Australian cricket team in England in 1948

Man in double breasted suit, hair parted down the middle, sitting on a long bench in a sports stadium, posing with a cricket bat, held vertical and supported on his thigh.
Don Bradman, the Australian captain

The Australian cricket team in England in 1948 is famous for being the only Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of "The Invincibles", and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. According to the Australian federal government, the team "is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends".[1] The team was captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England.

Including five Test matches, Australia played a total of 34 matches, of which 31 were first-class, between 28 April and 18 September. Two of the non-first-class matches were played in Scotland.[2][3][4] They had a busy schedule, with 112 days of play scheduled in 144 days, meaning that they often played every day of the week except Sunday. Their record in the first-class games was 23 won and 8 drawn; in all matches, they won 25 and drew 9; many of the victories were by large margins. They won the Test series 4–0 with one draw.

The strength of the Australian team was based around its formidable batting line-up, which included Bradman, Arthur Morris, vice-captain Lindsay Hassett, Neil Harvey and Sid Barnes, and the hostile fast bowling of Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller and Bill Johnston.

Due to the popularity of Bradman, generally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, and the fact that he had announced that it was his farewell international tour, the Australians were greeted with much fanfare across the country, and many records for match attendances were broken.[5] The record for Test attendance at a match in England was broken thrice: in the Second, Third and Fourth Tests, and stands to this day.

  1. ^ "Sporting greats – Australia reveres and treasures its sporting heroes". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2007. The 1948 Australian cricket team captained by Don Bradman, for example, became known as 'The Invincibles' for their unbeaten eight-month tour of England. This team is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends.
  2. ^ Jack Davidson (18 September 2018). "The day Aberdeen hailed Bradman – the greatest Don of them al". The Scotsman.
  3. ^ Lawrence Booth (2007). Arm-ball to Zooter: A Sideways Look at the Language of Cricket. Penguin UK. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-14-102762-3.
  4. ^ Peter English. "An Invincible tour diary". ESPN CricInfo.
  5. ^ Wendy Lewis; Simon Balderstone; John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. pp. 180–183. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.