Australian cricket team in England in 1953

1953 Ashes Series

The Ashes returned to England after 19 years.
Date 11 June - 19 August 1953
Location England
Result England won the 5-Test series 1–0
Teams
England Australia
Captains
Hutton, L A.L. Hassett
Most runs
Hutton, L - 443 (55.37) A.L. Hassett - 365 (36.50)
Most wickets
Bedser, A.V. - 39 (17.48) R.R Lindwall - 26 (18.84)

The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1953 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.

England won the final Test to take the series 1-0 after the first four Tests were all drawn. England therefore recovered the Ashes for the first time since losing them in 1934.

The England Test players

Below are the Test statistics of the England squad. As was the convention of the time gentleman amateurs have their initials in front of their surname and professional players have their initials after their name, if their initials were used at all.[1] The Australians were all amateurs until the Packer Revolution, even though they played like professionals.

Name County Age Arm Role Tests Runs Highest Average 100s 50s Ct St Wickets Best Average 5 Wt 10 Wt
Hutton, L. (c) Yorkshire 36 Right Opening batsman 79 6971 364 56.67 19 33 57 3 1/2 77.33
Kenyon, D. Worcs 29 Right Opening Batsmen 8 192 87 12.80 1 5
R.T. Simpson Notts 33 Right Opening batsman 27 1401 156* 33.45 4 6 5 3 2/4 11.00
Compton, D.C.S. Middlesex 35 Right Middle-order batsman 78 5807 278 50.06 17 28 49 25 5/70 56.40 1
Graveney, T.W. Glos 25 Right Middle-order batsman 79 4882 258 44.38 11 20 80 1 1/34 167.00
P.H.B. May Surrey 23 Right Middle-order batsman 66 4537 285* 46.77 14 22 42
Watson, W. Yorkshire 33 Left Middle-order batsman 23 879 116 25.85 2 3 8
T.E. Bailey Essex 29 Right All-rounder 61 2290 134* 29.74 1 10 32 132 7/34 29.21 5 1
F.R. Brown Northants 42 Right All-rounder 22 734 79 25.31 5 22 45 5/49 31.06 1
W.J. Edrich Middlesex 37 Right All-rounder 37 2440 219 40.00 6 13 39 41 4/68 41.29
Evans, T.G. Kent 32 Right Wicket-keeper 91 2439 104 20.49 2 8 173 46
Statham, J.B. Lancashire 22 Left (Bat)
Right (Ball) 		Fast seam bowler 51 675 38 11.44 28 252 7/39 24.84 9 1
Trueman, F.S. Yorkshire 22 Right Fast swing bowler 67 981 39* 13.81 64 307 8/31 21.57 17 3
Bedser, A.V. Surrey 34 Right Medium-fast swing bowler 51 714 79 12.75 1 26 236 7/44 24.89 15 5
Lock, G.A.R. Surrey 23 Right (Bat)
Left (Ball) 		Slow left-arm bowler 49 742 89 13.74 3 59 174 7/35 25.58 9 3
Wardle, J.H. Yorkshire 30 Left Slow left-arm bowler 28 653 66 19.78 2 12 102 7/36 20.39 5 1
Laker, J.C. Surrey 31 Right Slow off-spin bowler 46 676 63 14.08 2 12 193 10/53 21.24 9 3
Tattersall, R. Lancashire 30 Left (Bat)
Right (Ball) 		Slow off-spin bowler 16 50 10* 5.00 8 58 7/52 26.08 4 1

The Australian players

Hassett, Morris, Harvey, Johnston, Lindwall, Miller, Ring and Tallon had toured England with the 1948 Australian team, known as The Invincibles. Davidson, de Courcy and Hill had not played Test cricket before this tour: all three made their debuts during the 1953 Ashes series. The following table shows the career Test averages of the Australian cricketers who toured England in 1953.

