James May Top Gear what was james may's role in top gear? May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. what is top gear about? he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron
what was the result of this test?
what was the result of the Bugatti Veyron test?
May was a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving - in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.  May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He has also driven a 1.3-litre Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile.  In Season 22 Episode 7, he drove a rallycross Volkswagen Polo, with the assistance of the Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust, who also lapped him in the final 30 seconds of the semi-finals in the rallycross, entering James into the Guinness World Records as the first person to get lapped in rallycross.  Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson  and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating. He is a co-presenter of the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, alongside his former Top Gear colleagues, Clarkson and Hammond, as well as Top Gear's former producer Andy Wilman.

May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of an aluminium factory manager. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church.

May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in the civil service.

Journalism career
During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph.

He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007.

Dismissal from Autocar

In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial). May's role was to put the entire supplement together.

To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK".  Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse."

Television career
His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show. He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One).  James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe.

Top Gear

May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series during 1999. He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of , then in 2010 he achieved  in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.

May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux. In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters.

Science
May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He has also presented a series called James May's Man Lab. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute.

James May on the Moon

James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station.

James May's Toy Stories

Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day.  The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity.

Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit.  Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts.  The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline.  This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route.

In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy.

In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full  mile-long circuit.

Oz and James

In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain.

James May: Our Man in Japan

In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators.

Internet presence

May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide.

May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. His most recent video was posted on this channel on the 20th of February 2021.

In 2016 May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe.

In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker".

Personal life
May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000. In July 2010 May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree.

In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

In June 2016 he supported Remain in the EU referendum. May has described his political leanings as "liberal".

In 2020 May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire called The Royal Oak which dates from the early 18th century and is Grade II listed.

Vehicles
May has owned many cars including a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911, 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new).

May currently owns a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2016 BMW i3, a 2018 Alpine A110, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time".

May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire', a Cessna A185E Skywagon, and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him.

Filmography

Television

DVD

Video games

Television advertisements

Bibliography

 May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. 
 Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. 
 Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. 
 James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). 
 James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. 
 Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. 
 James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). 
 James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. 
 James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. 
 James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. 
 James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. 
 How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). 
 James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) 
 James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. 
 James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. 
 James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020.

Britcar 24 Hour results

References

External links
 

 
1963 births
Living people
English television presenters
Television personalities from Bristol
Alumni of Lancaster University
British motoring journalists
BBC people
English male journalists
English male non-fiction writers
People from Hammersmith and Fulham
The Daily Telegraph people
People from Hammersmith
Top Gear people
Britcar 24-hour drivers
A timeless Test is a match of Test cricket played under no limitation of time, which means the match is played until one side wins or the match is tied, with theoretically no possibility of a draw. The format means that it is not possible to play defensively for a draw when the allotted time runs out, and delays due to bad weather will not prevent the match ending with a positive result. It also means that there is far less reason for a side to declare an innings, since time pressure should not affect the chances of winning the game.

Although the format should guarantee a result, it was ultimately abandoned as it was impossible to predict with any certainty when a match would be finished, making scheduling and commercial aspects difficult. In the modern era teams often play back-to-back Tests in consecutive weeks, something that would be impossible without the five-day limit.

History
There were 99 timeless Tests between 1877 and 1939. 

Until World War II all Tests in Australia were timeless. Only two of these matches were drawn, both against England in 1882, when the matches had to be left unfinished owing to shipping schedules. Pitches were left uncovered during matches, and in the Australian climate the well-watered prepared pitches would dry out and crack and crumble as the match progressed, usually making batting more difficult by the fourth or fifth day. The longest Test match in Australia was the Fifth Test between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1929, which lasted for eight playing days. Australia won by five wickets in front of an eighth-day crowd of 20,000.

The ninth match of the 1912 Triangular Tournament, between England and Australia, was the first timeless Test to be played in England. Some series outside Australia had the final Test changed to a timeless Test if the series result depended on the outcome of the match. This is what happened in Kingston in 1930, when the Fourth (and final) Test between West Indies and England lasted for seven playing days and had to be abandoned owing to shipping schedules, and at The Oval in 1938, when England batted for the first two and a half days of the Fifth Test and made 903 for 7 before declaring and dismissing Australia twice by the end of the fourth day, and in Durban in 1938-39.

