Australian cricket team in England in 1956
{{Short description|International cricket tour}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox cricket series
|series=Australian cricket team in England in 1956
|partof=
|date= 7 June 1956 – 28 August 1956
|place=England
|result=England won the 5-Test series 2–1
|team1={{cr|ENG}}
|team2={{cr|AUS}}
|captain1=PBH May
|captain2=IWG Johnson
|runs1=PBH May (453)
PE Richardson (364)
|runs2=JW Burke (271)
CC McDonald (243)
|runs3=
|wickets1=JC Laker (46)
GAR Lock (15)
|wickets2=KR Miller (21)
RG Archer (18)
|wickets3=
}}
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1956 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.
England won the series 2–1 with 2 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes.
The series is most notable for off-spinner Jim Laker's 46 wickets (a record for a 5-Test series) at an average of 9.60,[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/ENG/Australia_in_British_Isles_1956/t_England_Bowling.html Test Bowling Figures for England, 1956 Ashes] including all ten wickets in the second innings of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, the first time this had been achieved in Test cricket. In that Test, known as Laker's Match, Laker took 19 wickets for 90 runs, still the best match bowling analysis achieved in both Test and all first-class cricket. The cartoonist Roy Ullyett summed up the summer with the picture of a dazed kangaroo in Australian strip and the ditty: Here lie the Ashes of '56, skittled by Laker for next to nix. Never forgotten, sorry you thought our wicket rotten, signed "Love from the groundstaff".Peter Arnold, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Cricket, p75, W.H. Smith, 1986 The second line refers to the Australian complaints that the grass had been shaved off the Old Trafford wicket to help the England spinners.E.W. Swanton (ed), The Barclays World of Cricket, p296, Collins, 1986 Earlier in the summer, Laker had also taken ten wickets in an innings against the Australians in a tour match, playing for Surrey.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149556.html |title=The IPL's can of worms |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=18 May 2022}}
Test series
=1st Test=
{{Test match |
date = 7–12 June 1956|
team1 = {{cr|England}}|
team2 = {{cr|Australia}}|
score-team1-inns1 = 217/8 (dec) (103.4 overs)|
runs-team1-inns1 = PE Richardson 81
PBH May 73|
wickets-team1-inns1 = KR Miller 4/69|
score-team2-inns1 = 148 (83.1 overs)|
runs-team2-inns1 = RN Harvey 64|
wickets-team2-inns1 = JC Laker 4/58|
score-team1-inns2 = 188/3 (dec) (61 overs)|
runs-team1-inns2 = MC Cowdrey 81
PE Richardson 73|
wickets-team1-inns2 = KR Miller 2/58|
score-team2-inns2 = 120/3 (86 overs)|
runs-team2-inns2 = JW Burke 58|
wickets-team2-inns2 = JC Laker 2/29|
result = Match drawn|
venue = Trent Bridge|
umpires = TS Bartley (ENG) and JS Buller (ENG)|
motm = |
report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22018.html scorecard]|
rain = |
notes = Peter Richardson (Eng) made his Test debut.|
}}
=2nd Test=
{{Test match |
date = 21–26 June 1956|
team1 = {{cr|Australia}}|
team2 = {{cr|England}}|
score-team1-inns1 = 285 (146.1 overs)|
runs-team1-inns1 = CC McDonald 78
JW Burke 65|
wickets-team1-inns1 = JC Laker 3/47|
score-team2-inns1 = 171 (82 overs)|
runs-team2-inns1 = PBH May 63|
wickets-team2-inns1 = KR Miller 5/72|
score-team1-inns2 = 257 (92.5 overs)|
runs-team1-inns2 = R Benaud 97|
