MCC tour of Australia in 1950–51

The Marylebone Cricket Club tour of Australia in 1950–51 under the captaincy of Freddie Brown was its tenth since it took official control of overseas tours in 1903–1904. The touring team played as England in the 1950–51 Ashes series against Australia, but as the MCC in all other games. In all there were 25 matches; 5 Test matches (which they lost 4–1), 11 other first-class matches (which they won 4–0) and 9 minor matches (which they won 2–0). Denis Compton was made Brown's vice-captain, the only time that a professional cricketer held this position on an MCC tour.

I suppose the day is not far distant when the players will also fly out to Australia, and this can be done in a week or even less, as evidenced by the experiences of Cyril Washbrook, Roy Tattersall and Brian Statham, who left home one week and were in Australia the next.

The MCC touring team left Tilbury Docks on the S.S. Stratheden amidst calls to cancel the Ashes tour because of the weakness of the team led by Freddie Brown. Such critics were, of course, ignored and the team traveled in first-class luxury on the P&O liner. Though it took several weeks for them to reach Fremantle in Western Australia this method avoided jet lag and allowed the team to relax and get to know each other. The teenager Brian Close had been excused from National Service in the British Army and was particularly active in exploring the whole ship from top to bottom. Apart from the normal deck exercises some of the MCC players formed a short lived band and Godfrey Evans gave his well-known impression of Carmen Miranda in the fancy dress party. They stopped in Ceylon for a one-day game which was drawn, but saw Arthur Macintyre make 104 and Len Hutton damage one of his fingers. They otherwise arrived safely and found that steak and fried eggs were regularly served in Australian hotels (virtually unobtainable in ration-bound Britain) and soon put on weight.

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