From the beginning of human civilization, games have made their place in society. Different games are born in different corners of the world. Cricket started in England at the beginning of the 16th century. Although there is no solid evidence of this, it is also recognised that it started at the beginning of the 14th century. The first official cricket test match game was played in Melbourne, Australia on March 15-19, 1877. Australia won by 45 runs.
This game, after coming to India from England, touched new heights of popularity. When an Indian star cricketer retires, it seems as if a star has been dislodged from the sky.
In the history of Test cricket, Alfred Shaw of England bowled the first ball. Charles Bannerman of Australia faced this ball and also scored the first century. Bannerman scored 18 fours in this match and racked up 165 runs. The banners were out, but they had to return to the pavilion after the injury. England bowler George Joliet’s ball hit one of his fingers and he had to come back from the pitch. Bannerman’s score of 165 was the highest score in Test cricket for seven years. In 1884, the record was broken by Billy Murdoch with a double hundred.
There is a lot of interesting information about the first test. There was no time limit for this test match. Both teams had to play two innings, regardless of how long it would take. Australia’s Billy Midwinter took five wickets, for the first time in Test cricket. This was followed by England’s Alfred Shaw (five) and Tom Kendall of Australia, who won seven wickets.
Australia decided to bat first before winning the toss in this match. In the first innings, Australia scored 245 runs with the help of Bannerman’s Century. In reply, England’s team was dismissed for 196 runs.
Bannerman did not run in Australia’s second innings, and the whole team was out for 104 runs. In the second innings, England had to score just 153 runs to win, but the whole team was out at 108 runs. The first Test match was played for four days.