The first timeless Test in South Africa was held in Durban in February 1923, when the series between England and South Africa was undecided after four matches. England won early on the sixth day of play. The start of one day's play was delayed while groundstaff removed frogs from the coconut matting.

The last timeless Test was the Fifth Test between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939, which was abandoned as a draw after nine days of play spread over twelve days, otherwise the England team would have missed the boat for home. This match had started on 3 March. South Africa had set a target of 696 for England to win. By the time England had to leave to catch their boat home, on 14 March, England had reached 654 for 5 (the highest ever first-class fourth innings score). This is the longest Test cricket match on record. The match had not been expected to take more than five days, but rain and rolling rejuvenated the pitch three times during the match, and it was still in good condition for batting when the match was abandoned.

The ICC was considering implementing a timeless Test for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.

Comparison to other sports
Baseball is one of the few other sports that does not have any time limit. Baseball games can be suspended (paused), such that they can also be played across multiple days. Unlike the lack of tiebreaker for tied timeless Tests, baseball can have extra innings.

List of Timeless Tests

See also
The result in cricket

References

External links
 England v South Africa, 5th Test 1939 – The last timeless Test from Cricinfo

History of Test cricket Test matches (matches of Test cricket) in the 19th century were somewhat different affairs than what they are today. Many of them were not designated as Test matches for many years afterwards, and it is possible that some Test players never knew they had played in a Test. Before 1888 there had been 26 Test matches, all between England and Australia. England had won 13 of them, Australia 9, with 4 draws. During the 19th century England played in all the Tests, which were mostly against Australia, though a few were against what tended to be a very weak South African XI.

By the end of the 19th century, 64 Test matches had been played. Whilst the great England v. Australia matches towards the end of the century were recognised as Tests at the time, the classification of many of the games listed below as Tests only happened much later. Some of the games, especially those involving South Africa, were between a very weak South African squad and a not particularly representative England team. By 1900 South Africa had played 8 games, and lost them all to England. Meanwhile, England had faced Australia 56 times, winning 26, losing 20, and drawing 10. Additionally, one game was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain.

The greats: Grace v Murdoch 1890

This series marked the return of Billy Murdoch as Australia's leader, and pitched him against The Champion, WG Grace. The Australian side was good, but they were still without some of their best players. 1890 was a wet summer, and the rain affected all of the three planned Tests. The first Test was the most eagerly anticipated match of the English summer, with 30,279 spectators watching it over the 3 days, though Stoddart and Briggs did not play. Rain on the 2 days before the match left the pitch slow, but it got steadily better and better, and was at its best on the last day, when England scored 137 to win by 7 wickets, with Grace, who was out for a duck in the first innings, scoring 75 not out. The second Test at the Oval was particularly tense, partly, no doubt, because Andrew Stoddart (an amateur) chose to play for Middlesex, whilst Peel and Ulyett (professionals) were claimed by Yorkshire. Rain before the first day's play contributed to 22 wickets falling for 197 runs on day 1. On day 2, England only needed 95 to win, they lost eight wickets to Charles Turner and Ferris before getting them, with the winning run being scampered as Australia missed a clear run out chance. A planned third Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester was washed out, thereby becoming the first Test to be abandoned entirely because of the weather.

Australia in England 1890. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England win 2–0.

Australian summer 1891–92

Lord Sheffield led the England team, which was captained by WG Grace,  on the tour to play an Australian side captained by the great Jack Blackham. The England side was reckoned to be a strong one, even though only six of the tourists had played Test cricket before. Australia won the first Test by 54 runs. In the second, after conceding a first innings deficit of 162 runs, scored 391 to leave England needing 230 to win. Despite poor light, Grace stuck to the usual batting order, and England were soon 11 for 3. Grace got heavily criticised as England lost by 72 runs. In the third Test, on a good batting pitch, England scored 490 for 9. Torrential rain then ruined the pitch for further play and Australia collapsed twice to record a massive defeat by an innings and 230 runs.

