8 England-born players who represented Australia in Test cricket
Australia and England are two of the fiercest rivals in Test cricket history. Their Ashes rival has a long history, and now also, exciting Ashes series entertains the fans across the world. The Australia and England cricket team's fans also become each other's rivals when their teams compete in the Ashes.
It is unlikely to see a player switch bases and play for a rival Ashes team after being born in another Ashes-playing country. However, eight Australian Test cricketers were born in the United Kingdom and were eligible to play for England, but they played for the Australian cricket team. Here's a list of those eight names.
8. Charles Bannerman
🤯 Faced the first ball in Test cricket
— ICC (@ICC) July 3, 2020
🤯 Scored the first run and the first 💯 in Test cricket
🤯 First No.1 on the ICC Test batting rankings#OnThisDay in 1851, Australia's Charles Bannerman was born! pic.twitter.com/dV5RLIzDcq
Charles Bannerman played three Test matches for the Australian cricket team. The right-handed batsman scored 239 runs for Australia at an impressive average of 59.75.
His best knock of 165* came against the team where he was born. Bannerman was born in Kent and in his first Test knock for Australia, he hit a fantastic ton at Melbourne in 1877.
7. John Hodges
Another England-born player who played Test cricket for Australia against England is John Hodges. The London-born player was a left-handed batsman and a left-arm fast bowler.
Hodges played two Test matches for Australia in the 1877 Ashes series. The all-rounder scored 10 runs and scalped six wickets in his brief Test career.
6. Tom Kendall
Australian Tom Kendall who appeared in the inaugural Test match in March 1877 was Test cricket's first left-handed batsman #LeftHandersDay
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 13, 2014
Yet another entry from the 1877 Ashes series is of Australia's Tom Kendall. Like John Hodges, Tom was a southpaw, who batted left-handed and bowled left-arm medium pace.
On some occasions, Kendall even bowled slow pace. In his Test career of two matches, Kendall picked up 14 wickets for the Australian cricket team at an economy rate of 2.29.
5. Henry Musgrove
Surrey's right-handed batsman Henry Musgrove got an opportunity to play Test cricket for Australia in the year 1885. He played the New Year's Test against England in Melbourne.
Musgrove could not impress much in the two innings he batted for Australia. The right-handed batsman from England aggregated 13 runs, with his highest score being 9.
4. Hanson Carter
Hanson Carter, also known as Sammy Carter, was born in Yorkshire, England. Hanson was a wicket-keeper batsman, who played 28 Test matches for Australia.
Unlike most wicket-keepers of his era, Carter was successful with the bat. He recorded four half-centuries for the Australian Test team and scored 873 runs at an average of 22.97.
3. Tony Dell
Tony Dell once opened the bowling with Dennis Lillee, and is the only living Test cricketer to have seen active military service.
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) May 24, 2018
He's our guest at Tea, discussing his life and the important work he does now supporting sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.#bbccricket pic.twitter.com/JyJLtwjFwy
Tony Dell donned the Australian Test jersey in two matches. His Test debut came against his home country England at Sydney in February 1971.
Dell was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm fast-medium bowler. He scored six runs and scalped six wickets in his two Test appearances.
2. Andrew Symonds
Perhaps, the biggest name to appear on this list is the former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The 45-year-old has retired from all forms of cricket now.
However, he was an integral part of the Australian team during his prime. The Warwickshire-based player represented the Aussies in 26 Tests, 198 ODIs, and 14 T20I matches.
1. Matt Renshaw
Test specialist Matt Renshaw was born in Middlesbrough of Yorkshire. The 24-year-old received his maiden Test cap against South Africa at Adelaide Oval in 2016.
Since then, he has played 11 Test matches for Australia, accumulating 636 runs at an average of 33.47. He has been away from the Test team since 2018.