Arthur Shrewsbury
Encyclopedia
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English
cricket
er, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888
, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace
for the accolade of being the best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked who he would most like in his side, replied simply, "Give me Arthur".
An opening batsman, he played his cricket
for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
and played 23 Test match
es for England
, captaining
them in 7 games, with a record of won 5, lost 2. He was the last professional
to be captain until Len Hutton
was chosen in 1952. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1890.
An expert on sticky wicket
s, Shrewsbury topped the first-class batting average
s seven times including in 1902, his final season. The following spring, incorrectly believing he had an incurable disease, he shot himself at his sister's home in Gedling, Nottinghamshire
.
, Nottinghamshire
. He was educated at the People's College, Nottingham and trained as a draughtsman. His early club cricket was, like William Scotton
, with Meadow Imperial and he subsequently played for Nottingham Commercial Club where he came to the notice of the county officials.
On 12 May 1873 Shrewsbury made his first appearance at Lord's
for the Colts of England against the MCC
despite having just turned seventeen years old. His batting modelled on that of Richard Daft
. The season also saw Meadow Imperial, Shrewsbury's club side, replaced by Meadow Willow CC.
with rheumatic fever but made his first-class
debut in May 1875 for Nottinghamshire against Derbyshire
, he ended the season with 313 runs at 17.38 and failed to score a fifty but in a season
of wet weather he came out fourth in the county's batting averages.
The following year
Shrewsbury made his maiden first-class century, scoring 118 against Yorkshire
, at Trent Bridge
sharing in a 183 opening partnership with Richard Daft
. Shrewsbury finished the season with an innings of 65 not out
against Surrey
in a low scoring match. In May 1877, he made 119 at The Oval
for the Players of the North against Gentlemen of the South. He also scored four fifties and finished the season with 778 runs at 19.94.
In 1878
Australia made their first tour to England and their first match was against Nottinghamshire, Shrewsbury scored 8 in an innings victory for the home team. He scored 724 runs at 21.29 during the season but failed to score a century. The following season was less successful with his average dropping to 15.78 and his failure to be selected for either of the Gentlemen v Players
fixtures. He toured North America in September 1879 with Richard Daft's XI, the side won all six matches, each of them against odds (teams of more than eleven players). During the 1880 season
he scored 403 runs but once again failed to reach three figures, his highest score was 66 not out which came against the touring Australians.
In 1881
Shrewsbury led the strike of Nottinghamshire professional players alongside Alfred Shaw
following disagreements with the county secretary, Captain Henry Holden, over an early season fixture with Yorkshire arranged by Shaw and Shrewsbury. The strike meant Shrewsbury played just three first-class matches during the season. However the break allowed him, Shaw and James Lillywhite
to organise a lucrative eight-month tour of Australia, New Zealand and America the following winter.
The team played two first-class matches before the First Test, in the second of these the tourists beat Victoria
despite having followed-on
with Shrewsbury scoring 80 not out in the second innings. The First Test was staged at Melbourne
over the New Year, Shrewsbury, one of ten debutants, scored 11 and 16 in a drawn match. Seven matches in New Zealand followed before the team returned to Australia for the remaining three Test matches, Shrewsbury scored 7 and 22 in the Second Test at Sydney
. His best performance of the tour came in the Third Test, again at Sydney, top scoring in both innings – 82 and 47 – the next highest score by an Englishman was 23. In the final Test he scored 1, final day rain ruining the best chance of English victory during the series which ended 2-0. The matches in Sydney and Melbourne proved popular meaning the three promoters made £700 each.
After the tour Shrewsbury returned to England in better physical shape thanks to the warmer climate of Australia. He and Shaw wrote to the Nottinghamshire committee to apologise for their previous seasons actions, both were welcomed back into the side.
Shrewsbury scored his maiden first-class double century, it was also the first double century by a Nottinghamshire cricketer, an innings of 207 at The Oval sharing in a 289 run stand with Billy Barnes
, a then first-class second wicket record, however this was Shrewsbury's only score above fifty all season. The following season
was in complete contrast with seven fifties and no century but Shrewsbury managed to reach 1,000 runs in a season for the first time.
In 1884 Australia toured England, Shrewsbury warmed up for the First Test with 209 against Sussex
at Hove
sharing in a 266 run stand for the fifth wicket with Billy Gunn
, a then first-class record for the wicket. In the drawn First Test at Old Trafford Shrewsbury top scored with 43. He managed 27 in the Second Test which England won by an innings. The Third Test was drawn, Australia scoring 551 but without the aid of declarations (only permitted after 1889) they batted for 311 overs with every English cricketer bowling, Shrewsbury was last to come on even after wicket-keeper Alfred Lyttelton
. Shrewsbury finished the season just short of 1,000 runs as Nottinghamshire won the championship title, winning nine out of their ten matches.
