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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox cricket series
|series= The Victory 'Tests'
|partof= 
|image= 
|caption= 
|date= 19 May 1945 – 22 August 1945
|place= [[England]]
|result= five match series drawn 2–2
|team1= [[Image:Flag of England.svg|22px]] [[English cricket team|England]]
|team2= [[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|22px]] [[Australian Services cricket team|Australia]]
|captain1= [[Wally Hammond]]
|captain2= [[Lindsay Hassett]]
|runs1= 380 [[Len Hutton]] [[Image:Flag of England.svg|22px]] <br>369 [[Wally Hammond]] [[Image:Flag of England.svg|22px]] 
|runs2= 514 [[Keith Miller]] [[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|22px]] <br>417 [[Cec Pepper]] [[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|22px]] 
|wickets1= 25 [[Dick Pollard]] [[Image:Flag of England.svg|22px]]<br>15 [[George Pope (cricketer)|George Pope]] [[Image:Flag of England.svg|22px]]
|wickets2=  23 [[Reg Ellis (cricketer born 1917)|Reginald Ellis]] [[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|22px]]<br>20 [[Cec Pepper]] [[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|22px]]
}}

The '''Victory Tests''' were a series of [[cricket]] matches played in [[England]] from 19 May to 22 August 1945, between a combined [[Australian Services XI]] and an English national side. The first match began less than two weeks after the end of [[World War II]] in Europe, and the matches were embraced by the public of England as a way to get back to their way of life from before the war.

The matches are known as the "Victory Tests", but they were never given [[Test cricket|Test match]] status by the participating Boards of Control, because the [[Cricket Australia|Australian Cricket Board]] feared their side was not strong enough to compete with a near Test-strength England, so the games only had [[first class cricket|first class]] status.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

In all, the teams played five three-day matches, two of which were won by each side with one drawn. 367,000 people attended the matches at [[Lord's]] (three matches), [[Old Trafford (cricket)|Old Trafford]] and [[Bramall Lane]] (one each), with the final game at Lord's attracting a then-record 93,000 people for a single three-day match.

==Australian Services XI==

The Australian side was an amalgam of an [[RAAF]] XI, which had already been stationed in England during the war, and another group of mostly [[Second Australian Imperial Force|AIF]] soldiers from Australia. The players were deliberately stationed with each other in England for the express purpose of forming a cricket team to tour the country, with Australian [[prime minister]] [[John Curtin]] pushing for the immediate resumption of international cricket after the war was over. The team was officially a military unit, commanded by [[Squadron Leader]] [[Stan Sismey]], the team's [[wicket-keeper]]. [[Lindsay Hassett]] was the on-field captain.

Only one player in the side, future Test captain [[Lindsay Hassett]], had any previous Test match experience, and the rest of the side was made up mostly of Australian [[Sheffield Shield]] players. [[Keith Miller]], at the time only considered a promising batsman with Victoria, played what many consider to be his 'breakout' series in the Victory Tests, ensuring that when he returned to Australia he would have a place in the Australian national team now referred to as [[The Invincibles (cricket)|The Invincibles]].

[[Graham Williams (Australian cricketer)|Graham Williams]], the team's main strike bowler, had only been released from a [[Germany|German]] [[prisoner of war]] camp weeks before the series started, and played at 31&nbsp;kg (68 lb) below his pre-war playing weight. In between overs he drank glasses of [[glucose]] and [[water]] to keep his energy up, but when he was unable to bowl Miller took his place.

The Australian team, despite being split by rank and service, all took their place in the side in good spirit and not much was made of the fact that Hassett, a [[warrant officer]] who was outranked by almost every other member of the team, was appointed [[Captain (cricket)|captain]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

==English side==

The English side's batting line-up was strong enough to be considered Test-strength, with players like [[Len Hutton]], [[Wally Hammond]], [[Les Ames]], [[Bill Edrich]] and [[Cyril Washbrook]], all of whom played Test cricket for England. Hutton held the record for the highest individual Test innings at the time with the 364 that he scored against Australia in 1938, and Hammond boasted 7,249 Test runs at an average of 58.45 over his career, despite being over 40 by the time the Victory Tests were played.

But although the English batting side was far superior to the Australians, they only managed to score over 300 runs in one innings for the entire Victory Test tour.

Their bowling was seen as their weakness, and indeed a lot of changes were made to the bowling attack throughout the series. It worked for the last match of the series, when Australia were kept to under 250 runs in both of their innings, but none of the bowlers – bar seam bowler [[Dick Pollard]], who took 25 wickets in his four matches – were very consistent, or indeed selected with any regularity. [[George Pope (cricketer)|George Pope]] took eight wickets in the second match, only to miss the third, and then came back to take six in the fourth match.

