Sydney Riot of 1879

The riot was sparked by a controversial umpiring decision, when star Australian batsman Billy Murdoch was given out by George Coulthard, a Victorian employed by the Englishmen.

It was alleged that illegal gamblers in the New South Wales pavilion, who had bet heavily on the home side, encouraged the riot because the tourists were in a dominant position and looked set to win.

The New South Wales skipper called on Lord Harris to remove umpire Coulthard, whom he considered to be inept or biased, but his English counterpart declined.

The other umpire, future prime minister Edmund Barton, defended Coulthard and Lord Harris, saying that the decision against Murdoch was correct and that the English had conducted themselves appropriately.

Generally educated in public schools such as Harrow and Eton, and universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, to them, sport was, in a large part, a social leisure pursuit.

[16] Violence, heckling and abusive chanting among drunken spectators and gamblers at sporting grounds were commonplace in 19th century Australia,[17] and the prevalence of betting was seen as a major cause of crowd unrest.

[22] The endless dispute between the colonies over whether Sydney or Melbourne would be the capital of Australia eventually forced the compromise that saw the construction of Canberra midway between the two cities.

[27] Gregory, whose action was regarded as highly dubious,[28] was prominent in his New South Wales team pursuing a policy of condoning illegal bowling.

[38] As both Gregory and Spofforth were playing for the hosts, bookmakers were offering attractive odds against an English win, and New South Wales were heavily backed, having won the previous match with an even weaker side.

[31][37] The Sydney Morning Herald condemned the "impunity with which open betting was transacted in the pavilion",[37] in defiance of the prominent notices indicating that gambling was banned.

[37] Spofforth cut up the wicket with his feet so badly that it became very difficult to play, and Edwin Evans, bowling from the other end, pitched nearly every ball into the marks.

The Sydney Evening News propagated rumours that Coulthard had placed a large bet on an English victory, something that the umpire and Lord Harris later denied.

[37] It was reported that well-known gamblers were prominent in inciting the other members of the crowd,[37] amid loud chants of "not out" and "Go back [to the playing field], Murdoch".

[29][43] Lord Harris later said that his two fielders in the point and cover positions, being side on to the crease, had a good view of the incident, and that they agreed with Coulthard's judgement.

[47] Hornby, a keen amateur boxer who had been offered the English captaincy before stepping aside for Harris, grabbed his captain's assailant and "conveyed his prisoner to the pavilion in triumph";[29] it was later said that he had caught the wrong man.

[38] Lord Harris maintained his position on the ground, standing "erect" with "moustache bristling" among the spectators,[50] fearful that his leaving the arena would lead to a forfeit.

[54] The Australian press and cricket officials immediately condemned the riot, which dominated the front pages of the local newspapers, even though the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang had raided Jerilderie on the same weekend.

[43] They said that the riot "forever made the match memorable in the annals of New South Wales cricket",[44] and lamented the fact that "rowdyism became rampant for the rest of the afternoon".

It was clear that he intended the letter to be printed in the press, and it appeared in full in The Daily Telegraph on 1 April, among other London newspapers, reigniting the furore.

I don't think anything would have happened if A. Bannerman had been run out instead of Murdoch, but the latter, besides being a great favourite, deservedly I think, was the popular idol of the moment through having carried his bat out in the first innings.

[56] He summed up his feelings To conclude, I cannot describe to you the horror we felt that such an insult should have been passed on us, and that the game we love so well, and wish to see honoured, supported, and played in an honest and manly way everywhere, should receive such desecration.

[56]The NSWCA were outraged by Lord Harris's letter and convened a special meeting to consider their response and subsequently had their honorary secretary, Mr J.M.

These included an accusation that Harris had failed to note that the NSWCA and the media had immediately and strongly condemned the disturbance and treatment of the English visitors.

But not one of the team received a scratch, and Mr. Hornby dragged a supposed offender of very diminutive stature through the mass to the pavilion, a hundred yards away, in triumph, and amidst general applause, with only a torn shirt as the penalty of his heroism.

He thought that the English team were victims of intercolonial rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria:[57] Then the crowd could stand it no longer and rushed on to the field, refusing to budge until the umpire was removed.

[60] He was critical of the way his team had been treated by a portion of the New South Wales press, which had "unintentionally", he trusted, "but with questionable courtesy", described them "as if they were strolling actors, rather than as a party of gentlemen.

[61] Their President Richard Driver, who appeared for the prosecution, told the court that "the inmates of the Pavilion who had initiated the disturbance, including a well-known bookmaker of Victoria who was at the time ejected, had had their fees of membership returned to them, and they would never again be admitted to the ground".

[55] Despite it being Murdoch's wicket that started the riot, the English public were more sympathetic towards him than Gregory, and although the Australians played against weak opposition,[55] including many XVIIIs,[66][69][70][71] they attracted large crowds, leading the counties to regret their decision to snub them.

[55] Eventually the secretary of Surrey, C. W. Alcock asked Lord Harris to put together a representative side to play the Australians,[72] while Grace acted as a mediator.

Luckily for the Australians, Lord Harris had a personal rapport with their captain Murdoch and leading player Spofforth, especially as they shared his antipathy towards throwing.