Murdoch toured England and North America with Australias first representative cricket team
Billy Murdoch played for which team from 1893 to 1899?
Billy Murdoch William Lloyd Murdoch ( 18 October 1854 – 18 February 1911 ) was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890 . This included four tours of England , one of which , in 1882 , gave rise to The Ashes . In 2019 Murdoch was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame . Although Victorian-born , Murdoch was raised in Sydney , and played his Australian domestic cricket for New South Wales , making his first-class debut in 1875 . His Test debut came in 1877 , in what was retrospectively classed as the second Test match to be played . Murdoch began his career as a wicket-keeper , but at Test level kept wicket only once , with Jack Blackham being preferred . As a batsman , Murdoch scored both the first double century in Test cricket ( 211 against England in 1884 ) and the first triple century in Australian domestic cricket ( 321 against Victoria in 1882 ) . In later years , he settled in England , playing county cricket for Sussex ( 1893 to 1899 , as captain ) and London County ( 1900 to 1904 ) . In 1892 , he toured South Africa with England and played in one Test match , making him one of the few cricketers to represent more than one international team . Murdochs final first-class match came at the age of 49 , in August 1904 . He died in Melbourne in 1911 , aged 56 . Early life . Murdoch was born in Sandhurst ( now Bendigo ) , Victoria , to Gilbert Murdoch and his wife Susanna ( née Fleigge ) . His father was an American of Scottish descent , who had been a corporal in the U.S . Army prior to emigrating from Maryland to Tasmania in 1849 . He died shortly before his sons birth . The family moved to New South Wales in the early 1860s . Both Billy Murdoch and his older brother , Gilbert , subsequently studied law at the University of Sydney . Billy Murdoch married Jemima Watson ( 1863–1917 ) daughter of John Boyd Watson on 8 December 1884 at the Free Church of England , Collingwood , Victoria , Australia . Playing career . Murdoch made his first-class entry in 1875 , at the time regarded as the finest wicketkeeper in Australia , and a highly rated right-handed batsman . He played in the second Test match ever played , the 1877 clash against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) . Later that year , he qualified as a solicitor and opened up a practice , Murdoch & Murdoch , with his brother Gilbert , although it was short-lived , going bankrupt in 1877 . Murdoch established himself as one of the eras greatest batsmen over the next few years , leading Australia in several Test series against England . In 1881–82 he became the first man other than W . G . Grace to score a first-class triple century when , as captain , he made 321 for New South Wales against Victoria at the SCG . The innings comprised 38 fours , nine threes , 41 twos and 60 singles from all of ten Victorian bowlers . It was this knock which established him in the public reckoning as Australias finest batsman . So unvanquishable was he that Tom Horan ( with whom Murdoch would share many a fine batting stand in the years to come ) was reduced to bowling Leg theory , the first known instance of that controversial tactic . Murdoch was never far from controversy . His omission as wicketkeeper in the very first Test resulted in Australias premier fast bowler , Fred Spofforth , boycotting the match . In 1884 as captain of Australia he was involved in the players strike , where the Australian players refused to play unless they received a greater share of the gate takings . He was also the batsman whose contentious run out caused friction between New South Wales and a visiting English team led by Lord Harris , which also caused a spectator riot . His best Test performances more often occurred in England where both his Test hundreds were scored , 153 not out in the first Test in the old country in 1880 at The Oval , and 211 at the same ground four years later . The former score was the first instance of a captain scoring a Test century , whilst the latter score was the first double-century made in Test cricket . In 1878 , Murdoch toured England and North America with Australias first representative cricket team , participating in a famous victory over a Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) side . On the 1880 and 1884 tours of England he led the Australian batting averages . In England , he was regarded as a superb captain and enough of a gentleman to be invited to captain Sussex , which he did for several seasons . He was widely regarded the finest Australian batsman of his day , being bettered only by the English champion , W . G . Grace . Murdoch was more of an off-side player whose drives and cut strokes were regarded as among the best of his day ; but his leg-side play was reputedly not so strong , and his ability against good spin bowling was not as impressive as it might be . Also , he was believed to be lacking in command against top-class pace bowling on difficult wickets ; if conditions , were perfect , however , his batting often followed suit . He again visited England in 1890 , and although he topped that seasons averages , he did not have an opportunity to regain his best form . He then settled in England , qualified for Sussex , and captained the county for several seasons . Along with former Australian Test teammate John Ferris , he represented his adoptive land against South Africa in Cape Town in March 1892 . His style of play did not favour him in wet seasons , but he made many good scores over a period of about 15 years . Among these may be mentioned 155 for London County against Lancashire in 1903 , and in the following year 140 for Gentlemen v Players , though he was then in his forty-ninth year . Murdochs standing as one of the greatest first-class batsmen of his era were strengthened by his statistics ; 16,953 runs scored in 391 matches at the average of 26.86 at a time when batting averages were much lower than in modern times . Murdoch died in Melbourne , Australia on 18 February 1911 ; present at the Test match between Australia and South Africa , he was seized with apoplexy during the lunch interval and died later in the afternoon . His body was embalmed and brought back to England for burial at Kensal Green Cemetery in London . Murdochs Test captaincy record for Australia was : 16 matches , five wins , seven losses , four draws . He also became the first substitute to take a catch in only the fifteenth Test match ever played – a feat he managed for the opposition .