WITH Australia entering the most eagerly anticipated battle with England for The Ashes in decades, the Bendigo Advertiser continues a series by avid historian PETER MacIVER looking at Bendigo’s links to the origins of perhaps the most famous trophy in world sport...
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IN an age saturated with too much information about cricketers and their performances on and off the field, it is refreshing to look back to the days of William Lloyd Murdoch to see what papers of the past had to say about him.
The captain of the Australian team has always faced scrutiny over his leadership abilities.
W.L. Murdoch had many admirers of his skills as a leader. One of these was Australian cricketer George Giffen who played under Murdoch and spoke of his leadership qualities to the The Register just after WL’s death in 1911.
“‘What about his captaincy?’ He was one of the very best,” Giffen said. “He was so bright and cheerful, no matter how badly things might be going against us. He always had a word of encouragement for the youngster.
“I know that often, when things had looked blue, he put the heart of a lion into me by his kindly pat on the back.
“I can’t say how much I owe to poor old Billy. He was a great judge of the game, and used his bowlers with a lot of skill. He got the best out of them, too, because he so frequently consulted them about the placing of their field.
“I well remember the first time he put me on to bowl in England he was most careful to ask me where I wanted the men put. It encouraged a young bowler to feel that such confidence was reposed in him.”
His leadership qualities were also mentioned by W.G. Grace who thought Murdoch a great captain, but also pointed out his mischievous side and the fact he was not a man to cross!
Grace wrote in his 1899 book Cricket Reminiscences and Personal Recollections:
“On one occasion he was captaining an Australian Eleven in a match against one of our leading counties, and when play had been in progress a little while, Murdoch, as captain, thought a change of bowling desirable.
“Addressing one of the bowlers – a well-known cricketer, whose name I need not disclose – he said ‘Mr So-and-so will go on now.’ The bowler objected; said he hadn’t been given a fair chance. Murdoch said nothing, and let him keep on bowling unchanged until the end of the day’s play. It is needless to say the bowler never again complained that he was not given a fair chance.”
The 19th Century equivalent of the modern press conference might be the ubiquitous public receptions for the players where the captain made a speech to the guests.
In 1882 following the Australian Eleven’s momentous Oval victory, an article in The Border Watch poked fun at both Murdoch’s ability as a public speaker and the effect trips to England were having upon Australians.
“The writer of Sydney Squibs in the Federal Australian remarks ‘What in thunder do those blarst’d Britishers’ do to their Australian visitors to make them feel so cocky after a six weeks’ spell in London? . . . . Next we find the gentle, lowly Billy Murdoch going home to introduce into England a new game called cricket.
“When Sweet William left us, butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, unless he was ‘sot on a hot stove’, and as for getting him to speak a piece one might as well try to persuade a sardine to sing the ‘Death of Nelson’, Mr. ___ , or rather W. Murdoch, Esq., C.M.G (Cricket Master General), is, however, very much better now, and at the Criterion banquet, London, Sir Henry Barkly in the chair, our hero said he felt his position very keenly, but he was very proud of it, though he would much rather stand out in the field before any team of English cricketers.
“On the four times that his team were beaten he might say that there were not fourteen more grieved men in the world. (Laughter).
“They knew that the eyes of the Australian colonists were on them, and that the honour of Australian cricket was entrusted to their hands.
“He felt personally as Sir Garnet Wolseley must feel in Egypt. That general was sent out to do a certain thing - to conquer Arabi Pasha - and he had done it. He (the speaker) was sent over as captain of an Australian cricket team to beat England, and he had done so. (Cheers). Luk at that now! - ‘Me’ and Wolseley. No wonder poor old Trollope’s dead.”
The reference to Trollope no doubt reflects the annoyance many Australians felt at comments made by Trollope accusing Australians of being braggarts.
Professionalism is also something that links the modern era and the past. We of course have no issue with the idea of professional cricketers, but an article entitled, “Are Australian Cricketers Professionals?” in the Sydney Morning Herald of March 28, 1903 gives us an interesting insight into attitude towards professional sport.
“For some occult reason, Wisden’s Cricketers’ Annual for 1903 has generally dropped the prefix “Mr.” to the names of Australian cricketers. Not in every case, Mr. Clement Hill, for instance, being referred to in the “Births and Deaths” page as if he were what he is, an amateur and not a professional.
“But instead of “Mr. Hugh H. Massie”, “Mr. H. Moses”, “Mr. Thomas Horan” (“Felix” of the “Australasian”), and “Mr. A. H. Gregory” (“Shortslip” of the “Sydney Mail”), and so forth, we have Hugh H. Massie, H. Moses, Thomas Horan, and A. H. Gregory.
