Two leaves in a small autograph album (leaf size 80 × 138 mm) signed in ink (on the rectos only) by all fifteen members of the Australian squad selected to tour England in 1930
The signatories are Woodfull (Captain), a'Beckett, Bradman, Fairfax, Grimmett, Hornibrook, Hurwood, Jackson, Kippax, McCabe, Oldfield, Ponsford, Richardson, Walker and Wall (as well as W.L. Kelly, the manager). The signatures were collected by the parents of a five year-old boy when the family travelled on the same ship as the cricketers on the voyage to England in early 1930. The leaves are the first two in an album with the printed image of the ship, the Orient Line's SS 'Orford', on the front cover; the original celluloid cover over the image is a little torn, but the contents are in fine condition. It wouldn't be cricket without a few statistics: Australia won the Ashes; Archie Jackson, on his only tour, played in only two Tests; a'Beckett played only one; Hurwood and Walker played none (the others played in either four or five Tests). Don Bradman scored 974 runs in the Test series (8, 131, 254, 1, 334, 14, and 232); in the 3rd Test he scored 309 runs in one day, and his 334 beat the previous Test record score of 287; he scored 2960 runs on the tour at an average of 98.86; Woodfull's 155 at Lord's was the first century by an Australian captain in England since 1896; Clarrie Grimmett took 144 wickets on the tour and four times in the Tests had five wickets in an innings ('Test Cricket Tours' website).
Item #109410
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