1878 in Cricket - Australian Cricket Team in England and North America in 1878, English Cricket Team in Australia in 1878-79 (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Australian Cricket Team in England and North America in 1878, English Cricket Team in Australia in 1878-79, 1878 English Cricket Season. Not illustrated. Excerpt: In 1878, an Australian cricket team made the inaugural first-class tour of England by a representative overseas side. The tour followed one made by an England cricket team to Australia in 1876/77, during which the first Test matches were played. Although no Test matches were played in 1878, the tour proved to be such an outstanding financial and sporting success that the future of international cricket was assured. The Australian team was managed by John Conway and captained by Dave Gregory. William Charles Valentine Gibbes acted as the team's assistant-manager and secretary. Conway was a canny journalist from Geelong in Victoria while Gregory and Gibbes were both Sydney-based accountants with the New South Wales Public Service. These three cricket enthusiasts were the architects of the venture. They and the players each contributed the sum of 50 pounds to finance the expedition and later shared equally in the handsome profits that their enterprise generated, having carted the match takings around with them in a closely guarded strong-box all the time that they were away. Gregory demonstrated excellent leadership and tactical skills throughout the long tour, while Fred Spofforth became the star performer of the team. Cricket scholars consider him to have been one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game. See also: 1878 English cricket season The team sailed from Sydney on 29 March 1878 in the SS City of Sydney, reaching San Francisco on 27 April, having called at Auckland and Honolulu en route. They then travelled across America by train, a potentially hazardous und... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=7713585