==Series summary==
The series was drawn 2–2, with one match drawn.

===First match===
{{Two-innings cricket match 
| date = 19–22 May 1945
| team1 = {{cr-rt|ENG}}
| team2 = [[File:Flag of Australia.svg|20px]] [[Australian Services cricket team|Australian Services]]

| score-team1-inns1 = 267 (100.1 overs)
| runs-team1-inns1 = [[Les Ames|LEG Ames]] 57
| wickets-team1-inns1 = [[Albert Cheetham|AG Cheetham]] 3/49 (13.1 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 455 (125.3 overs)
| runs-team2-inns1 = [[Keith Miller|KR Miller]] 105
| wickets-team2-inns1 = [[John Stephenson (cricketer, born 1907)|JWA Stephenson]] 5/116 (36 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 294 (115.4 overs)
| runs-team1-inns2 = [[Jack Robertson (English cricketer)|JDB Robertson]] 84
| wickets-team1-inns2 = [[Cec Pepper|CG Pepper]] 4/80 (32.4 overs)
 
| score-team2-inns2 = 107/4 (22.4 overs)
| runs-team2-inns2 = [[Cec Pepper|CG Pepper]] 54[[not out|*]]
| wickets-team2-inns2 = [[Alf Gover|AR Gover]] 1/51 (11.4 overs)<br>[[John Stephenson (cricketer, born 1907)|JWA Stephenson]] 1/51 (11 overs)

| result = Australian Services won by 6 wickets
| report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/17/17475.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Lord's]], [[London]]
| umpires = [[George Beet senior|G Beet]] and [[Archie Fowler|AJB Fowler]]
| toss = England won the toss and elected to bat.
| rain = 	20 May was taken as a rest day
| notes = [[Jim Workman|JA Workman]], [[Charlie Price (cricketer)|CFT Price]] and [[Reg Ellis (cricketer born 1917)|RS Ellis]] (all Australian Services) made their first-class debuts.
}}

===Second match===
{{Two-innings cricket match 
| date = 23–26 June 1945
| team1 = {{cr-rt|ENG}}
| team2 = [[File:Flag of Australia.svg|20px]] [[Australian Services cricket team|Australian Services]]

| score-team1-inns1 = 286 (110.5 overs)
| runs-team1-inns1 = [[Wally Hammond|WR Hammond]] 100
| wickets-team1-inns1 = [[Albert Cheetham|AG Cheetham]] 3/47 (15 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 147 (52.5 overs)
| runs-team2-inns1 = [[Keith Carmody|DK Carmody]] 42
| wickets-team2-inns1 = [[George Pope (cricketer)|GH Pope]] 5/58 (21.5 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 190 (73.4 overs)
| runs-team1-inns2 = [[Len Hutton|L Hutton]] 46
| wickets-team1-inns2 = [[Charlie Price (cricketer)|CFT Price]] 3/18 (4.4 overs)

| score-team2-inns2 = 288 (102.4 overs)
| runs-team2-inns2 = [[Jim Workman|JA Workman]] 63
| wickets-team2-inns2 = [[Dick Pollard|R Pollard]] 5/76 (33 overs)

| result = England won by 41 runs
| report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/17/17482.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Bramall Lane]], [[Sheffield]]
| umpires = [[G. P. Heaton|GP Heaton]] and [[H. Thomas|H Thomas]]
| toss = Australian Services won the toss and elected to field.
| rain = 24 June was taken as a rest day
| notes = 
}}

===Third match===
{{Two-innings cricket match 
| date = 14–17 July 1945
| team1 = {{cr-rt|ENG}}
| team2 = [[File:Flag of Australia.svg|20px]] [[Australian Services cricket team|Australian Services]]

| score-team1-inns1 = 254 (107.1 overs)
| runs-team1-inns1 = [[Len Hutton|L Hutton]] 104
| wickets-team1-inns1 = [[Bob Cristofani|DR Cristofani]] 4/43 (13 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 194 (71.1 overs)
| runs-team2-inns1 = [[Lindsay Hassett|AL Hassett]] 68
| wickets-team2-inns1 = [[Dick Pollard|R Pollard]] 6/75 (23 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 164 (77.3 overs)
| runs-team1-inns2 = [[Len Hutton|L Hutton]] 69
| wickets-team1-inns2 = [[Bob Cristofani|DR Cristofani]] 5/49 (29.3 overs)

| score-team2-inns2 = 225/6 (77 overs)
| runs-team2-inns2 = [[Keith Miller|KR Miller]] 71[[not out|*]]
| wickets-team2-inns2 = [[Doug Wright (cricketer)|DVP Wright]] 2/59 (25 overs)

| result = Australian Services won by 4 wickets
| report = [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/17/17488.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Lord's]], [[London]]
| umpires = [[George Beet senior|G Beet]] and [[Archie Fowler|AJB Fowler]]
| toss = England won the toss and elected to bat.
| rain = 15 July was taken as a rest day
| notes = [[John Dewes|JG Dewes]], [[Luke White, 5th Baron Annaly|LR White]] and [[Donald Carr|DB Carr]] (all ENG) made their first-class debuts.
}}