The tour of Australia in 1884–85 was once again organised by Shrewsbury, Shaw and Lillywhite although this time confined to Australia and with Shrewsbury instead of Shaw as captain
of the team. In the First Test at Adelaide
Shrewsbury opened for the first time in Tests, scoring a duck and 26 not out as England won by 8 wickets. England won by 10 wickets in the Second Test, with Shrewsbury scoring 72 and 0 not out. The next two Tests were lost with Shrewsbury making scores of 18, 24, 40 and 16. In the deciding Fifth Test at Melbourne he played a captain's innings scoring 105 not out after dropping down the order, this was his maiden Test century. Australian critic Felix
gave this description of the innings:
Shrewsbury finished the Test series with 301 runs at 50.16 and made £150 from the whole tour, the figure reduced by the boycotting of several matches by the 1884 Australians.
In 1885
Shrewsbury topped the batting averages for the first time scoring 1130 runs at 56.50 with four centuries, including carrying his bat
for 224 not out at Lord's. For the third season in a row Nottinghamshire were Champion County. The following season
he once again carried his bat, this time against Gloucestershire
defying W.G. Grace for 72 overs in scoring 227 not out. Although Shrewsbury's best innings of the season was to come against the touring Australians and the demon, Fred Spofforth
.
Shrewsbury warmed up for the Second Test (England won the First Test by 4 wickets) with another hundred against Grace in a Gentlemen v Players fixture. In the Second Test at Lord's Shrewsbury demonstrated his ability on sticky wicket
s, with the first day interrupted by rain he finished unbeaten on 91. In easier conditions on the second day he completed his hundred and finished with 164 all this coming against the finest bowler of the era, Spofforth. The second highest score in the match was 58 by Billy Barnes
, as Australia lost by an innings. England completed the whitewash with another innings victory at The Oval. Shrewsbury finished the season with 1404 runs as once again Nottinghamshire retained the title.
in Melbourne, where he scored 236 in a 803 total which at the time was a first-class record, the third wicket partnership of 311 between Shrewsbury and Billy Gunn also set a first-class record. One-sided matches and bad weather led to poor crowds and the tour failed to bring a profit for its organisers. Despite this Shrewsbury was already planning another tour the following year.
1887
proved to be Shrewsbury's best season, 1653 runs at 78.71, his batting average was the highest ever achieved narrowly beating W.G. Grace's record of 78.25 set in 1871. At one point Shrewsbury made consecutive scores of 119, 152, 81, 130 and 111 and finished the season by scoring his highest first-class score of 267 against Middlesex
. During the season Shrewsbury passed 10,000 career first-class runs.
In 1887–88 Shrewsbury made his final tour to Australia which turned into a financial disaster as the Melbourne Club were financing their own touring team. In Shrewsbury's team first match at Melbourne only four first-team Victoria players were picked leading to a farce as the tourists won by an innings and 456 runs, Shrewsbury scored 232, becoming the first Englishman to score a double century in Australia. The two touring teams combined for a Test against Australia at Sydney, Shrewsbury top scored with 44 in a low-scoring match which England won. In the final fixture of the tour Shrewsbury scored another double century to finish with 721 runs at 65.54, 500 more than anyone else. To try and recoup some of his losses Shrewsbury stayed in Australia after the cricket tour and managed an English rugby football team
, this meant he missed the 1888 English cricket season. The football tour in fact added to the losses, ending in a £800 deficit to add to the £2400 lost on the cricket leg of the tour.
, he finished with 522 runs at 37.28. Shrewsbury was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1890, an award only introduced the previous year.
In 1890
he matched his highest score with an innings of 267 against Sussex, he shared in a 398 run partnership with Billy Gunn which remains the second wicket record for Nottinghamshire and was a first-class record for any wicket for nine years. Australia toured during the season but Shrewsbury struggled during the Tests making scores of 4, 13, 4 and 9 as England defended The Ashes
in a low scoring series – there were no team innings of more than 176. Domestically Shrewsbury topped the batting averages.
Shrewsbury started the 1891 season
with a run of low scores, failing to reach double figures in eight consecutive innings in the County Championship
(he did carry his bat for 81 in a Players v Gentleman fixture during this run) however the second half of the season saw a dramatic improvement which resulted in him topping the batting averages. He was offered a place on the tour party to Australia but decided to stay at home to look after the business as his business partner Alfred Shaw was travelling as manager of the team.
In 1892
Shrewsbury scored his tenth and final double century during a match against Middlesex he scored four more centuries in the rest of the season including carrying his bat for 151 for the Players against the Gentlemen. This resulted in Shrewsbury topping the averages for a third successive season. Australia tour of England 1893
included three Test matches. In the First Test at Lord's Shrewsbury played a similar innings to seven years previous, this time the bowler was Charles Turner
. On a difficult first day wicket he scored 106. Wisden
wrote:
During the innings Shrewsbury became the first cricketer to score 1,000 Test runs. He added a second innings 81 but rain prevented a result. He had scores of 66, 12 and 19 not out in the rest of the series as England retained the Ashes. Shrewsbury was the leading run scorer in the series with 284 at 71.00.
because of indifferent health but he reappeared in 1895
leading the county averages in a disappointing season for Nottinghamshire. He passed 1,000 runs in 1896
with 2 centuries including carrying his bat for 125 against Gloucestershire.
