Tour of England 1968              Captain: Bill Lawry
	32nd Australian Test tour      (April - September 1968)     24th Test-playing tour of  England by Australia     (previous tour  1964)	The first Australian cricket tour of England took place exactly one hundred years before this one when Charles Lawrence, the former Surrey professional, captained thirteen aboriginal players. Although Greg Chappell was not selected in 1968, Doug Walters was at the last moment able to join the tour, on his release from national service. For the first time in the opening match of the tour (at Worcester) not a ball was bowled because of bad weather. Further rain cost the tourists much practice time in the run-up to the Test series. It was one of the worst cricket seasons for bad weather when Australia were on tour. Australia won the first Test match, then England had the better of three rain-affected draws.  In the final Test at The Oval England proved her superiority winning by 226 runs. In taking the break-through wicket with his medium-paced bowling and scoring a magnificent 158, Basil D’Oliveira ensured his eventual selection for the upcoming South African tour, which set off a train of events that led to the end of cricket tours between South Africa and all other Test countries.	Other Australian Tours     Previous tour South Africa 1966-67   Next tour India 1969-70     Next tour of England 1972
	Members of the Test tour party  (17)      Opening batsmen:  Bill Lawry, John Inverarity, Ian Redpath. Middle-order batsmen:  Bob Cowper, Ian Chappell, Les Joslin, Paul Sheahan, Doug Waters Wicket-keepers:  Barry Jarman, Brian Taber Spin bowlers: John Gleeson, Ashley Mallett Fast bowlers:  Alan Connolly, Neil Hawke, Eric Freeman, Graham McKenzie, Dave Renneberg.	I M Chappell SA 24 RHB          LBG         A N Connolly Vic 28 RFM   R M Cowper Vic 27 LHB           OB   E W Freeman NSW 22 RFM   J W Gleeson NSW 29 LBG   N J N Hawke SA 29 RFM   R J Inverarity WA 24 RHB  opener     B N Jarman SA 28 WK           vice-captain   L R Joslin Vic 20 LHB   W M Lawry Vic 31 LHB  opener   captain   G D McKenzie WA 26 RF         deputy captain   A A Mallett SA 22 OB   I R Redpath Vic 27 RHB  opener   D A Renneberg NSW 25 RFM   A P Sheahan Vic 20 RHB   H B Taber NSW 28 WK   K D Walters NSW 22 RHB        (RM)	State representation   Sheffield Shield teams NSW   New South Wales (5) Qld   Queensland (0) SA    South Australia (4) Tas   Tasmania (0) Vic   Victoria  (6) WA   Western Australia (2)       Average age of  team at time of first Test match (6 June 1968)   25  yrs  10 months
	Test Appearances made before the tour	Lawry 44,  McKenzie 39,  Hawke 25, Cowper 23,  Redpath 18,  Chappell 12,  Jarman 11, Connolly 9,  Renneberg 8,  Walters 7,  Taber 5,  Gleeson 4,  Sheahan 4, Freeman 2,  Joslin 1,  Inverarity 0,  Mallett 0.
	Tour Officials	Bob Parish Manager Les Truman Treasurer Arthur James Physiotherapist Dave Sherwood Scorer   Bob Parish, a member of the Australian Cricket Board since 1957 and recently elected its chairman, had earlier managed the 1965 West Indies tour.
	Selectors	Sir Donald Bradman (South Australia),  Neil Harvey (New South Wales),   Jack Ryder (Victoria).
	Selection	Bob Parish was appointed manager on 29 December. He worked in a family timber business, and was the first Board Chairman to be appointed as manager of an Australian touring team while in office. Unavailable:  Bob Simpson (retired). Tour Party Announced:  28 February 1968. Not selected :  Keith Stackpole,  Laurie Mayne. In a young team (seven of them under 25) ten of the players were making their first tour of England. Victoria unusually exceeded New South Wales’s representation in the tour party.	Time between selection and departure from Australia       56 days (28 February - 24 April)
	Travel Sydney  Q  San Francisco   Q   New York  Q  London	Doug Walters was discharged from his national service in mid-April shortly before the team departed. On the evening of 24 April 1968 the team boarded a Qantas Boeing 707 from Kingsford-Smith Airport, Sydney.  Barry Jarman whose wife was having a baby was given permission to fly to England later. The team landed at San Francisco on 25 April (Anzac Day) and attended a remembrance service at the military cemetery. They flew on by T W A to New York and London's Heathrow Airport on Friday 26 April. The team’s London headquarters were at the Waldorf Hotel.	Time spent in England    135 days (26 April - 8 September)
	On-tour selection	Bill Lawry (captain),  Barry Jarman (vice-captain),  Graham McKenzie.
	Reinforcements	None. Barry Jarman, after the second Test, and Bill Lawry, after the third, were injured for long periods. When neither was available, McKenzie stood in as captain.
