Australian cricket honours 1868 pioneers
Australian cricket will tomorrow pay tribute to its first ever touring team, the 1868 Indigenous team that toured England. The Aboriginal flag will be displayed at all State and Territory cricket offices and at Cricket Australia headquarters in Melbourne.
The team arrived in England 141 years ago to start the marathon tour, taking in 47 matches and blazing a trail for all those that came afterwards. The team is now widely acknowledged as the first sporting team to compete under the national Australian banner.
The 141st anniversary takes on extra significance as June will see the National Indigenous Development squad leave Australian shores for a four-week tour of England, a tour that will in part honour the 1868 legacy.
While the primary focus of the tour is to develop talented young Indigenous cricketers, captain of the squad, South Australian Redbacks all-rounder Dan Christian, also sees it as a fitting acknowledgement of the heroic deeds of 1868.
"It's hard to imagine what is was like to tour 141 years ago, three months on a boat for a start would have been hard enough for those guys," Christian said.
"The upcoming tour is a great opportunity for all players in the touring squad to raise the awareness of cricket in the Indigenous community."
"As we've seen through other sports, Indigenous people are some of the most talented sportspeople in the country and it's only a matter of time until some of this squad make their mark in first class cricket. This will give kids in the Indigenous community more role models to look up to."
"For a lot of the younger guys, it will be their first trip overseas and from a cricket perspective, the opportunity to play in different conditions will really further their careers."
The National Indigenous Development Squad to tour England was named at the completion of the national Indigenous cricket carnival, the Imparja Cup, and contains three players who held senior or rookie state contracts in 2008-09 (Dan Christian, Josh Lalor and Worrin Williams). The team will gather at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for a pre-tour camp before leaving for England on 20 June.
National Development Squad
Daniel Christian (c) SA
Peter O'Callaghan (vc) ACT
Trent Clemments QLD
Josh Lalor NSW
Brad Lovell TAS
Ben Mainhardt QLD
Darcy Short NT
Chris Swain QLD
Cameron Trask QLD
Dane Ugle WA
Lewis Upton WA
Josh Walmsley TAS
Preston White QLD
Worrin Williams QLD
Coach: Michael Mainhardt (QLD)
The 1868 team set sail from Sydney on 8 February 1868, arriving in England on 13 May. It played 47 matches between May and October, winning 14 games, losing 14 and drawing 19.
All-rounder Johnny Mullagh (traditional name Unaarrimin) was the acknowledged champion of the team, scoring 1698 runs and taking 245 wickets on the tour.
In 2002 the team was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In 2004, individual player numbers were allocated to the touring party as formal recognition of their place in Australian cricket history in a ceremony during the Boxing Day Test.