Shrewsbury passed 20,000 career first-class runs in 1897
, his only century of the season came for the Players against the Gentlemen, scoring 125 as captain. Shrewsbury's scores improved in 1898
and 1899
with season tallies of 1219 and 1257 runs and leading the county averages in both seasons. In 1899 Shrewsbury and Arthur Jones
shared in an opening partnership of 391, the stand remained a county record until 2000.
In 1900
Shrewsbury's season average dropped to 32.03, his lowest since 1884, but he still topped the county averages. In 1901
Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 13 against Yorkshire, the second lowest total ever made in county cricket, Shrewsbury split his hand while fielding and missed the rout.
In 1902
despite being 46 years of age Shrewsbury topped the first-class batting averages. He notched up four centuries including for the first time two centuries in a match. His performances during the season earned him praise in the 1903 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack:
The Nottinghamshire Committee raised donations of £
177 14s
for Shrewsbury in recognition of his batting performance.
On 12 May 1903 Shrewsbury bought a revolver from a local gunsmith
s. He returned a week later after having difficulty in loading the gun, the clerk found that Shrewsbury had the wrong bullets and supplied the correct ones.
Shrewsbury went to his bedroom that evening and shot himself first in the chest, and after that didn't prove fatal, then in the head. His girlfriend, Gertrude Scott, found him bleeding from a head wound and by the time a doctor arrived Shrewsbury was dead.
The following day an inquest was held, the coroner deciding that Shrewsbury had committed suicide, his mind being unhinged by the belief that he had an incurable disease. He added, however, that there was no evidence to show he suffered from any major illness. His funeral took place two days after his death at All Hallows Church, Gedling
.
Shrewsbury was the first cricketer to pass a 1,000 Test runs when he reached 7 during his innings of 106 at Lord's in 1893. His career total of 1,277 runs was a record until January 1902 when it was overtaken by Joe Darling
, Shrewsbury had held the record for over 15 years, only Clem Hill
and Wally Hammond
have held the record for a longer term.
Two of Shrewsbury's three Test centuries came at Lord's including his highest Test innings of 164, a score which remained a Test record at the ground until 1924 when beaten by Jack Hobbs
. In six innings at the ground Shrewsbury scored 395 runs at an average of 65.83.
Shrewsbury set a number of batting records for Nottinghamshire. He scored the counties first double-century in 1882 and scored seven of the counties first eight double-centuries. He was also the first Nottinghamshire cricketer to score a hundred in both innings of a match. His 1887 county record of six centuries in a season wasn't beaten until 1925.
In the seven seasons between 1886 and 1892 Shrewsbury topped the first-class averages five times, one of the two seasons he didn't was 1888 when he was in Australia managing the football team.
Edward Sewell
, a contemporary of Shrewsbury's, described his play: "And so, little by little, this little man playing a quite different kind of cricket to any other Big Noises of his time, perfected his own chosen method; never heeding anything in the shape of advice or an adviser, until he became a king of legend."
The method of play Sewell refers to is back-play, most batsmen of 1870s and 1880s typically played off the front foot, which allowed Shrewsbury to master the bad wickets which were often found on county grounds. His Wisden obituary had similar sentiments: “As a batsman he had a style of back play peculiarly his own, and his judgment of the length of bowling was almost unequalled. It was said of him that he seemed to see the ball closed up to the bat than any other player.”
Shrewsbury wasn't a strong or muscular man and stated that he didn't hit the ball instead he steered it in the desired direction.
Shrewsbury's technique was criticised by Rait Kerr in his book 'The laws of cricket', he stated: "As we have seen the improvement in pitches enabled Arthur Shrewsbury to develop a new gospel of defensive batsmanship which soon made many converts. From about 1885 this technique involved an increasing use of the pads." At the time the LBW law
stated to be out the ball needed to pitch between wicket and wicket. In 1888 the MCC considered a change to the law but instead issued a statement saying that defending the wicket with the body was against the spirit of the game.
Following the financial losses made during the tour of Australia in 1887/8 the firm downsized from the two buildings into a single building in Queen's Bridge Road.
After Shrewsbury's death his share in the firm was split between his brother, William, and four of his nephews. The firm was closed in 1939 with its assets being bought by Grays of Cambridge.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888
1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
The 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was a series of rugby union games played by an unofficial British team against invitational teams in New Zealand and Australia...
, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
for the accolade of being the best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked who he would most like in his side, replied simply, "Give me Arthur".