	Fixtures/Results	a ϯ Arundel Duke of Norfolk’s XI  (1-day) Drawn b Worcester Worcestershire Abandoned c Leicester Leicestershire Drawn d Old Trafford Lancashire Drawn e Lord’s M C C Drawn f Northampton Northamptonshire Won 10 w g Cambridge Oxford & Cambridge Universities Won 10 w h Taunton Somerset Drawn i Kennington Oval Surrey Drawn j OLD TRAFFORD ENGLAND  First Test WON 159 r k Edgbaston Warwickshire Drawn l Hove Sussex Won 5 w m LORD’S ENGLAND  Second Test DRAWN n Southend Essex Won inns 58 r o Sheffield Yorkshire Won inns 69 r p ϯ Dublin Ireland(1-day) Won 6 w q ϯ Belfast Ireland(1-day) Won 121 r r Trent Bridge Nottinghamshire Drawn s EDGBASTON ENGLAND  Third Test DRAWN t Bristol Gloucestershire Drawn u Lord’s Middlesex Drawn v HEADINGLEY ENGLAND  Fourth Test DRAWN w Chesterfield Derbyshire Won 8 r x Swansea Glamorgan Won 79 r y ϯ Torquay Minor Counties (2-day) Drawn z Southampton Hampshire Drawn a’ Lord’s M C C President’s XI Drawn b’ Canterbury Kent Won 9 w c’ KENNINGTON OVAL ENGLAND  Fifth Test LOST 226 r d’ Lord’s Rest of the World XI Won 8 w	† not first-class       Time spent in England before First Test:    41 days (26 April - 6 June)
	Test appearances on tour	5  -   Chappell,  Connolly,  Gleeson,  McKenzie,  Redpath,  Sheahan,  Walters. 4  -   Cowper,  Jarman,  Lawry 2  -   Freeman,  Hawke,  Inverarity 1  -   Mallett,  Taber 0  -   Joslin,  Renneberg.
	Match appearances         T  Test match x other match      W won  L lost  D drawn  N no result   A abandoned   u unknown result	a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a ‘ b ‘ c ‘ d ‘ Chappell     x x x   x x   T x x T   x x     T x x T x   x x x x T x Connolly       x x   x     T   x T   x x     T   x T   x   x   x T x Cowper x   x x x   x x x T   x T x   x x x T x x T   x x           Freeman       x   x   x x     x   x   x x x T   x T x       x x     Gleeson x   x     x   x   T   x T   x   x   T   x T   x   x   x T   Hawke x   x   x   x   x T x   T x   x   x   x     x x x   x     x Inverarity x   x   x x   x x   x x   x x x x     x x T x x x   x x T x Jarman     x   x   x x   T x   T               x T x x     x   T   Joslin x     x   x x x     x x   x   x x     x x   x x x x x       Lawry x   x x x x x   x T   x T x x x   x T           x x   x T x McKenzie     x   x   x x x T   x T   x   x x T x   T     x x   x T   Mallett       x   x x   x   x     x   x x x   x     x x x   x   T x Redpath x   x   x x x x x T x   T x x   x x T x   T x x   x x x T x Renneberg x     x   x   x     x     x x   x x   x x   x x   x x     x Sheahan x   x x x x x   x T x x T   x x   x T x x T   x x x x x T x Taber x     x   x     x   x x   x x x x x T x     x   x x   x   x Walters x   x x x x   x x T x   T x x   x x T   x T x   x x x x T x  RESULTS D A D D D W W D D W D W D W W W W D D D D D W W D D D W L W   a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a ‘ b ‘ c ‘ d ‘	Australia’s six previous Test tour results:     in South Africa 1966-67 (5 Tests)  - lost 1-3 in West Indies 1965 (5 Tests)  - lost 1-2 in Pakistan 1964 (1 Test)  - drawn 0-0 in India 1964 (3 Tests)  - drawn 1-1 in England 1964 (5 Tests)  - won 1-0 in England 1961 (5 Tests)  - won 2-1
	Highlights	•   Doug Walters scored 81 and 86 in the Old Trafford Test but never achieved a Test century in England •   Australia was dismissed for 78 at Lord’s, its lowest  score in England since 1912 •   Ian Chappell scored 65 and 81 in the 4th Test at Headingley, where Australia retained the Ashes. •   Alan Connolly took 5 for 72 and Headingley and 23 wickets in the Test series. •   Bill Lawry returned from injury to lead the team at The Oval and scored 135. •   Only two players, Redpath and Chappell, exceeded 1000 first-class runs on the tour.
	Tour Summary	F  W L  D Aban Test Matches   5   1 1   3 - Other first-class matches 21   7 2 11 1 ϯ Minor matches   4   2 0   2 - All Matches 30 10 3 16 1	F  Fixtures   W  Won   L  Lost   D Drawn   NR   No result   Aban  Abandoned with no play Canc  Cancelled
	Return to Australia London   Q  Sydney	On 8 September the majority of the team flew from Heathrow Airport and arrived at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney, on 9 September.   Hawke remained in England and joined a cricket tour of Devon by a Whitbread team; Inverarity, Mallett and Greg Chappell, who had been playing for Somerset, went on a cricket tour of Germany then holidayed in Rome before flying home via Singapore.	Time away from Australia   138 days   (24 April to 9 September)
	Finances	The tour returned a profit of £40 000.
	Written accounts of the tour	“The Australians 1968”   by Bob Simpson [Stanley Paul & Co, London, 1968] chapter in “Spin Out”  (1977)  by Ashley Mallett  (pub Garry Sparke Associates)
	Postscript	The MCC’s South African tour of 1968-69 was cancelled when Basil D’Oliveira, whose innings of 158 at The Oval was instrumental to England regaining The Ashes, was chosen for the tour but his presence was not acceptable to the South Africa government. It brought about an end to tours between South Africa and all other Test countries, and their exclusion from Test cricket. A cigarette manufacturer had suggested that a five-day match between the West Indies and South Africa should be staged in England during 1968. Neither West Indian nor South African Board officials were interested in taking up the proposal then;  but that fixture became the first Test contest played on South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in 1992. Bob Cowper did not tour again. Of all batsmen with over 2,000 Test runs, Cowper holds the record for the highest difference between home and away averages — a respectable 33.33 on tour but 75.79 at home.

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