Test cricket gets described as a gentleman’s game but this is a lie. Rashes of gentility break out here and there but it’s still a game birthed by rascals, popularised by crooks and sustained by the patronage of louts. This story is one of the finest examples, just after the third Test ever played. It was Melbourne 1879 when Fred Spofforth lived up to his nickname of “The Demon”: he rissoled England with 6 for 48 in the first innings and 7 for 62 in the second, taking the first Test hat-trick along the way. In a timeless match, Australia won in three days.
Notionally amateurs, the tourists were there to make bank from gate receipts at as many games as possible. In true English everyman style they were led by a captain named Lord Harris. After Melbourne they headed to Sydney to play twice against New South Wales. The state team also had Spofforth and won the first game easily, so before the second match the punters backed them off the map. The old Association Ground, which would later become the SCG, packed in 10,000 people.