===Fourth match===
{{Two-innings cricket match 
| date = 6–8 August 1945
| team1 = [[Australian Services cricket team|Australian Services]] [[File:Flag of Australia.svg|20px]]
| team2 = {{cr|ENG}}

| score-team1-inns1 = 388 (130.3 overs)
| runs-team1-inns1 = [[Keith Miller|KR Miller]] 118
| wickets-team1-inns1 = [[George Pope (cricketer)|GH Pope]] 4/83 (43 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 468/7[[Declaration and forfeiture|d]] (147 overs)
| runs-team2-inns1 = [[Cyril Washbrook|C Washbrook]] 112
| wickets-team2-inns1 = [[Jack Pettiford|J Pettiford]] 3/62 (18 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 140/4 (38 overs)
| runs-team1-inns2 = [[Jack Pettiford|J Pettiford]] 39
| wickets-team1-inns2 = [[George Pope (cricketer)|GH Pope]] 2/42 (12 overs)

| score-team2-inns2 = 
| runs-team2-inns2 = 
| wickets-team2-inns2 =

| result = Match drawn
| report = [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17494.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Lord's]], [[London]]
| umpires = [[George Beet senior|G Beet]] and [[Archie Fowler|AJB Fowler]]
| toss = Australian Services won the toss and elected to bat.
| rain =
| notes = [[Jack Pettiford|J Pettiford]] (Australian Services) made his first-class debut.
}}

===Fifth match===
{{Two-innings cricket match 
| date = 20–22 August 1945
| team1 = [[Australian Services cricket team|Australian Services]] [[File:Flag of Australia.svg|20px]]
| team2 = {{cr|ENG}}

| score-team1-inns1 = 173 (59 overs)
| runs-team1-inns1 = [[Keith Miller|KR Miller]] 77[[not out|*]]
| wickets-team1-inns1 = [[Dick Pollard|R Pollard]] 4/78 (22 overs)

| score-team2-inns1 = 243 (86.2 overs)
| runs-team2-inns1 = [[Len Hutton|L Hutton]] 64
| wickets-team2-inns1 = [[Bob Cristofani|DR Cristofani]] 5/55 (22 overs)

| score-team1-inns2 = 210 (87 overs)
| runs-team1-inns2 = [[Bob Cristofani|DR Cristofani]] 110[[not out|*]]
| wickets-team1-inns2 = [[Eddie Phillipson|WE Phillipson]] 6/58 (29 overs)

| score-team2-inns2 = 141/4 (45.1 overs)
| runs-team2-inns2 = [[Bill Edrich|WJ Edrich]] 42[[not out|*]]
| wickets-team2-inns2 = [[Cec Pepper|CG Pepper]] 2/18 (12 overs)

| result = England won by 6 wickets
| report = [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17498.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Old Trafford Cricket Ground|Old Trafford]], [[Manchester]]
| umpires = [[Frank Chester (umpire)|F Chester]] and [[Harold Elliott (cricketer)|H Elliott]]
| toss = Australian Services won the toss and elected to bat.
| rain =
| notes = 
}}

==After the Victory Tests==
Following on from the success of the tour of England, the Australian Services XI traveled through [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]] (then Ceylon) for four months at the request of Australian external affairs minister Dr [[H.V. Evatt]], before returning to Australia to play against Sheffield Shield state sides. The gruelling schedule resulted in many players in the Services side playing well below their capabilities, and by the time they were back in Australia they were routinely beaten easily by the local teams.

However, the importance of the Victory Test tour as a whole cannot be understated, because it helped people get back to their normal lives after the war, and unearthed some of the great cricketers of the time.

==See also==
*[[Australian Imperial Forces cricket team]]
*[[1945 English cricket season]]

==References ==

* Wilson, Neil (30 July 2005). "Out of the Ashes". ''weekend'', p.&nbsp;8.
* [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/0/Australian_Services_in_England_1945.html Australian Services in England 1945 scorecards on CricketArchive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415101049/http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1997/sportsf/sf970425.htm "The Sports Factor" report, from Radio National]

==External links==
* [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130550564 "Australia's first post-war cricket heroes"], by Ed Jaggard, ''[[Canberra Times]]'', 14 May 1995

[[Category:History of Test cricket]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1945 in English cricket]]