A blockbuster book tracing 150 years of Test cricket and featuring exclusive interviews with many of its stars, now out in paperback, is reviewed by Eric Brown…
BY ERIC BROWN
James Lillywhite could have had no idea just how his project would expand and explode when he assembled a party of English cricketers to tour overseas in 1877.
Perhaps spurred into action by an 1861 English tour to Australia which netted the two organisers £11,000 (over £1 million today) between them, and the players at least £150 each, Lillywhite raised a party to fly the flag in Australia.
When Lillywhite’s England faced Australia at Melbourne in March 1877, neither side could truly be said to represent their nations. England had only 12 players, and they were there simply because wealthy benefactors contributed to contracts in the hope of making money.
W.G. Grace, the most famous English cricketer, was absent as he failed to agree a contract, while a combined New South Wales-Victoria outfit represented Australia.
With his 12 reduced to 11 as Ted Pooley languished in prison for assault, Lillywhite had to include several players with slight injuries.
Nevertheless, the Melbourne contest between these two teams has become recognised as the first ever Test match. Next year it will be 150 years since that embryonic Test.
To celebrate the anniversary, Daily Telegraph sports writer Tim Wigmore has produced a blockbuster of a book charting the evolution of Test cricket, from Lillywhite’s first hesitant steps to the fierce multi-nation rivalries of today.
Paperback of Test Cricket: A History is out today!
Out in all good bookshops and all the usual places online pic.twitter.com/0DTEAS6dHT
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) May 21, 2026
Lillywhite might be surprised that Tests are no longer disputed between two nations but by 12. His assurance to players who signed up for the tour that “there might be a little money in it” seems understated now we have central contracts, packed stadia, players valued at over £1m each, and a constant stream of income from television coverage.
It is difficult to imagine how the award-winning author of cricket books sorted wheat from chaff when he sat down to chronicle 150 years of Test cricket. What to include? What to leave out? His deliberations run to nearly 580 pages embracing triumph, disaster, controversy, shame and the sheer excitement of fluctuating Tests in theatres around the world.
Wigmore consulted a multitude of cricket books from Test nations and the 17-page bibliography offers an epic list of the sport’s classic literature.
Some intriguing facts came to light. In the first 2,573 Test matches, just 84 were won by a margin of fewer than 30 runs, or three wickets or fewer. That is just three per cent of Tests producing thrilling finishes. A tied Test occurs only every 75 years. That’s why great Tests are so memorable.
Many changes have been introduced since Lillywhite’s tour. Test overs have consisted of three, four, five, six and eight deliveries. There are day-night Tests with pink balls and, as Wigmore comments, the umpire’s decision is no longer final but simply a basis for negotiation. The Decision Review System has the last word.
From Bodyline to Bazball, Wigmore peers behind the facade of Test cricket. There’s the Golden Age, the dominance of West Indies fast bowlers, the disgrace of Hansie Cronje plus the South African team Graeme Smith built, ball-tampering, an amazing tied Test in Australia and consequences of the Kerry Packer circus. Plus, of course, the continuing Australia-England rivalry.
The author also assesses Test cricket’s future and asks if it is under genuine threat from limited-over competitions. The answer appears to be yes, with England’s selection for last year’s Zimbabwe Test affected by the IPL.
Jacob Bethell found himself warming the bench for his IPL team when he could have been gaining valuable experience for England. History repeated itself this season when Bethell served out his IPL contract again mostly on the bench rather than gaining County Championship red ball experience before the first Test against New Zealand. Effectively, the IPL is influencing selection of the England team. Eventually, the so far inactive ECB will surely have to stand up to the all-powerful Indians.
India were worlds away from being a Test nation when Lillywhite’s outfit pioneered the contests. Charles Bannerman seems to have dominated that first Melbourne Test. He faced the first ball and off the second scored the first run, later completing the first official Test century and scoring 165 out of 245. His total represented 67.34 of the Australian effort, a record for any completed innings. Yet he could easily have been playing for England. Kent-born Bannerman had emigrated to Sydney aged two.
Australia won by 45 runs, and repeated this winning margin in their Centenary Test victory at the MCG 100 years later.
Wigmore has illuminated his comprehensive history in a series of exclusive interviews with Test greats Sachin Tendulkar, Pat Cummins, Michael Holding, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Chappell, Dale Steyn and Rahul Dravid.
His classic book contains a treasure chest of memories to indulge the Test aficionado into next year’s (2027) sesquicentenary and beyond.
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