No.42 (Oct 14): Bodyline v Bradman
Don Bradman’s brilliance continued in 1930 in England, when he made 131 at Trent Bridge, 254 at Lord’s, a Test record 334 at Headingley, and 232 at the Oval, as Australia captured the Ashes 2-1. He averaged 139.14 in the series, and England felt they needed something to neutralise him for when they returned to Australia in 1932-33. The tactic MCC captain Douglas Jardine devised was called ‘Leg Theory’, or ‘Bodyline’ as it became known. Bowlers pitched short and aimed at the batsman’s body, with a posse of fielders around the bat on the leg side waiting for a catch. It was to become the most controversial Ashes series of all ...
No.43 (Oct 13): The Don Shows Who's Boss
Enter the Don! A certrain Mr Bradman made his Test debut in the 1928-29 Ashes series, but failed to prevent a 4-1 England win. The tourists were led by the adventurous Percy Chapman. Bradman made his Ashes debut in the first Test at Brisbane, after playing only nine first-class matches. The 20 year-old managed just 18 and one, and was relegated to 12th man for the next match. It was the only time he was dropped by Australia. The Boy from Bowral returned for the third Test at Melbourne, and made 79 and 112. He was the youngest player, at that time, to score a Test century. The rest, as they say ... The bat Bradman used on his debut was sold two years ago for about £65,000.
No.44 (Oct 14): Herbie Goes Bananas After 4-1 Win
After Warwick Armstrong led his tourists to a 3-0 win in 1921, England might have hoped a change of Australia captain would offer them respite. Alas, Herbie Collins took over to lead the Australians to another crushing win (4-1) in 1924-25. This was in spite of Herbert Sutcliffe scoring four hundreds and Jack Hobbs three, and Maurice Tate taking 38 wickets, 14 more than his closest rival. Australia's greater strength in depth proved key, however. England ended their sequence of 13 Ashes Tests without victory by winning at Melbourne, and it was at this stage that the series broke into its regular four-year pattern.
No.45 (Oct 15): England Crushed By Big Ship
The Ashes were put on hold during the First World War, and did not resume until 1920-21. Australia were led by the imposing Warwick Armstrong, who was known as 'The Big Ship'. The hosts won emphatically at Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to inflict the first Ashes whitewash in a five-Test series. Jack Hobbs scored two centuries for England, but Australia's charge was led by Herbert Collins (who scored the most number of runs in the series, 557) and leg-spinner Arthur Mailey, who took 36 wickets. Armstrong also averaged 77, with three hundreds.
No.46 (Oct 16): Hobbs Masters Aussie Attack
England crashed to a 4-1 defeat in 1907-08 and also lost to the touring Australians in 1909. No one gave them much chance in 1911-12, particularly when they lost the first Test at Sydney thanks, in part, to Victor Trumper's 113, and 12 wickets for leg-spinner Herbert 'Ranji' Hordern. The Australians had not accounted for Surrey's Jack Hobbs, 'The Master', however, and he reeled off his first Ashes centuries - three of them, in successive wins: 126 not out at Melbourne, 187 at Adelaide and 178, again at Melbourne. The tourists also took the fifth Test, back at Sydney, to win the series 4-1.
No.47 (Oct 17): Plum Victory Down Under
England's fortunes had changed by the 1903-04 series, losing four series to Australia in a row. It was at this point that the term, 'the Ashes', caught on. Pelham Warner, the England captain known as Plum, talked about reclaiming them before departing that winter. His men, viewed as underdogs, answered his call, taking the series in Australia 3-2. In the first Test at Sydney, RE 'Tip' Foster struck 287, a Test record for the time, and still the highest score by a debutant, to help England win by five wickets. Plum Warner also managed Douglas Jardine's England side in Australia in 1932-33, famously objecting to the Bodyline / Leg Theory tactics that helped subdue Don Bradman and defeat the Australians.
No.48 (Oct 18): Ashes Are Born
After England's legendary defeat at the Oval on Aug 29, 1882, and that famous obituary in The Sporting Times, Ivo Bligh left for Australia with his side to attain their revenge. On the trip, Bligh and the amateurs in his party stayed at Rupertswood, a stately home at Sunbury in Victoria. Rupertswood was the home of Sir William Clarke, a wealthy landowner, and his wife is said to have asked that a bail – believed to have been used in the third match of the series – be burnt, the remains then poured into a terracotta urn and given to Bligh. England won the series 2-1, although the Ashes stayed at Rupertswood until 1927 before being taken to Lord's.
No.49 (Oct 19): The Demon Strikes
Test cricket's first hat-trick was taken by Australia's Fred 'The Demon' Spofforth. The third Test encounter between Australia and England began two days into 1879, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, after the sides had won a Test each in the winter of 1876-77. Spofforth's hat-trick reduced England to 113 all out in the first innings. He took six for 48, and then made 39 as Australia established a lead of 143. He was once again the destroyer in the second innings, taking seven for 62, and his side went on to win by 10 wickets. Spofforth was the man England - including WG Grace - dreaded facing. He was tall, quick, fiendishly accurate and, after he leapt dramatically into the crease, he could make the ball cut and swerve. In 1881 he is said to have travelled 400 miles by horseback to play in a minor match in Australia, in which he took all 20 wickets - all bowled. He later played for Derbyshire and Yorkshire.
No.50 (Oct 20): Where It All Began
The first Test match was staged between Australia (actually a Grand Combined Melbourne and Sydney XI) and England. It began on March 15, 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was timeless, and Australia won by 45 runs. David Gregory was Australia’s captain, while James Lillywhite led England. The tourists’ Alfred Shaw bowled the first ball, Allen Hill took the first wicket, and Australia’s Charles Bannerman (a native of Kent who moved to New South Wales) became the first centurion, making 165 in the first innings of the match. England’s Henry Jupp, from Surrey, was the only other player to score 50 in the Test, making 63 in the first innings, but he could not prevent Australia winning by 45 runs.
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