An opening batsman, he played his cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
and played 23 Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
es for England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
, captaining
English national cricket captains
This is a list of all English national cricket captains, comprising all of the men, boys and women who have captained an English national cricket team at official international level. England played in the first Test match in 1877 and have played more Test matches, and had more captains, than any...
them in 7 games, with a record of won 5, lost 2. He was the last professional
History of English amateur cricket
The history of English amateur cricket describes the concept and importance of amateur players in English cricket.-Co-development of amateur and professional cricket to 1800:...
to be captain until Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
was chosen in 1952. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1890.
An expert on sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
s, Shrewsbury topped the first-class batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
s seven times including in 1902, his final season. The following spring, incorrectly believing he had an incurable disease, he shot himself at his sister's home in Gedling, Nottinghamshire
Gedling, Nottinghamshire
Gedling is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, that is now a suburb of Greater Nottingham. It is situated four miles north-east of Nottingham city centre in the NG4 postcode...
.
Early life
Shrewsbury, the seventh child of William Shrewsbury and Mary Ann Wragg, was born in New LentonLenton, Nottingham
Lenton is an area of the City of Nottingham in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. Politically, it falls within the Nottingham South constituency. Most of the area lies within the electoral ward of "Dunkirk and Lenton", however the "Lenton Triangle" area, considered by most residents to be part...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. He was educated at the People's College, Nottingham and trained as a draughtsman. His early club cricket was, like William Scotton
William Scotton
William Henry Scotton was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire and England. Scotton played his first match at Lord's for Sixteen Colts of England against the Marylebone Cricket Club on the 11th and 12th of May 1874, scoring on that occasion 19 and 0...
, with Meadow Imperial and he subsequently played for Nottingham Commercial Club where he came to the notice of the county officials.
On 12 May 1873 Shrewsbury made his first appearance at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
for the Colts of England against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
despite having just turned seventeen years old. His batting modelled on that of Richard Daft
Richard Daft
Richard Daft was an English cricketer. He was one of the best batsmen of his day, the peak of his first-class career being the 1860s and early 1870s...
. The season also saw Meadow Imperial, Shrewsbury's club side, replaced by Meadow Willow CC.
First-class beginnings
Shrewsbury missed the majority of the 1874 season1874 English cricket season
The 1874 English cricket season saw WG Grace become the first player to perform the “double” in an English season. In 21 first-class matches, he scored 1664 runs and took 140 wickets.-External sources:* -Annual reviews:...
with rheumatic fever but made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut in May 1875 for Nottinghamshire against Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
, he ended the season with 313 runs at 17.38 and failed to score a fifty but in a season
1875 English cricket season
-Events:* 18 August – formation of Somerset CCC by a team of amateurs at a meeting in Sidmouth, Devonshire, immediately after a match against a local side.-External sources:* -Annual reviews:...
of wet weather he came out fourth in the county's batting averages.
The following year
1876 English cricket season
The 1876 English cricket season saw WG Grace become the first player to score 2000 runs and take 100 wickets in a season: 2622 runs and 130 wickets in 26 matches.-Events:14 January. Formation of Essex CCC at a meeting in the Shire Hall, Chelmsford...
Shrewsbury made his maiden first-class century, scoring 118 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
sharing in a 183 opening partnership with Richard Daft
Richard Daft
Richard Daft was an English cricketer. He was one of the best batsmen of his day, the peak of his first-class career being the 1860s and early 1870s...
. Shrewsbury finished the season with an innings of 65 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in a low scoring match. In May 1877, he made 119 at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
for the Players of the North against Gentlemen of the South. He also scored four fifties and finished the season with 778 runs at 19.94.
In 1878
1878 English cricket season
The 1878 English cricket season is remembered for the first official tour by an Australian team, although it played no Test Matches; and for the match that inspired a famous poem.-Champion County:* Middlesex, Nottinghamshire -Events:...
Australia made their first tour to England and their first match was against Nottinghamshire, Shrewsbury scored 8 in an innings victory for the home team. He scored 724 runs at 21.29 during the season but failed to score a century. The following season was less successful with his average dropping to 15.78 and his failure to be selected for either of the Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
fixtures. He toured North America in September 1879 with Richard Daft's XI, the side won all six matches, each of them against odds (teams of more than eleven players). During the 1880 season
1880 English cricket season
The 1880 English cricket season saw the second tour by a representative Australian side, who took part in the first Test Match to be played in England. County cricket was dominated by the Notts bowlers Alfred Shaw and Fred Morley.-Events:...
he scored 403 runs but once again failed to reach three figures, his highest score was 66 not out which came against the touring Australians.
In 1881
1881 English cricket season
-External sources:* -Annual reviews:* John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion , Lillywhite, 1882* James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual , Lillywhite, 1882* Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1882...
Shrewsbury led the strike of Nottinghamshire professional players alongside Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
following disagreements with the county secretary, Captain Henry Holden, over an early season fixture with Yorkshire arranged by Shaw and Shrewsbury. The strike meant Shrewsbury played just three first-class matches during the season. However the break allowed him, Shaw and James Lillywhite
James Lillywhite
James Lillywhite was a first-class and Test cricketer and umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining 2 Tests against Australia in 1876-77, losing the first, but winning the second.Lillywhite was born in Westhampnett in Sussex, the son of a...
to organise a lucrative eight-month tour of Australia, New Zealand and America the following winter.
