England

1878-05-01

Billy Murdoch, a 23-year-old NSW solicitor and wicketkeeper, sailed with the first Australian touring side to England in 1878 as the team's first-choice gloveman. By the end of the season he had ceded the gloves to Jack Blackham and turned his attention exclusively to batting — a switch that would lead him to the Australian captaincy in 1880 and to many of the great Test batting innings of the next decade.

#billy-murdoch#1878#australia

🥊Moderate

Spofforth Boycotts the First Test — March 1877

Australia vs England

1877-03-15

Fred Spofforth, the leading fast bowler in the Australian colonies, refused to play in the first Test in March 1877. His protest was over the selectors' decision to pick Victorian Jack Blackham as wicketkeeper rather than the New South Welshman Billy Murdoch, the keeper Spofforth had bowled to all his career. Australia won without him.

#fred-spofforth#billy-murdoch#jack-blackham