The Victory Tests were greeted by packed English grounds, and raised a lot of money for war charities. Against expectations, the Australians managed to draw the series 2–2 against an England team filled with Test cricketers. As a result, the Australian government, cricket administrators and military officials ordered the team to travel home via India to play more fundraising matches, before finishing their campaign against the Australian state teams. By the time the team arrived in Australia they were extremely tired and their performances deteriorated, leading analysts who had not seen them in England to regard them as a weak team.