Name State Age Arm Role Tests Runs Highest Average 100s 50s Ct St Wickets Best Average 5 Wt 10 Wt
C.C. McDonald Victoria 26 Right Opening batsman 47 3107 170 39.32 5 17 14 0/3
A.R. Morris (vc) NSW 32 Left Opening batsman 46 3353 206 46.48 12 12 15 2 1/5 25.00
J.H. de Courcy NSW 26 Right Middle-order batsman 3 81 41 16.20 3
I.D. Craig NSW 17 Right Middle-order batsman 11 358 53 19.88 2 2
R.N. Harvey Victoria 26 Left Middle-order batsman 79 6145 205 48.41 21 24 64 3 1/8 40.00
A.L. Hassett (c) Victoria 39 Right Middle-order batsman 43 3073 198* 46.56 10 11 30 0/1
G.B. Hole South Australia 24 Right Middle-order batsman 18 789 66 25.45 5 6 3 1-9 42.00
R.G. Archer NSW 21 Right All-rounder 19 713 128 24.58 1 2 20 48 5/53 27.45 1
R. Benaud NSW 24 Right All-rounder 63 2201 122 24.45 3 9 65 248 7/72 27.03 16 1
A.K. Davidson NSW 25 Left All-rounder 44 1328 80 24.59 5 42 186 7/93 20.53 14 2
R.R. Lindwall NSW 31 Right All-rounder 61 1502 118 21.15 2 5 26 228 7/38 23.03 12
K.R. Miller NSW 35 Right All-rounder 55 2958 147 36.97 7 13 38 170 7/60 22.97 7 1
D.T. Ring Victoria 34 Right All-rounder 13 426 67 22.42 4 5 35 6/72 37.28 2
D. Tallon Queensland 37 Right Wicket-keeper 21 394 92 17.13 2 50 8
G.R.A. Langley South Australia 25 Right Wicket-keeper 26 374 53 14.96 1 83 15
W.A. Johnston Victoria 32 Right (Bat)
Left (Ball) 		Fast-medium swing bowler 40 273 29 11.37 16 160 6/44 23.91 7
J.C. Hill Victoria 29 Right Slow leg-spin bowler 3 21 8* 7.00 2 8 3/35 34.12

Test series summary

First Test at Trent Bridge

11–16 June 1953
scorecard
v
120/1
Hutton, L (c) 60*
Match Drawn
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England
Umpires: D. Davies (ENG) & H. Elliott (ENG)
  • 15 June 1953

Rain washed out play entirely on the fourth day and prevented a resumption until half past four on the last day. Before that, Alec Bedser, with seven wickets in each innings, had bowled England into a strong position after they trailed by 105 on the first innings. In Australia's first innings, Morris, who made 67 and Hassett put on 122 for the second wicket and then Hassett and Miller made 109 for the fourth wicket, Miller making 55. Hassett's 115 was his ninth century in Test cricket. From 243 for four at lunch on the second day, Australia lost their remaining six wickets for six runs, Bedser finishing with seven for 55. England, apart from Leonard Hutton, with 43, struggled and Lindwall took five wickets for 57 runs. In Australia's second innings, only Morris, who made 60, was confident against Bedser, who took seven for 44 to have match figures of 14 for 99. Hutton was 60 not out in England's weather-interrupted reply.[2]

Second Test at Lord's

25–30 June 1953
scorecard
v
Match Drawn
Lord's Cricket Ground, London, UK
Umpires: H.G. Baldwin (ENG) & F.S. Lee (ENG)

Hassett opened with Morris and made his second century of the series, though he retired hurt at 101. Harvey made 59, but Johnny Wardle removed the middle order batsmen before Davidson, with 76, coaxed 117 runs out of the last six wickets. Hutton and Tom Graveney put on 168 for the second wicket, and after Graveney was out for 78, Denis Compton (57) added a further 102 with Hutton, who scored 145. But England lost their last seven wickets between lunch and tea on the third day, and the first innings lead was only 26. Morris and Miller regained the initiative for Australia in a second wicket partnership of 165 and when Morris was out for 89 Miller went on to 109, with useful runs also from Hole (47) and Lindwall (50). Set 343 to win, England lost three wickets for 12 runs, and Willie Watson was missed before the end of the fourth day. On the last day, Watson battled to 109 and shared a fifth wicket stand of 163 with Trevor Bailey (71), which saved the match for England.[3]