England in Australia 1891–92. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 6. Series result: Australia won 2–1.

Second England tour to South Africa 1891–92

This match was not considered by anyone at the time to be a Test, but was subsequently elevated to Test match status. The main England winter tour was still ongoing in Australia. As a result, Walter Read's two Test match victories as captain leave him as one of the two with a 100% record while captaining England in more than one Test. The main points of note are that this game Billy Murdoch and JJ Ferris, both of whom had previously played for Australia and had now settled in England, played for the English tourists.  Similarly, Frank Hearne, who had previously played Test cricket for England against South Africa before settling in South Africa, played for South Africa, while his two brothers, Alec Hearne and George Gibbons Hearne, and their cousin, John Thomas Hearne, all played for England.

England in South Africa 1891–92. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. One-off Test. Result: England won

Blackham's tour of England 1893

Grace was injured for the first Test, so England were captained by Andrew Stoddart. The match was ruined by rain. Arthur Shrewsbury became the first cricketer to score 1,000 Test runs during his 106 in England's first innings total of 334. Australia replied with 269 and England moved to 234 for 8 declared before rain tumbled down and no further play was possible. This was the first declaration in Test cricket.

England's strong side won the second Test, aided by a 151 first wicket partnership between Stoddart and the returning Grace. After scoring 91 runs in their first innings, the Aussies were asked to follow on. AC Bannerman became the first Australian to score 1,000 Test runs. The Aussies put up much brave resistance and scored 349, but this still equated to an innings defeat, and England had retained the Ashes. England went on to play out the third Test for a draw to earn a series victory.

Australia in England 1893. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England won 1–0.

Stoddart's tour of Australia 1894–95

In 1894/5 Andrew Stoddart led a team to Australia that played five Tests in a see-saw series that saw England win the Ashes by 3 games to 2. The first Test started as a high-scoring affair, with Australia making a then-record 586 runs thanks to 201 from Syd Gregory and 161 from George Giffen. England replied with 325 and were asked to follow-on 261 behind. They made 437 to set Australia a target of only 177. Australia reached 113–2 at close of play, needing only another 64. Rain fell overnight, and Australia allowed play to be delayed for 20 minutes as a couple of England players, including slow left-arm spinner Bobby Peel had not reached the ground on time because they were hungover. Australia fell 10 short, with Peel taking 6 wickets and Briggs 3 on a pitch that had been made helpful by the rain. This was the first time a side following-on had won a Test match.

The second Test also saw a remarkable turnaround. After being put into bat in the first instance of a Test captain electing to field after winning the toss, England made only 75. Australia responded with 123. England's second innings was completely different. Led by the captain's innings of 173, England made 475. Australia managed only 333 to leave England comfortable winners by 94 runs.

Later, in the third Test Australia (238 and 411) finally rammed home the advantage after dismissing England cheaply (124 and 143) to win by 382 runs. The match was played in searing heat. In the fourth Test England chose to field after winning the toss, collapsed twice in one day, scoring only 65 and 72 to lose by an innings. The weather had now helped even the series up at two apiece. England (385 and 298 for 4) recovered to win the deciding Test from Australia (414 and 267) by 6 wickets. With England in early trouble in the second innings, JT Brown scored 140, reaching his 50 in 28 minutes and 100 in 95.

George Giffen could consider himself unfortunate to finish on the losing side, having contributed 475 runs at an average of 52.77 and 34 wickets at 24.11. "Terror" Turner had the best average of a specialist bowler on either side, taking 18 wickets at 19.38, but he only played in three Tests, missing the third match with a chill and surprisingly being dropped for the last. For England, Tom Richardson had 32 wickets at 26.53 and Peel 27 at 26.70.

England in Australia 1894–95. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 6. Series result: England won 3–2.

England's third tour of South Africa 1895–96

England's third tour of South Africa was a very one-sided series that was not elevated to Test status till later. England fielded 10 new caps throughout the series (8 in the first Test). The captains, a baronet and a lord, were chosen for their roles more because of their status than their cricketing ability.

The highlight of the first Test was South Africa's dismissal for a record low of 30 in their second innings, with George Lohmann taking 8 wickets for 7 runs, including a hat-trick. He had match figures of 15 for 45.

