Double Headers

92 1938/39 30-31 Dec-2-3 Jan Victoria v South Australia Melbourne D 30-31 Dec-2 Jan Tasmania v Victoria Hobart W 1946/47 25-26-27-28 Dec Tasmania v Victoria Launceston D 26-27-28-30 Dec Victoria v NSW Melbourne W 30-31 Dec-1 Jan Tasmania v Victoria Hobart D 1948/49 24-27-28-29 Dec Victoria v NSW Melbourne D 25-27-28-29 Dec Tasmania v Victoria Hobart D 1948/49 31 Dec-1-3-4 Jan Victoria v South Australia Melbourne D 31 Dec-1-3 Jan Tasmania v Victoria Launceston W 1953/54 26-28-29-30 Dec Victoria v NSW Melbourne L 26-28-29 Dec Tasmania v Victoria Hobart D 1953/54 31 Dec-1-2 Jan Tasmania v Victoria Launceston L 1-2-4-5 Jan Victoria v South Australia Melbourne W 1956/57 18-19-21-22 Jan Queensland v Victoria Brisbane D 22-23-24 Jan Victoria v Tasmania Melbourne W Victoria were the side doubling up in 32 of these instances. All of these involved one match against Tasmania, generally around the Australia Day holiday up to 1926/27, and in the Christmas/New Year period thereafter. In 20 of these instances Victoria’s ‘senior’ opponent was NSW, and in ten it was South Australia. That leaves two instances, in 1914/15 and 1956/57, when both their opponents were ‘junior states’ (Tasmania and Queensland, although by 1956/57 Queensland were no longer a true junior, and the match at Brisbane was a Sheffield Shield fixture). On both these latter occasions, Victoria put out their full First XI for the match against Queensland – inevitably so for the Shield match in 1957, less predictably for the game in January 1915 – but on both occasions their residual ‘Second XI’ was strong enough to beat Tasmania comfortably. In the other 11 instances the double-heading side was New South Wales, their opponents in the more junior match being Queensland on ten occasions and Tasmania just once, in 1927/28. All these instances were played over the Christmas holiday period, with the exceptions of two instances when the senior NSW side was playing against MCC at Sydney while a ‘Second XI’ was playing Queensland at Brisbane (1920/21 and 1924/25), and a third instance (in 1905/06) which occurred in mid- December, when NSW’s Sheffield Shield opponents were South Australia rather than their holiday-season opponents of Victoria. Victoria’s instances in January 1895, January 1899 and January 1931 are notable because both of the state’s simultaneous matches were played away from home. There are no comparable instances among NSW’s 11 double-headers; neither were there any instances in Australia when the double-heading side has been at home in both its matches (as was the case – uniquely so far in this study - with Surrey in 1909). Australia: First home of the geographical double-header