English cricket team in Australia in 1911–12

International cricket tour

An English cricket team toured Australia in 1911–12. It was led by Plum Warner, but Johnny Douglas took over the captaincy for all five Test matches when Warner fell ill early in the tour. Despite losing the first Test at Sydney, a side which included Jack Hobbs, Frank Woolley, Sydney Barnes and Wilfred Rhodes hit back to win the remaining four Tests. They thus regained The Ashes.

Frank Foster and Barnes dominated with the ball, sharing 66 wickets out of the 95 Australian wickets which fell. Warner wrote: "Finer bowling than theirs I have never seen on hard, true wickets." Hobbs (3), Rhodes, Woolley and Jack Hearne recorded centuries.

Barnes dismissed Bardsley, Kelleway, Hill and Armstrong for 3 runs in his opening spell on the first morning of the second Test. Later in the game, when the crowd barracked Barnes for deliberating over a field setting, he threw the ball down in disgust and refused to continue until order was restored. Hobbs and Rhodes shared an opening stand of 147 in the third Test at Adelaide. They exceeded this with 323 at Melbourne in the next Test, which remains the record for England's first wicket against Australia. Frank Woolley hit 305* in 205 minutes in a tour game against Tasmania.

For Australia, the outstanding performer was "Ranji" Hordern, who took 32 wickets in the Test series. He had match figures of 12 for 135 in the first Test, assisting Australia to their only win of the series. In the final game he took 10 for 161. None of the Australian batsmen shone. Victor Trumper made their only century, but his average for the series was just under thirty.

The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and matches outside the Tests were played under the MCC name.

Test series summary

Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 6. Series result: England won 4–1.

First Test

15–21 December 1911
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
447 (127 overs) VT Trumper 113 SF Barnes 3/107 (35 overs)		318 (101.5 overs) JW Hearne 76 HV Hordern 5/85 (27 overs)
308 (104.3 overs) C Kelleway 70 FR Foster 5/92 (31.3 overs)		291 (123.2 overs) G Gunn 62 HV Hordern 7/90 (42.2 overs)

Australia won by 146 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Umpires: RM Crockett and WG Curran

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
17 December was taken as a rest day
RB Minnett (AUS), and S Kinneir, CP Mead, JW Hearne, FR Foster and JWHT Douglas (all ENG) made their Test debuts.

Second Test

30 December 1911–3 January 1912
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
184 (62.1 overs) HV Hordern 49* SF Barnes 5/44 (23 overs)		265 (98.1 overs) JW Hearne 114 HV Hordern 4/66 (23.1 overs)
299 (91.1 overs) WW Armstrong 90 FR Foster 6/91 (38 overs)		219/2 (67.1 overs) JB Hobbs 126* WJ Whitty 1/37 (18 overs)

England won by 8 wickets
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: RM Crockett and DA Elder

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
31 December was taken as a rest day
EJ Smith and JW Hitch (both ENG) made their Test debuts.

Third Test

12–17 January 1912
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
133 (60 overs) WW Armstrong 33 FR Foster 5/36 (26 overs)		501 (177.1 overs) JB Hobbs 187 A Cotter 4/125 (43 overs)
476 (153.4 overs) C Hill 98 SF Barnes 5/105 (46.4 overs)		112/3 (42.2 overs) W Rhodes 57* C Kelleway 1/8 (7 overs)

England won by 7 wickets
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Umpires: RM Crockett and GA Watson

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
14 January was taken as a rest day
TJ Matthews (AUS) made his Test debut.

Fourth Test

9–13 February 1912
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

Australia	v	England
191 (65.1 overs) RB Minnett 56 SF Barnes 5/74 (29.1 overs)		589 (190.5 overs) W Rhodes 179 RB Minnett 3/59 (20 overs)
173 (61.5 overs) H Carter 38 JWHT Douglas 5/46 (17.5 overs)

England won by an innings and 225 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: RM Crockett and WA Young

England won the toss and elected to field.
11 February was taken as a rest day.
J Vine (ENG) made his Test debut.

Fifth Test

23 February–1 March 1912
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard

England	v	Australia
324 (129 overs) FE Woolley 133* HV Hordern 5/95 (37 overs)		176 (53 overs) WW Armstrong 33 SF Barnes 3/56 (19 overs)
214 (70.3 overs) G Gunn 61 HV Hordern 5/66 (25 overs)		292 (102.1 overs) RB Minnett 61 FR Foster 4/43 (30.1 overs)

England won by 70 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Umpires: RM Crockett and AC Jones

England won the toss and elected to bat.
25 February was taken as a rest day
There was no play on the third and sixth days.
JW McLaren (AUS) made his Test debut.

Ceylon

The English team had a stopover in Colombo en route to Australia and on 21 October played a single-innings match (i.e., not first-class) there against the Ceylon national team. MCC won by 154 runs.^[1]

References

^ "Ceylon v MCC, 1911". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 June 2014.