Lohmann followed this with 9 wickets for 28 runs in the first innings of the second Test, the first time a bowler had taken 9 wickets in a single Test innings. In the third Test, Lohmann took his haul of wickets to 35 at an average of 5.8.

England in South Africa 1895–96. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England won 3–0.

Trott tours England 1896

The first day of the first Test was well attended: 25,414 paying customers, and possibly 30,000 spectators in total. It was a see-saw game with Australia dismissed for 53, before England got 292. Australia's 347 in their second innings left England with 108 to win, which they did with 6 wickets to spare. In the first Test Grace completed his 1,000 runs in Test cricket.

In the second Test Ranjitsinhji, the first Indian to play Test cricket, and who the MCC had not selected for the first Test, became the second batsman after Grace to score a hundred on debut for England. His 154 not out and Richardson's 13 for 244 were the highlights of the game, but it was Australian that won by 3 wickets chasing 125. During the match George Giffen became the first to complete the Test career double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.

Five England players (that is, professionals) threatened strike action before the start of the  third Test at the Oval, Surrey's home ground,  because of a dispute over match fees. They wished to be paid £20 rather than the normal going rate of £10, and were upset as they saw amateurs such as WG Grace and Walter Read seemingly earning much money from cricket despite being amateurs. They were Abel, Hayward, Lohmann and Richardson, all Surrey-players, and William Gunn of Nottinghamshire. The Surrey committee did not budge, and they put out the following statement on 10 August, the opening day of the Test:

The committee of the Surrey County Cricket Club have observed paragraphs in the Press respecting amounts alleged to be paid, or promised to, Dr WG Grace for playing in the match England v Australia. The Committee desire to give the statements contained in the paragraphs the most unqualified contradiction. During many years, on the occasions of Dr WG Grace playing at the Oval, at the request of the Surrey County Committee, in the matches Gentlemen v Players and England v Australia, Dr Grace has received the sum of £10 a match to cover his expenses in coming to and remaining in London during the three days. Beyond this amount Dr Grace has not received, directly or indirectly, one farthing for playing in a match at the Oval.

Abel, Hayward and Richardson relented, but Gunn and Lohmann refused to play. Rain prevented play until 4:55pm. on the first day, caused 24 wickets to fall on the second, and led to Australia being dismissed for their lowest total, 44 all out chasing of 111. England had retained the Ashes.

Australia in England 1896. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England won 2–1.

Stoddart's tour of Australia 1897–98

Stoddart's tour of Australia in 1897–98 ended in an emphatic victory for Australia by 4 Tests to 1. The tour matches before the Tests were well attended, with 69,195 attending the game against New South Wales, of whom 32,253 attended on the Saturday, but attendances tailed off later.

The first Test was delayed, at the instigation of the SCG to allow time for Ranjitsinhji to recover from tonsillitis and because Andrew Stoddart's mother had died. In the event, Stoddart did not play, but Ranjitsinhji did, although he did drop down to seventh in the batting order. England were captained by Archie MacLaren for the first time. The Test was dominated by an innings of 175 by Ranjitsinhji. There was a moment of controversy when Australian batsman Charlie McLeod was run out by Bill Storer when he left his crease after being bowled by a no-ball, when his deafness prevented him from hearing the umpire's call. England won comfortably by 9 wickets.

In the second Test, Stoddart was fit to play, but chose not to do so when he heard Ranji was fit again. He watched the match from the pavilion, watched by the girls below. It was suggested that he was looking for a new wife, "Whose wife?" being one reply. McLeod scored 112, getting revenge on England, who were well beaten by over an innings. There was controversy here, when Australian bowler Ernie Jones became the first Test bowler to be called for throwing. This was after Ranji had criticised Jones' bowling in the press. The third Test was won with the help of Joe Darling's 178. Darling reached his century with the first six scored in Test cricket without the aid of other throws. To get this achievement he had to hit the ball out of the ground.