World tour
The tour began with games in North America although Shrewsbury suffering bronchitis missed the first leg of the tour and sailed directly to Australia via Suez, The five matches in America were financial failures with receipts just covering expenses.The team played two first-class matches before the First Test, in the second of these the tourists beat Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
despite having followed-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
with Shrewsbury scoring 80 not out in the second innings. The First Test was staged at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
over the New Year, Shrewsbury, one of ten debutants, scored 11 and 16 in a drawn match. Seven matches in New Zealand followed before the team returned to Australia for the remaining three Test matches, Shrewsbury scored 7 and 22 in the Second Test at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. His best performance of the tour came in the Third Test, again at Sydney, top scoring in both innings – 82 and 47 – the next highest score by an Englishman was 23. In the final Test he scored 1, final day rain ruining the best chance of English victory during the series which ended 2-0. The matches in Sydney and Melbourne proved popular meaning the three promoters made £700 each.
After the tour Shrewsbury returned to England in better physical shape thanks to the warmer climate of Australia. He and Shaw wrote to the Nottinghamshire committee to apologise for their previous seasons actions, both were welcomed back into the side.
Domestic success
In 18821882 English cricket season
-Champion County:* Lancashire, Nottinghamshire -Events:8 April . Formation of Warwickshire CCC at a meeting in Coventry.10 May. Formation of Durham CCC....
Shrewsbury scored his maiden first-class double century, it was also the first double century by a Nottinghamshire cricketer, an innings of 207 at The Oval sharing in a 289 run stand with Billy Barnes
Billy Barnes
William Barnes was a professional cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire between 1875 and 1894 and England between 1880 and 1890. In 1890 he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Barnes also toured Australia three times and North America once...
, a then first-class second wicket record, however this was Shrewsbury's only score above fifty all season. The following season
1883 English cricket season
-Events:30 January. England won the deciding match of the scheduled three-Test series in Melbourne . Some ladies burned the bails and placed the resultant ashes in a small urn. This was presented to England’s captain, Ivo Bligh, who had promised to "recover those ashes"...
was in complete contrast with seven fifties and no century but Shrewsbury managed to reach 1,000 runs in a season for the first time.
In 1884 Australia toured England, Shrewsbury warmed up for the First Test with 209 against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
sharing in a 266 run stand for the fifth wicket with Billy Gunn
Billy Gunn (cricketer)
William "Billy" Gunn was an English sportsman who played internationally in both cricket and football. In first-class cricket, Gunn played professionally for Nottinghamshire from 1880 to 1904 and represented England in 11 Test matches...
, a then first-class record for the wicket. In the drawn First Test at Old Trafford Shrewsbury top scored with 43. He managed 27 in the Second Test which England won by an innings. The Third Test was drawn, Australia scoring 551 but without the aid of declarations (only permitted after 1889) they batted for 311 overs with every English cricketer bowling, Shrewsbury was last to come on even after wicket-keeper Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton QC was a British politician and sportsman who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports: cricket , football , athletics , rackets and real tennis , displaying an ability that made him...
. Shrewsbury finished the season just short of 1,000 runs as Nottinghamshire won the championship title, winning nine out of their ten matches.
Test success
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of the team. In the First Test at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
Shrewsbury opened for the first time in Tests, scoring a duck and 26 not out as England won by 8 wickets. England won by 10 wickets in the Second Test, with Shrewsbury scoring 72 and 0 not out. The next two Tests were lost with Shrewsbury making scores of 18, 24, 40 and 16. In the deciding Fifth Test at Melbourne he played a captain's innings scoring 105 not out after dropping down the order, this was his maiden Test century. Australian critic Felix
Tom Horan
Thomas Patrick Horan was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia, and later became an esteemed cricket journalist under the pen name "Felix". The first of only two Irish-born players to play Test cricket for Australia, Horan was the leading batsman in the colony of Victoria...
gave this description of the innings:
His play throughout was a treat to look at, and that neat and effective stroke of his between square-leg and mid-on is worth copying. He made a large number of his 105 in this spot. His defence was splendid, his cutting clean and telling, his timing could not well be excelled.
Shrewsbury finished the Test series with 301 runs at 50.16 and made £150 from the whole tour, the figure reduced by the boycotting of several matches by the 1884 Australians.
In 1885
1885 English cricket season
The 1885 English cricket season was the third in succession in which Notts was proclaimed the champion county-Playing record :-External sources:* -Annual reviews:* James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual , Lillywhite, 1886...
