Earliest references
In England, cricket was established in the 17th century before the seafarers Abel Tasman and Willem Jansz made their voyages of discovery. The Australian cricket began with the formation of the Hambledon Club in 1766. In this year Captain James Cook was commissioned by the Royal Society to search a southern continent called Terra Australis. Cook’s expedition in April 1770 reached Point Hicks. This group was the first Europeans to land on the eastern coast of Australia. In 1788, the colonization of Australia started and cricket soon started here. In 1804 there are definite references to cricket in the January edition of The Sydney Gazette.
Colonial cricket
During the 1850-51 season, a match was played between Launceston Cricket Club and Melbourne Cricket Club. The inaugural first class match was played between Tasmania and Victoria on 11 and 12 February 1851 at Launceston Racecourse which was won by Tasmania. In 1855 there were three matches between Victoria and Tasmania. In 1855-56, the New South Wales team debuted by beating Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the inaugural major match. During the 1857-58 season, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales were involved in three major matches, all of which were won by Victoria.
Tours and Hosts
In each season, it was not possible to arrange major matches between the colonies due to travel problems. However, there was a gradual growth of cricket at club level. In 1861-62, the English team arrived in the colonies and this was when the sport got a tremendous boost. This tour was managed by Messrs Spiers and Pond. and the captain was HH Stephenson. In 1863-64, the England team toured again with George Parr as skipper and this team also visited New Zealand. In 1873-74, the England team toured with WG Grace as captain but none of the 15 matches played were first-class.
Start of first class cricket
During the 1876-77 season there were no first class matches between the colonies. Australia focused its cricket on the touring English team. In the colonies, Club cricket matches were played. In the inaugural first-class match of South Australia, this team beat Tasmania at the Adelaide Oval. This match was also the initial first class match at this venue. There was another first class match at Sydney Cricket Ground which was won by New South Wales. England made international tours of Australia in the following seasons – 1876-77, 1878-79, 1881-82, 1882-83, 1884-85, 1886-87 and 1887-88.
Sheffield Shield championship
From the 1892-93 season, the famous Sheffield Shield championship was founded which was an annual tournament. This was a national event in which the colonial sides of Australia would participate. During the 1891-92 tour of England XI, Lord Sheffield donated this shield. The victorious sides during this decade in this cup were Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. England continued its international tours to Australia in this decade. These were contested in 1891-92, 1894-95 and 1897-98. During the 1898-99 season, the New Zealand cricket team made its first tour to Australia.