In the fourth Test, Clem Hill's 188 helped Australia to a comfortable win. And they also won the fifth Test comfortable, thanks to a career-best performance from Tom Richardson, won took 8 for 94 in the first innings of his last Test match. Joe Darling became the first man to score three centuries in a Test series with 160 out of Australia's 276 runs they needed to win.

Throughout the tour Ranji and Stoddart had made disparaging comments about Australian crowds in the Australian press, which ensured the matches were played amongst great rancour. Stoddart wrote, "I shall, in all probability, never visit this country again with a cricket team, and what I have said has been purely for the good of the game, for the sake of the players in this country, and of English teams coming out here in the future." Stoddart never did tour Australia again, although at the tour's end Ranji did send an apology, and his popularity did not suffer so much as a result.

England in Australia 1897–98. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 6. Series result: Australia won 4–1.

Hawke in South Africa 1898–99

Lord Hawke led a second tour to South Africa. Again, the England side was at far from full strength, with 9 Test match debuts for England in the series, most notably that of future English cricket captain Plum Warner, who carried his bat through England's second innings in the first Test for 132. The first Test was South Africa's best to date, and they were set 132 to win. But Albert Trott, who also played three Tests for Australia, took 5 for 49 to dismiss them for 99.

South Africa had a chance to record their first Test victory in the second Test, after dismissing England for 99, then scoring 177 themselves. 330 from England set them a challenging 246. But the South Africans collapsed again and were bowled out by Schofield Haigh (6 for 11) and Trott (4 for 19) for a feeble 35 off only 114 balls.

Murray Bisset, who was a little under 23 years old, was the youngest Test captain at time and remained so for more than 50 years. He later became the chief justice of Rhodesia and earned a knighthood.

England in South Africa 1898–99. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England won 2–0.

English summer of 1899

It was known that the Australian side that would tour in 1899 would be a strong one, probably the strongest since 1882. And for the first time in England, 5 Tests were going to be played. MCC and the counties appointed a selection committee for the first time. It comprised 3 active players: Lord Hawke, WG Grace and HW Bainbridge the captain of Warwickshire. Prior to this, England teams for home Tests had been chosen by the club on whose ground the match was to be played.

The first Test was also the first Test ever played at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire's home ground. Australia had the better of a drawn game: having set England 290 to win, England were 155 for 7 off 99 overs at the close.

Grace was 50 years and 320 days old on the last day of the first Test. It says a lot about The Champion that he was still worth his place as a batsman. But he could no longer bend down, so his fielding was poor, and the Nottinghamshire crowd jeered and heckled him for it every time a ball went past him at point. Grace himself put it to the selection committee that he should be dropped for the second Test, and after some debate this is what happened. Only one man has played Test cricket at a greater age. He is Wilfred Rhodes, who coincidentally made his debut in the first Test.

Archie MacLaren was selected as captain for the remaining Tests, with the Honourable Stanley Jackson being somehow overlooked for his role (at the time the "Honourable" should have swung it his way). Jackson, however, went on to captain England later. The second Test was won well by Australia, with notable performances from Ernie Jones (7 for 88 in England's first innings) and Clem Hill and Victor Trumper (both making 135 in Australia's first innings) helping the Aussies to a 10 wicket victory.

The third Test, which was the first time a Test match was played in Leeds, was drawn after rain wiped out the final day with England needing 158 runs with all second innings wickets remaining to win. Johnny Briggs suffered a violent epileptic fit on the first night. He was detained in Cheadle Asylum and played no further cricket until the next season, though his illness killed him in 1902.

The fourth and fifth Tests were both draws. Between those Tests, Albert Trott, playing for the Marylebone Cricket Club against the Australians, notably hit a six off the bowling of Monty Noble that went over the pavilion at Lord's. This remains the only time someone has achieved this since the current pavilion was built. The fourth Test was also notable for WM (Bill) Bradley taking a wicket (that of Frank Laver) with his first ball in Test cricket.

Australia in England 1899. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: Australia won 1–0.

See also

Notes

References
The Cricket Captains of England by Alan Gibson 
Wisden Anthology 1864–1900 edited by Benny Green 
Australia versus England, A Pictorial History of every Test Match since 1877 
Cricinfo
Cricket Archive

History of Test cricket