Shrewsbury topped the batting averages for the first time scoring 1130 runs at 56.50 with four centuries, including carrying his bat
Carry the bat
In cricket, the term carry the bat refers to an opening batsman who is not dismissed when the team innings is closed...
for 224 not out at Lord's. For the third season in a row Nottinghamshire were Champion County. The following season
1886 English cricket season
-Events:Somerset did not play any other first-class counties and dropped out of the Championship until 1891.Hampshire ceased to be a first-class county after years of difficult circumstances and poor results. They did play matches against Surrey and Sussex in 1886 but these matches are not...
he once again carried his bat, this time against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
defying W.G. Grace for 72 overs in scoring 227 not out. Although Shrewsbury's best innings of the season was to come against the touring Australians and the demon, Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
.
Shrewsbury warmed up for the Second Test (England won the First Test by 4 wickets) with another hundred against Grace in a Gentlemen v Players fixture. In the Second Test at Lord's Shrewsbury demonstrated his ability on sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
s, with the first day interrupted by rain he finished unbeaten on 91. In easier conditions on the second day he completed his hundred and finished with 164 all this coming against the finest bowler of the era, Spofforth. The second highest score in the match was 58 by Billy Barnes
Billy Barnes
William Barnes was a professional cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire between 1875 and 1894 and England between 1880 and 1890. In 1890 he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Barnes also toured Australia three times and North America once...
, as Australia lost by an innings. England completed the whitewash with another innings victory at The Oval. Shrewsbury finished the season with 1404 runs as once again Nottinghamshire retained the title.
Two Australian tours
England toured Australia in 1886–87 with Shrewsbury once again captaining the team, in two low scoring Tests (there were no team innings of more than 200) Shrewsbury contributed 46 runs as the tourists won the series 2-0. His best innings of the tour came for the Non-Smokers against the SmokersSmokers v Non-Smokers
A Smokers v Non-Smokers cricket match with first class status was held on two occasions in the late 19th century. The first of these was staged at Lord's in 1884, and resulted in a resounding nine-wicket win for the Non-Smokers, due in great part to an innings of 124 from George Bonnor and eight...
in Melbourne, where he scored 236 in a 803 total which at the time was a first-class record, the third wicket partnership of 311 between Shrewsbury and Billy Gunn also set a first-class record. One-sided matches and bad weather led to poor crowds and the tour failed to bring a profit for its organisers. Despite this Shrewsbury was already planning another tour the following year.
1887
1887 English cricket season
-External sources:* -Annual reviews:* James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual , Lillywhite, 1888* Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1888...
proved to be Shrewsbury's best season, 1653 runs at 78.71, his batting average was the highest ever achieved narrowly beating W.G. Grace's record of 78.25 set in 1871. At one point Shrewsbury made consecutive scores of 119, 152, 81, 130 and 111 and finished the season by scoring his highest first-class score of 267 against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
. During the season Shrewsbury passed 10,000 career first-class runs.
In 1887–88 Shrewsbury made his final tour to Australia which turned into a financial disaster as the Melbourne Club were financing their own touring team. In Shrewsbury's team first match at Melbourne only four first-team Victoria players were picked leading to a farce as the tourists won by an innings and 456 runs, Shrewsbury scored 232, becoming the first Englishman to score a double century in Australia. The two touring teams combined for a Test against Australia at Sydney, Shrewsbury top scored with 44 in a low-scoring match which England won. In the final fixture of the tour Shrewsbury scored another double century to finish with 721 runs at 65.54, 500 more than anyone else. To try and recoup some of his losses Shrewsbury stayed in Australia after the cricket tour and managed an English rugby football team
1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
The 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was a series of rugby union games played by an unofficial British team against invitational teams in New Zealand and Australia...
, this meant he missed the 1888 English cricket season. The football tour in fact added to the losses, ending in a £800 deficit to add to the £2400 lost on the cricket leg of the tour.
Best batsman in England
Shrewsbury scored a century against Sussex in his first match back but this was his highest score of the 1889 season1889 English cricket season
The 1889 English cricket season saw the number of balls per over increased from four to five. The four-ball over had been used since time immemorial....
, he finished with 522 runs at 37.28. Shrewsbury was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1890, an award only introduced the previous year.
In 1890
1890 English cricket season
The 1890 English cricket season was the first year the County Championship was officially held, which Surrey won after winning nine out of fourteen games...
he matched his highest score with an innings of 267 against Sussex, he shared in a 398 run partnership with Billy Gunn which remains the second wicket record for Nottinghamshire and was a first-class record for any wicket for nine years. Australia toured during the season but Shrewsbury struggled during the Tests making scores of 4, 13, 4 and 9 as England defended The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
in a low scoring series – there were no team innings of more than 176. Domestically Shrewsbury topped the batting averages.
Shrewsbury started the 1891 season
1891 English cricket season
The 1891 English cricket season featured no international tours, but the County Championship went into its second season. Surrey won in even more dominant fashion before, winning 12 of 16 games, while debutants Somerset finished fifth out of the nine teams....
with a run of low scores, failing to reach double figures in eight consecutive innings in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
(he did carry his bat for 81 in a Players v Gentleman fixture during this run) however the second half of the season saw a dramatic improvement which resulted in him topping the batting averages. He was offered a place on the tour party to Australia but decided to stay at home to look after the business as his business partner Alfred Shaw was travelling as manager of the team.