Third Test at Old Trafford

9–14 July 1953
scorecard
v
35/8

Wardle, J.H. 4/7
Match Drawn
Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England
Umpires: D. Davies (ENG) & H. Elliott (ENG)
  • 13 July 1953

More than half the scheduled playing time was lost to rain. In an innings spread over three days, Harvey made 122 and Hole with 66 and de Courcy on his Test debut also made useful runs. England's innings was also made disjointed by rain, which prevented any play at all on the fourth day. Hutton top-scored with 66. With the match dead, Wardle, Bedser and Jim Laker took eight Australian second-innings wickets, with none of the batsmen reaching double figures.[4]

Fourth Test at Headingley

23–28 July 1953
scorecard
v
Match Drawn
Headingley, Leeds, England
Umpires: F. Chester (ENG) & F.S. Lee (ENG)

On a pitch affected by damp, England batted very cautiously, making just 142 for seven in five-and-a-half hours on the first day, Graveney top-scoring with 55. Lindwall took five for 54. Australia batted more enterprisingly, with Harvey making 71 and Hole 53 and were all out at the end of the second day with a lead of 99. Light rain prevented play for more than four hours on the third day, and across the Monday England batted doggedly, with Bill Edrich making 64, Compton 61 until he had to retire hurt, and Bailey 38 in more than four hours. In all, England's innings occupied nine hours and 40 minutes, and left the Australians 115 minutes in which to score 177. Despite 30s from Morris, Harvey and Hole, they finished 30 runs short. Bailey restricted the scoring by bowling wide of the leg stump.[5][6]

Fifth Test at The Oval

15–19 August 1953
scorecard
v
132/2
W.J. Edrich 55*
 England won by 8 wickets
The Oval, London, UK
Umpires: HD. Davies (ENG) & F.S. Lee (ENG)

The series being undecided, six days were allowed and the match began, unusually for a Test in England, on a Saturday. Hassett won the toss for the fifth time. He made 53 and Harvey and Hole made 30s, but Lindwall top-scored with 62 and last five wickets more than doubled the score. Fred Trueman, in his only match of the series, took four wickets. Hutton scored 82, but at the end of the second day England, at 235 for seven, were still 40 behind. The lead was not gained until the last pair, Bailey and Bedser, were together; Bailey made 64. When Australia batted for the second time, Hutton turned very quickly to the Surrey spin-bowling pair, Laker and Tony Lock, and they took nine of the 10 wickets to fall, the other being a run-out. Lock finished with five for 45 and Laker four for 75. Australia's lack of a spinner – though Johnston bowled slows from one end – meant England got the 132 needed for victory easily, if slowly. The match was finished in mid-afternoon on the fourth day and the Ashes had been won.[7]

