Speaking of scape goats, Billy Murdoch:
Ponting is one Test defeat away from becoming the first Australian captain since Billy Murdoch 120 years ago to preside over three Ashes series losses.
I recently mentioned at The Punch that there appears to be a distressing array of options regarding how many Ashes Murdoch did or didn't lose:
Any chance we can clarify the Murdoch business? We have the following options: 1) lost four Ashes; 2) lost three Ashes; 3) lost two Ashes because one was before the bail was burned in 1882; 4) lost two Ashes because he was not captain for the latter series; 5) lost NO Ashes, because no one referred to England Australia Tests as “the Ashes” until the 1920s; 6) options 1 to 5.
So, since you were asking:
lost The Oval 06 Sep 1880 *
draw Melbourne 31 Dec 1881 *
won Sydney 17 Feb 1882 *
won Sydney 03 Mar 1882 *
draw Melbourne 10 Mar 1882 *
won The Oval 28 Aug 1882 *
The Ashes 29 Aug 1882
won Melbourne 30 Dec 1882 *
lost Melbourne 19 Jan 1883 *
lost Sydney 26 Jan 1883 *
won Sydney 17 Feb 1883 *
draw Manchester 10 Jul 1884 *
lost Lord's 21 Jul 1884 *
draw The Oval 11 Aug 1884 *
lost Adelaide 12 Dec 1884 *
lost Melbourne 01 Jan 1885
won Sydney 20 Feb 1885
won Sydney 14 Mar 1885
lost Melbourne 21 Mar 1885
lost Manchester 05 Jul 1886
lost Lord's 19 Jul 1886
lost The Oval 12 Aug 1886
lost Sydney 28 Jan 1887
lost Sydney 25 Feb 1887
lost Sydney 10 Feb 1888
won Lord's 16 Jul 1888
lost The Oval 13 Aug 1888
lost Manchester 30 Aug 1888
lost Lord's 21 Jul 1890 *
lost The Oval 11 Aug 1890 *
aban Manchester 25 Aug 1890
* Captain.
Murdoch did not play from Adelaide 1884, when he got married and retired from first class cricket (and not long after he was involved in a player strike), to Lords in July 1890, when he was persuaded to resume the captaincy.(Link.)
Pre-Ashes: lost one-off Test (1880); won one series (1881/82); won one-off Test (1882).
Post-Ashes: drew one Ashes (1882/83); lost two Ashes (1884 and 1890); lost the first Test of a four Test series (Adelaide 1884/85).
Update!
Billy Murdoch by Malcolm Knox. While Knoxy has his facts right vis-a-vis the number of times Murdoch lost the Ashes, the same cannot be said of the subbie who captioned the picture. Nevertheless, a fascinating article for cricket history buffs:
FROM a Tasmanian family, he was the champion batsman of his day, but in the twilight of his career he could not bat well enough to prevent his third series loss as captain to England. Revered by his players, he clashed with officials when he forced his men's claims. Mid-career, he fell in love and made a marriage that changed his outlook on life.
Would that we could revive ancient customs:
Murdoch's run-out on the SCG sparked a riot, apparently led by unhappy bookmakers and punters, which led to English cricketers being beaten while trying to leave the ground.
Wonder if Betfair badgered the SCG to put the odds on the scoreboard.
William Murdoch was also the only person who captained two countries.
Can Punter captain the poms. its deja vu all over again
Posted by: The Don has Risen | Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 12:35 PM