Old_Cliftonian_Mag_2011

CLIFTON AND THE ASHES
It is only human to wish to claim some
connection with great success, and the
England XI’s triumph in Australia last
winter proves no exception, but where
can Clifton appear in such a saga?
Tenuous indeed it would be to note that
Andrew Strauss and the present Head
Master, Mark Moore, along with one of
our Council Members, Richard Morgan,
hail from Radley. The clue lies in the
precious little urn itself.
In 1882, the unthinkable had
happened. Australia beat England at
cricket in England. It was hardly a
Test series as we know it today. Indeed,
it was a match hosted by Surrey CCC.
Prior to the match, it had rained solidly
for two days and expert opinion had
it that the uncovered wicket would get
more and more awkward the longer the
match went on. The Australian captain,
Billy Murdoch, won the toss and, given
the state of the wicket, elected to bat.
It looked to have been a great error
of judgement as England’s bowlers,
particularly the left-arm pairing of
Barlow and Peate, ran through the
Australian side in just over two hours,
dismissing the tourists for 63. England’s
reply was equally fragile as Australia’s
“demon” bowler, Fred Spofforth, took
FW Spofforth.
7 for 46. Nevertheless, a first innings
lead of 38 may not have seemed much,
but with the wicket beginning to behave
pretty badly, any lead was deemed
priceless. More rain followed as the
Australians attempted to make a match
of it and, thanks to some robust hitting,
they secured a lead of 85 by the time
their second innings closed. However, a
rather unsporting run-out by WG had
stiffened Australian resolve and, before
England batted, the Australians got into
the19th Century equivalent of a huddle,
in the middle of which was a fired-up
Spofforth who told his team-mates in
no uncertain terms that “This thing
can be done.” England were soon in
trouble at 15 for 2 but Grace and Ulyett
started to hit out and the 50 mark was
soon reached. At this point, Spofforth
changed ends, slowed his pace and
started to bowl a series of off-cutters
interspersed with top-spinners which
wreaked havoc in the England ranks.
An eye-witness picks up the tale:
Suddenly a new phase came over the
innings. The batsmen could not get the
ball past the fieldsmen. Spofforth was
bowling the most remarkable break-backs at
tremendous pace. Boyle, from the other end,
maintained a perfect length; Blackham with
matchless skill took every ball that passed
the batsmen…every fieldsman strained his
nerves to the utmost.
53 for 2 crawled to 66 for 5 and then
75 for 9. Last man in for England was
Peate. He swished his first ball for two,
scrambled the next ball away and was
clean bowled by a delivery which shook
the Empire. The final overs were so
tense that one spectator died of a heart
attack whilst another is said to have
bitten through his umbrella handle!
FW Spofforth.
28 the CLIFTON MAGAZINE 2011
1882 Test Match.