wickets-team1-inns2 = FS Trueman 5/90|
score-team2-inns2 = 186 (99.2 overs)|
runs-team2-inns2 = PBH May 53|
wickets-team2-inns2 = KR Miller 5/80
RG Archer 4/71|
result = {{cr|Australia}} won by 185 runs|
venue = Lord's Cricket Ground|
umpires = DE Davies (ENG) and FS Lee (ENG)|
motm = |
report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22055.html scorecard]|
rain = |
notes = Pat Crawford and Ken Mackay (Aus) made their Test debuts.|
}}
=3rd Test=
{{Test match |
date = 12–17 July 1956|
team1 = {{cr|England}}|
team2 = {{cr|Australia}}|
score-team1-inns1 = 325 (167.4 overs)|
runs-team1-inns1 = PBH May 101
C Washbrook 98|
wickets-team1-inns1 = RR Lindwall 3/67
RG Archer 3/68
R Benaud 3/89|
score-team2-inns1 = 143 (71.1 overs)|
runs-team2-inns1 = JW Burke 41
KR Miller 41|
wickets-team2-inns1 = JC Laker 5/58
GAR Lock 4/41|
score-team1-inns2 = |
runs-team1-inns2 = |
wickets-team1-inns2 = |
score-team2-inns2 = 140 (follow-on) (99.3 overs)|
runs-team2-inns2 = RN Harvey 69|
wickets-team2-inns2 = JC Laker 6/55
GAR Lock 3/40|
result = {{cr|England}} won by an innings and 42 runs|
venue = Headingley|
umpires = JS Buller (ENG) and DE Davies (ENG)|
motm = |
report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22108.html scorecard]|
rain = |
notes = Alan Oakman (Eng) made his Test debut.|
}}
=4th Test=
{{main|Laker's Match}}
{{Test match |
date = 26–31 July 1956|
team1 = {{cr|England}}|
team2 = {{cr|Australia}}|
score-team1-inns1 = 459 (158.3 overs)|
runs-team1-inns1 = DS Sheppard 113
PE Richardson 104
MC Cowdrey 80|
wickets-team1-inns1 = IW Johnson 4/151|
score-team2-inns1 = 84 (40.4 overs)|
runs-team2-inns1 = CC McDonald 32|
wickets-team2-inns1 = JC Laker 9/37|
score-team1-inns2 = |
runs-team1-inns2 = |
wickets-team1-inns2 = |
score-team2-inns2 = 205 (follow-on) (150.2 overs)|
runs-team2-inns2 = CC McDonald 89|
wickets-team2-inns2 = JC Laker 10/53|
result = {{cr|England}} won by an innings and 170 runs|
venue = Old Trafford|
umpires = DE Davies (ENG) and FS Lee (ENG)|
motm = |
report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22143.html scorecard]|
rain = |
}}
=5th Test=
{{Test match |
date = 23–28 August 1956|
team1 = {{cr|England}}|
team2 = {{cr|Australia}}|
score-team1-inns1 = 247 (109.2 overs)|
runs-team1-inns1 = DCS Compton 94
PBH May 83|
wickets-team1-inns1 = RG Archer 5/53
KR Miller 4/91|
score-team2-inns1 = 202 (92 overs)|
runs-team2-inns1 = KR Miller 61|
wickets-team2-inns1 = JC Laker 4/80|
score-team1-inns2 = 182/3 (dec) (61 overs)|
runs-team1-inns2 = DS Sheppard 62|
wickets-team1-inns2 = RR Lindwall 1/29|
score-team2-inns2 = 27/5 (38.1 overs)|
runs-team2-inns2 = IWG Johnson 10|
wickets-team2-inns2 = JC Laker 3/8|
result = Match drawn|
venue = The Oval|
umpires = TJ Bartley (ENG) and DE Davies (ENG)|
motm = |
report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22213.html scorecard]|
rain = |
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Annual reviews
Further reading
- Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979
- Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993
- Ray Robinson, On Top Down Under, Cassell, 1975
External links
- [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/Tours_1956.html CricketArchive – tour summaries]
{{Ashes Test series}}
{{International cricket tours of England}}
Category:1956 in Australian cricket
Category:1956 in English cricket
Category:International cricket competitions from 1945–46 to 1960
{{England-cricket-tour-stub}}