Famous Cricketers No 77 - W.L.Murdoch

Own Team O M R W Opp Ct St Total Total 35. Australian XI v Combined XI, Melbourne, January 1, 3, 4 (Australian XI won by 178 runs) * c E.H.Elliott b W.E.Midwinter 7 172 94 b W.E.Midwinter 39 185 85 36. Australian XI v Combined XI, Sydney, March 4, 5, 7, 8 (Combined XI won by 246 runs) * b E.Evans 65 155 197 not out 31 85 289 2 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St Other matches 2 4 1 142 65 47.33 - 1 2 - Career 36 63 10 1116 153* 21.05 1 3 28 9 1881/82 Murdoch consolidated his position both as a captain and as Australia’s premier batsman. In what were retrospectively classified as Test Matches he won two and drew two and a comfortable innings victory over Victoria at Sydney compensated for a narrow defeat at Melbourne. His 321 against New South Wales contained 38 fours, lasted 495 minutes and remained the highest in Australia until the 1900/01 season. He shared partnerships of 245 for the fourth wicket with S.P.Jones (109) and 149 for the sixth with T.W.Garrett (163). The triple hundred earned him a collection of £200 – which must have been doubly welcome given his financial circumstances - and a memento in the form of a Maltese cross. On the fourth day of the match Murdoch had to leave to attend to legal business in Cootamundra but returned by train in the early hours of the morning to resume his place behind the stumps on the final day. During his absence his place as wicket-keeper was taken at different times by A.C.Bannerman, H.H.Massie, E.Evans and F.R.Spofforth (!). In the Second Test Match Murdoch kept wicket in England’s first innings but missed two stumping chances and in the second innings gave way after lunch to Blackham who up to then had been fielding mid-off. The two drawn Test Matches were scheduled to be timeless but in each case the English side had to leave for other engagements. These were the last drawn Tests in Australia until Walter Hammond’s tour in 1946/47. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct St Total Total 37. New South Wales v A.Shaw’s XI, Sydney, December 9, 10, 12, 13 (A.Shaw’s XI won by 68 runs) *† b E.Peate 58 210 272 b T.Emmett 21 156 162 3 38. New South Wales v Victoria, Melbourne, December 24, 26, 27 (Victoria won by two wickets) *† b G.E.Palmer 21 146 232 1 c W.H.Moule b H.F.Boyle 43 215 131-8 1 1 39. AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND, Melbourne, January 2, 3, 4 (Match drawn) * b G.Ulyett 39 320 294 not out 22 127-3 308 40. New South Wales v Victoria, Sydney, February 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 (New South Wales won by an innings and 138 runs) *† c J.M.Blackham b T.P.Horan 321 775 315 322 1 41. AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND, Sydney, February 17, 18, 20, 21 (Australia won by five wickets) *† c T.Emmett b W.Bates 10 197 133 2 c R.G.Barlow b W.E.Midwinter 49 169-5 232 42. AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND, Sydney, March 3, 4, 6, 7 (Australia won by six wickets) * c G.Ulyett b W.Bates 6 262 188 c W.E.Midwinter b W.Bates 4 64-4 134 43. AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND, Melbourne, March 10, 11, 13, (14) (Match drawn) * b W.E.Midwinter 85 300 309 1 234-2 16