Controversies in 1896

7 incidents documented

Ranjitsinhji's 154* on Test Debut — Old Trafford, 1896

England v Australia

1896-07-18

On 18 July 1896 K.S. Ranjitsinhji, 23, a Cambridge graduate from Nawanagar, walked out at Old Trafford for his Test debut and made 62 in the first innings and an unbeaten 154 in the second — including 113 between the start of the third morning and lunch, becoming the first batsman to score a century before lunch in Test cricket. The MCC selectors had refused him for the First Test on grounds that were widely understood to be racial; Lancashire's local committee picked him for Manchester. Australia won the Test, but the leg-glanced 154* changed cricket's conversation about who could play it.

#ranjitsinhji#1896#test-debut

⭐Serious

George Lohmann's 9 for 28 — South Africa Bowled Out at Old Wanderers, 1896

South Africa v England

1896-03-02

On 2 March 1896 at the Old Wanderers in Johannesburg, Surrey's George Lohmann took 9 for 28 in 14.2 four-ball overs as South Africa were bowled out for 197 in their first innings. It was the first nine-wicket innings haul in Test cricket and stood as the best Test bowling figures in the world for sixty years until Jim Laker's 10 for 53 at Old Trafford in 1956. Lohmann would finish the series with 35 wickets at 5.80, still the highest tally in any three-Test series.

#george-lohmann#1896#south-africa

⭐Serious

Lohmann's 15 for 45 and Hat-Trick — South Africa All Out 30, 1896

South Africa v England

1896-02-13

Three weeks before the 9/28 at Old Wanderers, George Lohmann took 7 for 38 and 8 for 7 — match figures of 15 for 45 — at Port Elizabeth, dismissing South Africa for 30 in the second innings and ending the match with a hat-trick. The 30 all out remained the lowest Test innings total for sixty years; the 15/45 was then the best match analysis in Test cricket. The First Test of the 1895-96 series ran two days.

#george-lohmann#1896#south-africa

⭐Serious

Tom Richardson's Old Trafford Heroism — 13 for 244 in a Lost Test, 1896

England v Australia

1896-07-16

In the same Old Trafford Test that produced Ranjitsinhji's debut 154*, England's fast bowler Tom Richardson took 7 for 168 and 6 for 76 — match figures of 13 for 244 from 110 overs of fast bowling. He bowled unchanged for three hours on the final afternoon as Australia scrabbled to 125 for 7 chasing 125 to win. Australia held on by three wickets. Richardson's spell is one of the great lost-cause performances in Test history.

#tom-richardson#1896#old-trafford

🔥Serious

Lord Hawke's England Tour Trapped in the Jameson Raid — South Africa, 1896

England (Lord Hawke's XI) v South Africa

1896-01-02

Lord Hawke's England tour of South Africa in 1895-96 sailed into the middle of the Jameson Raid — a 600-man British attempt to overthrow Paul Kruger's Transvaal that began on 29 December 1895 and collapsed on 2 January 1896. The cricketers' tour sponsor, Johannesburg mining magnate Abe Bailey, was arrested and fined £2,000. Hawke persuaded Kruger to allow the team to visit the imprisoned raiders in Pretoria gaol; a poker night was arranged before the prisoners returned to their cells.

#lord-hawke#1896#jameson-raid

⭐Moderate

Hugh Trumble's 12 for 89 — Australia's Off-Spinner Bowls Through a Losing Test, Oval August 1896

England v Australia

1896-08-10

On a damp Oval pitch in August 1896, Australia's off-spinner Hugh Trumble took 6 for 59 and 6 for 30 — match figures of 12 for 89 — yet finished on the losing side. Australia, set 111 to win, collapsed to 19 for 8 and were all out for 44, England winning the third Test and the series 2-1. Wisden called Trumble 'on all wickets distinctly the best bowler on the side'; the match remains one of cricket's most celebrated bowling efforts in defeat.

#hugh-trumble#1896#the-oval

🔥Serious

Ranjitsinhji's Selection Battle — Lord Harris Blocks Him at Lord's, Old Trafford Selectors Pick Him Anyway, 1896

England v Australia

1896-06-22

In June 1896, despite Ranjitsinhji topping the English first-class averages, Lord Harris — president of MCC and effectively the selector for the Lord's Test — refused to pick him for the first Test against Australia, arguing only 'native-born' Englishmen should represent the side. England lost. The Lancashire selectors who chose the Old Trafford Test simply ignored Harris and picked Ranji, who marked his debut with 62 and 154 not out, and the precedent of an English-born-only Test team was broken forever.

#ranjitsinhji#1896#lord-harris