External links

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1913 edition, "England in Australia 1911-12"

The Ashes

List of Ashes series

1850

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												1882–83		1884–85		1886–87		1887–88				1891–92		1894–95		1897–98

1900

	1902		1905		1909		1912		World War I			1921		1926		1930		1934		1938		World War II			1948
1901–02		1903–04		1907–08		1911–12					1920–21		1924–25		1928–29		1932–33		1936–37					1946–47

1950

	1953		1956		1961		1964		1968		1972		1975		1977		1981		1985		1989		1993		1997
1950–51		1954–55		1958–59		1962–63		1965–66		1970–71		1974–75				1978–79		1982–83		1986–87		1990–91		1994–95		1998–99

2000

	2001		2005		2009		2013		2015		2019		2023
		2002–03		2006–07		2010–11		2013–14		2017–18		2021–22

Non-Ashes Australia v England Test series
1876–77 1878–79 1880 1881–82 1882 1945 1976–77 1979–80 1980 1987–88 2027

Matches in white background were played in England, yellow – in Australia.

v t e Australia squad – Ashes 1911–12
Hill (c) Armstrong Bardsley Carter (†) Cotter Gregory Hazlitt Hordern Kelleway Macartney Matthews McLaren Minnett Ransford Trumper Whitty

v t e England squad – Ashes 1911–12 (14th series win)
Douglas (c) Barnes Foster Gunn Hearne Hitch Hobbs Kinneir Mead Rhodes Strudwick (†) Smith (†) Vine Woolley

International cricket tours of Australia

Test and LOI tours
Afghanistan	2021–22
Bangladesh	2003 2008
England	1876–77 1878–79 1881–82 1882–83 1884–85 1886–87 1887–88 1891–92 1894–95 1897–98 1901–02 1903–04 1907–08 1911–12 1920–21 1924–25 1928–29 1932–33 1936–37 1946–47 1950–51 1954–55 1958–59 1962–63 1965–66 1970–71 1974–75 1977 1978–79 1979–80 1982–83 1986–87 1987–88 1990–91 1994–95 1998–99 2002–03 2006–07 2010–11 2013–14 2017–18 2021–22 2022–23
India	1947–48 1967–68 1977–78 1980–81 1985–86 1991–92 1999–2000 2003–04 2007–08 2011–12 2014–15 2015–16 2018–19 2020–21 2024–25
New Zealand	1973–74 1980–81 1982–83 1985–86 1987–88 1989–90 1993–94 1997–98 2001–02 2004–05 2008–09 2011–12 2015–16 2016–17 2019–20 2022–23
Pakistan	1964–65 1972–73 1976–77 1978–79 1981–82 1983–84 1989–90 1992–93 1995–96 1996–97 1999–2000 2002 2004–05 2009–10 2016–17 2019–20 2023–24
South Africa	1910–11 1931–32 1952–53 1963–64 1971–72 (cancelled) 1993–94 1997–98 2000 2001–02 2005–06 2008–09 2012–13 2014–15 2016–17 2018–19 2022–23
Sri Lanka	1987–88 1989–90 1995–96 2004 2007–08 2010–11 2012–13 2016–17 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22
West Indies	1930–31 1951–52 1960–61 1968–69 1975–76 1979–80 1981–82 1984–85 1988–89 1992–93 1995–96 1996–97 2000–01 2005–06 2009–10 2012–13 2015–16 2020–21 2022–23 2023–24
Zimbabwe	1994–95 2003–04 2022

Tournaments hosted
World Cup	1992 2015
T20 World Cup	2022
Tri-series	1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2011–12 2014–15 2017–18
Other multi-team tournaments	1985 1987

Other tours
Afghanistan	2014–15
Australian Forces	1919–20 1945–46
English	1861–62 1863–64 1873–74 1902–03 1922–23 1929–30 1935–36 1979–80
England Lions	2012–13 2021
Fijian	1907–08
Ireland	2014–15
Multi-national	1971–72 2005–06
Nepal	2023–24
New Zealand	1898–99 1913–14 1925–26 1927–28 1937–38 1953–54 1961–62 1967–68 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1974–75
PNG	2014–15
Scotland	2014–15
Sri Lanka	1982–83
UAE	2014–15
World Series Cricket (West Indies & World XI)	1977-78 1978-79

International cricket tours of Sri Lanka

Test and LOI tours
Afghanistan	2022-23 2023–24
Australia	1982–83 1992 1999 2003–04 2011 2016 2022
Bangladesh	2002 2005 2007 2012–13 2016–17 2019 2020–21
England	1981–82 1992–93 2000–01 2003–04 2007–08 2011–12 2014–15 2018–19 2020–21
India	1985 1993 1997 2001 2006 2008 2008–09 2010 2012 2015 2017 2021 2024
Ireland	2022–23
New Zealand	1983–84 1984–85 1986–87 1992–93 1998 2003 2009 2012–13 2013–14 2019
Pakistan	1985–86 1994 1996–97 2000 2005–06 2009 2012 2014 2015 2022 2023
South Africa	1993 2000 2004 2006 2013 2014 2018 2021–22
West Indies	1993–94 2001–02 2005 2010–11 2015-16 2019–20 2021–22
Zimbabwe	1983–84 1996–97 1997–98 2001–02 2017 2020–21 2021–22 2023–24

Tournaments hosted
Multiple teams	1986 1986 1994 1996 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2001–02 2001–02 2002 2004 2009 2010 2010 2010 2011 2012 2018

Other tours
Afghan	2009–10 2024
Australian	1884 1890 1893 1896 1912 1926 1930 1934 1935–36 1938 1945 1948 1953 1961 1964 1969 1981
Bangladeshi	1985–86
Canadian	2000–01 2009–10 2011–12
English	1882–83 1889–90 1891–92 1892–93 1894–95 1911–12 1920–21 1922–23 1924–25 1926–27 1928–29 1929–30 1932–33 1933–34 1935–36 1936–37 1936–37 1950–51 1951–52 1954–55 1958–59 1961–62 1962–63 1965–66 1968–69 1969–70 1972–73 1976–77 1977–78 1984–85 2000–01
Indian	1925–26 1944–45 1956–57 1973–74 1975–76
Kenyan	2001–02 2013–14
Malaysian	1893–94 1971–72
Multi-national	1930–31 1949–50 1950–51 1967–68
New Zealand	1927 1937–38
Pakistani	1948–49 1972–73 1975–76 1978–79
Scottish	2011–12 2013–14
West Indian	1948–49 1966–67 1974–75 1978–79
Irish	2020–21
South Africa A	2023