“It matters nothing to the players and writers named whether or not the ordinary courtesies of sport are extended to them and probably they would not themselves deem the slight worthy of notice.
“But what it really means is that the “Annual” has now made up its mind to regard all Australian cricketers not as amateurs, but as professionals.”
The article goes on to note:
“The fact, of course, is that there are not three persons in Australia who could afford to be professionals. Nearly every member of every team which has gone to the old country earned his livelihood in other walks of life, and to class men like Mr. Massie and the newspaper writers mentioned above with professionals, is simply to show the utter absurdity of the change made by the “Annual”.
“Here is an instance of the curious “set” against Australian players which the “Annual” has started or encouraged. In the record of hundred scores in matches played in England between England and Australia we note that “W. L. Murdoch” is credited with 183 not out in 1880.
“But it is “Mr. W. L. Murdoch” who made 132 for London County against Leicestershire last year. If he were to play for Australia next season, he would be plain W. L. Murdoch again - and professional.”
It is worth pointing out neither Murdoch nor W.G. Grace ever practised their professions for many years during their lifetimes. Perhaps it was different for the many players, Australian and English, who didn’t marry well or become famous.
Related to the professionalism issue, it seems that periodically some sections of the English press took to suggesting the Australians were “gate money hunters”.
This was refuted by Murdoch in an article in the South Australian Chronicle of Saturday, April 19, 1890. “In an interview published in one of the London papers today - Mr. W. L. Murdoch, the captain of the Australian Eleven, denies the accusation made against the team a little time back of being ‘gate-money hunters’. He states that their object is not financial gain, but the encouragement of real sport.”
Cricket at first class level garnered large crowds in the early days and crowd behaviour was something of an issue, although it does seem patrons in those days were at times more boisterous than in the modern era!
In 1879, Lord Harris brought a team of ‘Gentlemen’ to Australia. In February of that year during the second innings, Murdoch, who had batted brilliantly in the first innings, was given run out by the English umpire.
The watching crowd went wild and invaded the pitch, man-handling and striking some of the English players including Lord Harris. This caused a fair amount of outrage in England, and further tours by Australian Elevens were in doubt until relations were patched up.
It must be said English crowds were not much better behaved. An article in The Sydney Morning Herald of August 8, 1894 recorded: “A disturbance took place at Bristol yesterday, when Dr. W. G. Grace and Mr. W. L. Murdoch were subjected to rough treatment by an angry mob.” Rain had prevented play and the crowd reacted angrily when play was finally called off for the day.
An 1882 cricket tour of England produced a controversy reported on in the Sydney Morning Herald of Thursday, July 27 that in the days of “gentlemen and players” did not show the English gentlemen who ran the game in at least Nottinghamshire in a good light.
“It appears that the Australian Eleven whether by accident or design did not have lunch provided for them. When their tour manager Mr. W C Beal complained he was haughtily informed by Captain Holden the honorary secretary at Trent Bridge that, “he was not a paid servant”, which suggested the inference that we had no right to expect that he would trouble himself whether lunch were provided for us or not.”
To make matters worse Captain Holden then sat in the area of the ground reserved for the Australian Eleven and proceeded to direct insulting remarks to the Australians. Naturally this did not go down well with the Australians and Mr Beal pointed out to Captain Holden the “unwiseness of his conduct” and requested him to be kind enough to leave our reserved portion, which he eventually did.
It seems Captain Holden was not a man to give up easily as he was also involved in a confrontation with W L Murdoch involving the rolling of the pitch.
Murdoch had to ask him several times to stop the use of the roller as it was against the rules of the game.
Captain Holden refused to do so and only stopped the roller as the players returned to the field.
The Nottingham cricket club blamed the Australians for the controversy, compelling Mr Beal and W.L. Murdoch to write to the Sydney Morning Herald to present the Australian side of the story.
Naturally, the Australians are also not above ensuring a wicket that favours the home team as recorded in the Perth Sunday Times in 1948.
“Then, as now, the Australians were out to win – but in those days they used methods which weren’t altogether cricket.
“For instance, during that first English Test tour of 1876-77 the Englishmen had to bat on a rough wicket at Sydney. Next day the Australians rolled and heavily watered a nice smooth wicket for their own innings.”
I am sure the English were well fed though!
Footnote: I would like to recognise the help I received in researching this story and thank the National Library of Australia for their excellent newspaper databases. I must thank the wonderful people in the local studies centre of Bendigo Library for their help. Any mistakes are my own.
See Part 3 in tomorrow’s Bendigo Advertiser.