1953 Ashes Series Averages

Batting Averages

source

Player Team Matches Innings Not Out Runs Highest Score Average 100s 50s Ct St
L. Hutton (c)  England 5 9 1 443 145 55.37 1 3 4
W.J. Edrich  England 3 5 1 156 64 39.00 2 6
A.L. Hassett (c)  Australia 5 10 365 115 36.50 2 1 2
N.R. Harvey  Australia 5 10 346 122 34.60 1 2
A.R. Morris (vc)  Australia 5 10 337 89 33.70 3 2
Watson, W.  England 3 5 168 109 33.60 1 1
Compton, D.C.S.  England 5 8 1 234 61 33.42 2 4
T.E. Bailey  England 5 7 222 71 31.71 2 3
Wardle, J.H.  England 3 4 2 57 29* 28.50
P.B.H. May  England 2 3 85 39 28.33
F.R. Brown  England 1 2 50 28 25.00 1
K.R. Miller  Australia 5 9 223 109 24.77 1 1 2
Graveney, T.W.  England 5 7 169 78 24.14 2 4
R.G. Archer  Australia 3 5 1 95 49 23.75 1
Evans, T.G. (wk)  England 5 7 2 117 44* 23.40 11 5
A.K. Davidson  Australia 5 10 2 182 76 22.75 1 5
R.T. Simpson  England 3 5 1 74 31 18.50 1
R.R. Lindwall  Australia 5 9 159 62 17.66 2 2
I.D. de Courcy  Australia 3 6 1 81 41 16.20 3
Laker, J.C.  England 3 4 64 48 16.00
Bedser, A.V.  England 5 6 3 38 22* 12.66 1
D.T. Ring  Australia 1 2 25 18 12.50
Trueman, F.S.  England 1 1 10 10 10.00 2
G.R.A. Langley (wk)  Australia 4 6 55 18 9.16 8 1
D. Tallon (wk)  Australia 1 2 15 15 7.50 2
Kenyon, D.  England 2 4 29 16 7.25 1
Lock, G.A.R.  England 2 3 21 9 7.00 3
J.C. Hill  Australia 2 4 2 12 8* 6.00 1
R. Benaud  Australia 5 5 15 7 3.00 1
Tattersall, R.  England 1 1 2 2 2.00 2
W.A. Johnston  Australia 3 6 6 22 9*
Statham, J.B.  England 1 1 1 17 17* 2

Bowling Averages

source

Player Team Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Best Bowling Average 5 Wt 10 Wt
A.R. Morris  Australia 3.5 15 1 1/5 15.00
Bedser, A.V.  England 265.1 58 682 39 7/44 17.48 5 1
R.R. Lindwall  Australia 240.4 62 490 26 5/54 18.84 3
Lock, G.A.R.  England 366 61 165 8 5/45 20.62 1
Compton, D.C.S.  England 3 21 1 1/21 21.00
Trueman, F.S.  England 26.3 4 90 4 4/86 22.50
J.C. Hill  Australia 66 18 158 7 3/35 22.57
Laker, J.C.  England 58.5 11 212 9 4/75 23.55
R.G. Archer  Australia 69.3 27 95 4 1/12 23.75
Wardle, J.H.  England 155.3 57 344 13 4/7 26.46
A.K. Davidson  Australia 125 42 212 8 2/22 26.50
Tattersall, R.  England 28 5 81 3 3/22 27.00
K.R. Miller  Australia 186 72 303 10 4/63 30.30
F.R. Brown  England 52 11 135 4 4/82 33.75
T.E. Bailey  England 143 33 387 8 3/71 48.37
Statham, J.B.  England 43 10 88 2 1/40 44.00
W.A. Johnson  Australia 174 67 343 7 3/94 49.00
D.T. Ring  Australia 43 7 127 2 2/84 63.50
R. Benaud  Australia 68 19 174 2 1/51 87.00
R.N. Harvey  Australia 3 2 2 0/2
A.L. Hassett (c)  Australia 1 4 0/4
G.B. Hole  Australia 17 8 33 0/0

Ceylon

The Australians had a stopover in Colombo en route to England and played a one-day single-innings match there against the Ceylon national team, which at that time did not have Test status.[8]

References

  1. ↑ p42, p56, p68, Ashley Brown, The Pictorial History of Cricket, Bison Books, 1988
  2. ↑ "Australians in England, 1953". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1954 ed.). Wisden. pp. 234–237.
  3. ↑ "Australians in England, 1953". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1954 ed.). Wisden. pp. 239–242.
  4. ↑ "Australians in England, 1953". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1954 ed.). Wisden. pp. 245–248.
  5. ↑ "Australians in England, 1953". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1954 ed.). Wisden. pp. 249–252.
  6. ↑ Ralph Barker & Irving Rosenwater. England v Australia: A compendium of Test cricket between the countries 1877-1968 (1969 ed.). B.T. Batsford. p. 220.
  7. ↑ "Australians in England, 1953". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1954 ed.). Wisden. pp. 258–262.
  8. ↑ "Ceylon v Australia 1953". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

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