He was a plucky fieldsman whose bowling was highly suited to the heavy atmosphere and damp pitches of England."

This match, the first to be played at Trent Bridge, was drawn with England needing 135 runs to win and Australia requiring 3 wickets.

At the end of the tour Laver refused to produce his records of the trip, insisting that he kept books only for the players' benefit.

In the Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester on 26 to 28 July 1909, Laver had, in Wisden's words "a great day against England", taking 8 wickets for 31 runs in the first innings.

"English batsmen considered him a very good but not an exceptional bowler, and often wondered why they fared so badly against him", said Wisden.

This was a record performance in a Test match at Old Trafford, equalled by Fred Trueman in 1952, until Jim Laker's extraordinary 10 for 53 and 9 for 37 in 1956.

When another manager was appointed to lead the Australians to England in 1912, six senior players declared that they were unavailable unless Laver was reinstated.

He participated in the 1897 Kangaroo Tour of the United States, which was the first time an Australian baseball team had played in the US.