The bowler who claimed the first wicket to fall in Test cricket

When it started out, cricket was not the same as it is today. Massive crowds, 3 formats, plenty of glam and glitz. Nothing of this sort. Back in the 19th Century, the game of cricket was played amongst the elite. It was truly a ‘gentleman’s’ sport. While the sport has evolved rapidly especially in the last few decades and a lot has changed, the essence and beauty of the game remains the same.

The legacy of the game goes back to almost 150 years. The first-ever Test match played at Melbourne, on 15th March 1877, was contested between Australia and England. While England became the first-ever team to bowl in Test cricket, Australia became the first to bat. Several records and several firsts were established that day. For England, Allen Hill dismissed Australia’s Nat Thomson in the 4th over, to become the first player ever to pick a Test wicket. In a matter of a few overs, Hill also became the first fielder to take a catch thus completing as unique a record as possible.

Playing career

The record holder Hill was born in 1845. He had a fabulous first-class career and ended up playing 193 games, picking 749 wickets. Apart from the first Melbourne Test, Hill ended up playing just one more Test in his career, which was a game in the 1876-1877 series itself. In his 2 match Test career, Hill picked 7 wickets. His playing career ended in 1883 when he broke his collar-bone. However, he couldn’t be kept away from the game for too long and came back as an umpire in 1890. He breathed his last at Lancashire in 1905.

On 15 March 1877 Allen Hill became the first man to take a wicket in a Test Match, bowling Australian Nat Thomson for 1 in the fourth over of the inaugural match between Australia and England. Allen appears in the 1871 census in Lepton, Yorkshire as a fancy weaver. #101Documents pic.twitter.com/aAio2vjyGg

— Lifelines Research (@Dave_Lifelines) July 20, 2020

Imagining cricket being played in the 19th century is surely not an easy task. A lot has changed. Most importantly, now we have games being played regularly. Back then, international cricket was extremely sparse since a very limited number of teams played the game. It is possible the sport may have missed out on a number of exceptional players purely due to the lack of the games being played often. Nevertheless, every sport has to begin from somewhere, and that day in Melbourne was the day, one of the greatest sports in the world was born.