Test matches played between 1877 and 1883 followed a format that was somewhat distinct from the format of international cricket matches played today.
All of them were played between Australian and English teams, the teams were infrequently representative, and the requirement of a lengthy boat trip was something that many cricket players, especially amateurs, were unable or unwilling to do. As a consequence of this, the home team had a significant edge.
During the period in question, the Australian and English sides competed in thirteen test matches against one another.
The majority of the matches, on the other hand, were not framed as representative "England vs. Australia" battles; cricket statistics first introduced this definition much later.
The same may be said for their designation as "Test matches," which did not reach common usage until 1885. Eleven of the thirteen matches played up until 1883 took place in Australia.
The colonials made the most of their home advantage by winning seven of the eleven matches played there, while England only won four matches, and two were drawn.
By 1883, the practice of England and Australia touring each other had been deeply ingrained, and 1883 also marked the end of the first Ashes series.
The Sporting Times mourned the passing of cricket in England's "mother nation" when the country suffered its first defeat at its grounds in 1882.
The newspaper also predicted that "the body will be buried and the ashes transferred to Australia."
It was during the 1882–1883 tour of Australia that England's captain Ivo Bligh made the vow that he would return "the ashes," which led to the beginning of the term's usage.
During the journey, several women from Melbourne gave Bligh a present in the form of a ceramic urn.
The urn is widely, but incorrectly, assumed to be the trophy for the Ashes series; however, it has never been legally adopted, and Bligh has always considered it a personal gift.
The Ashes series is an annual cricket competition that is played in England.
In 1883, cricket was already experiencing several issues plaguing the sport today.
These issues included umpiring disagreements, betting scandals, match-fixing, and even a riot.
During the 1876–1877 season in Australia, two Englishmen attempted to promote different voyages to the continent: James Lillywhite advocated for a tour that would have included only professional cricket players, while Fred Grace, brother of W.G. Grace, advocated for a tour that would have included only amateur players.
The early planning for Grace's tour was extensive; however, it was unsuccessful, and Lillywhite was forced to perform without her. It began its journey in New Zealand and then continued to Australia.
Its highlights were two games played against a Combined Australia XI, which ultimately became known as the first Test matches. These games began to be known as "tests."
On March 15, 1877, at 1:05 p.m., the first Test got underway. It was ruled by Charles Bannerman, who managed to score the first single in Test history off of Alfred Shaw's second ball, was decided to drop on ten by Tom Armitage off of the same bowling attack (who himself would drop Bannerman twice), and had 27 by lunch at 14:00, with the Combined XI being 42 for three.
It was the first time that Bannerman was dropped in a Test match. Soon after the halftime break, Bannerman stepped up his scoring pace and surpassed his century mark at 16:25, with approximately 4,500 people in attendance.
As the game ended at 5 p.m., he had advanced to 126, while Combined, Australia had reached 166 for six.