In 1892
1892 English cricket season
The 1892 English cricket season was the third year in which the County Championship was held, and Surrey set a record amount of wins with 13 out of 16...
Shrewsbury scored his tenth and final double century during a match against Middlesex he scored four more centuries in the rest of the season including carrying his bat for 151 for the Players against the Gentlemen. This resulted in Shrewsbury topping the averages for a third successive season. Australia tour of England 1893
1893 English cricket season
The 1893 English cricket season was the first year in which the County Championship was officially won by a team other than Surrey. They finished fifth, while Yorkshire won twelve matches to take the title...
included three Test matches. In the First Test at Lord's Shrewsbury played a similar innings to seven years previous, this time the bowler was Charles Turner
Charles Turner (cricketer)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia....
. On a difficult first day wicket he scored 106. Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
wrote:
Shrewsbury's batting was marked by extreme patience, unfailing judgment, and a mastery over the difficulties of the ground, of which probably no other batsman would have been capable.
During the innings Shrewsbury became the first cricketer to score 1,000 Test runs. He added a second innings 81 but rain prevented a result. He had scores of 66, 12 and 19 not out in the rest of the series as England retained the Ashes. Shrewsbury was the leading run scorer in the series with 284 at 71.00.
After Test career
Shrewsbury missed the 1894 season1894 English cricket season
The 1894 English cricket season saw a close battle play out for the County Championship title between Surrey and last year's champions Yorkshire. Before the round of 23 August, the two teams were tied on 10 points, with one match left to play and all other teams hopelessly distanced...
because of indifferent health but he reappeared in 1895
1895 English cricket season
The 1895 English cricket season saw Surrey win the County Championship title for the fifth time in six years, despite increased competition, as the tournament was expanded from nine to fourteen teams...
leading the county averages in a disappointing season for Nottinghamshire. He passed 1,000 runs in 1896
1896 English cricket season
The 1896 English cricket season saw Yorkshire win the County Championship title after only losing three of 26 games, setting a points percentage record with 68.42...
with 2 centuries including carrying his bat for 125 against Gloucestershire.
Shrewsbury passed 20,000 career first-class runs in 1897
1897 English cricket season
The 1897 English cricket season saw Lancashire win the County Championship title for the first time in the official running of the Championship, thanks mainly to only three losses in twenty-six matches. Surrey won more games, and beat Lancashire twice, but one more loss than Lancashire meant that...
, his only century of the season came for the Players against the Gentlemen, scoring 125 as captain. Shrewsbury's scores improved in 1898
1898 English cricket season
Yorkshire won the County Championship in the 1898 English cricket season, thus giving them their second title in three years, and it was an emphatic one. No one came close to their record of 16 wins in 26 games, and seven draws also helped them along to the Championship victory...
and 1899
1899 English cricket season
In the 1899 English cricket season, Surrey won the County Championship for the first time in four years, and the title turned out to be their last until 1914. Surrey's season was dominated by draws, with fourteen out of 26 games drawn, just like the season in general - especially the Australian...
with season tallies of 1219 and 1257 runs and leading the county averages in both seasons. In 1899 Shrewsbury and Arthur Jones
Arthur Jones (cricketer)
Arthur Owen Jones , was a cricketer, noted as an all-rounder.He was born in Shelton, Nottinghamshire, and educated at Bedford Modern School and Jesus College, Cambridge. He played for Cambridge University, Nottinghamshire, London County and England...
shared in an opening partnership of 391, the stand remained a county record until 2000.
In 1900
1900 English cricket season
The 1900 English cricket season saw Yorkshire finish the season unbeaten in the County Championship, the first time this had happened since the start of the official championship in 1890. They therefore became county champions, while defending champions Surrey finished in the middle of the pack in...
Shrewsbury's season average dropped to 32.03, his lowest since 1884, but he still topped the county averages. In 1901
1901 English cricket season
Yorkshire defended their County Championship title in the 1901 English cricket season, though, unlike in 1900, they lost one game during the season, to 12th-placed Somerset....
Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 13 against Yorkshire, the second lowest total ever made in county cricket, Shrewsbury split his hand while fielding and missed the rout.
In 1902
1902 English cricket season
The 1902 English cricket season saw the first Ashes series in England since 1899, when Australia had won a series in England for the first time since 1882. Australia won again, this time 2–1, with the first two Tests rained off...
despite being 46 years of age Shrewsbury topped the first-class batting averages. He notched up four centuries including for the first time two centuries in a match. His performances during the season earned him praise in the 1903 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack:
His batting was marked by all its old qualities, and except that he is, perhaps, less at home on a really sticky wicket than he used to be, there is little or no change to be noticed in his play. He was as patient and watchful as ever, and once or twice when runs had to be made in a hurry he surprised everybody by the freedom and vigour of his hitting.
The Nottinghamshire Committee raised donations of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
177 14s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
for Shrewsbury in recognition of his batting performance.
Death
Shrewsbury complained of kidney pains during a match for Lenton United on 27 September, and during the winter he consulted various doctors and specialists who could discover nothing seriously wrong with him. During the spring his health started to improve, but it was unlikely that he would play county cricket in 1903.On 12 May 1903 Shrewsbury bought a revolver from a local gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
s. He returned a week later after having difficulty in loading the gun, the clerk found that Shrewsbury had the wrong bullets and supplied the correct ones.
Shrewsbury went to his bedroom that evening and shot himself first in the chest, and after that didn't prove fatal, then in the head. His girlfriend, Gertrude Scott, found him bleeding from a head wound and by the time a doctor arrived Shrewsbury was dead.
The following day an inquest was held, the coroner deciding that Shrewsbury had committed suicide, his mind being unhinged by the belief that he had an incurable disease. He added, however, that there was no evidence to show he suffered from any major illness. His funeral took place two days after his death at All Hallows Church, Gedling
Gedling
Gedling is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in Arnold. It is part of the Greater Nottingham metropolitan area lying to the North and East of the City of Nottingham....
.
Statistical overview
Joe Darling
Joseph "Joe" Darling CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, winning seven and losing four. In Test cricket, he scored 1657 runs at an average of 28.56 per innings, including...
, Shrewsbury had held the record for over 15 years, only Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
and Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
have held the record for a longer term.
Two of Shrewsbury's three Test centuries came at Lord's including his highest Test innings of 164, a score which remained a Test record at the ground until 1924 when beaten by Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
. In six innings at the ground Shrewsbury scored 395 runs at an average of 65.83.
Shrewsbury set a number of batting records for Nottinghamshire. He scored the counties first double-century in 1882 and scored seven of the counties first eight double-centuries. He was also the first Nottinghamshire cricketer to score a hundred in both innings of a match. His 1887 county record of six centuries in a season wasn't beaten until 1925.
In the seven seasons between 1886 and 1892 Shrewsbury topped the first-class averages five times, one of the two seasons he didn't was 1888 when he was in Australia managing the football team.
Style
Shrewsbury was considered quite a slow scoring batsman however C. B. Fry described his play: "The idea that he is slow is mistaken. True, he is often half an hour without scoring; but somehow he makes up for it and is all but even with his more mobile partner. The fact is he waits for the ball he wants, and then secures a certain fourer. He does not waste time and energy in banging ball after ball into fieldsman's hands."Edward Sewell
Edward Sewell
Edward Humphrey Dalrymple Sewell was a first class cricketer. He was born in Lingsugur, India where his father served as an Army officer....
, a contemporary of Shrewsbury's, described his play: "And so, little by little, this little man playing a quite different kind of cricket to any other Big Noises of his time, perfected his own chosen method; never heeding anything in the shape of advice or an adviser, until he became a king of legend."
The method of play Sewell refers to is back-play, most batsmen of 1870s and 1880s typically played off the front foot, which allowed Shrewsbury to master the bad wickets which were often found on county grounds. His Wisden obituary had similar sentiments: “As a batsman he had a style of back play peculiarly his own, and his judgment of the length of bowling was almost unequalled. It was said of him that he seemed to see the ball closed up to the bat than any other player.”
Shrewsbury wasn't a strong or muscular man and stated that he didn't hit the ball instead he steered it in the desired direction.
Shrewsbury's technique was criticised by Rait Kerr in his book 'The laws of cricket', he stated: "As we have seen the improvement in pitches enabled Arthur Shrewsbury to develop a new gospel of defensive batsmanship which soon made many converts. From about 1885 this technique involved an increasing use of the pads." At the time the LBW law
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
stated to be out the ball needed to pitch between wicket and wicket. In 1888 the MCC considered a change to the law but instead issued a statement saying that defending the wicket with the body was against the spirit of the game.
Shaw and Shrewsbury
During the 1879 tour of North America Shrewsbury along with Alfred Shaw finalised plans to start a business. 'The Midland Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Football and General Athletic Sports Depot' in Carrington Street, Nottingham. Following the profitable tour of 1881/2 they opened a factory under the name 'Gresham Works' situated in Waterway Street and in the spring of 1884 the name of the firm was changed from 'The Midland Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Football and General Athletic Sports Depot' to 'Shaw and Shrewsbury'. Their trademark of a kangaroo and emu with a cricket bat between them was introduced in 1886.Following the financial losses made during the tour of Australia in 1887/8 the firm downsized from the two buildings into a single building in Queen's Bridge Road.
After Shrewsbury's death his share in the firm was split between his brother, William, and four of his nephews. The firm was closed in 1939 with its assets being bought by Grays of Cambridge.
See also
- History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883
- History of Test cricket from 1884 to 1889
- History of Test cricket from 1890 to 1900