Ahead of this year’s hotly anticipated Ashes series, the SS Great Britain in Bristol is opening a new mini-exhibition which celebrates the role the ship played in cricketing history.

 

In 1861, the ship transported the first ‘All England’ cricket team to tour Australia, thus giving birth to the game of test cricket that is known and loved today.

 

The SS Great Britain’s cricket mini-exhibition

 

The mini-exhibition will be open to the public from 15 June until Sunday 3 September, with items going on display in the Dockyard Museum. After viewing the mini-exhibition, visitors can explore the cabins and decks of the SS Great Britain, experiencing a voyage just as the Victorian cricketers would have done.

 

Among the items on display is a newly acquired and beautifully embroidered handkerchief, which shows the first All England cricket team in their whites. The handkerchief measures 35″ x 33″, and most likely would have been made in the 1860s as a souvenir item for the tour.

 

The handkerchief originally belonged to Roger Sanderson, a Lancashire cricketer who played one match for his county.

 

Also on display is a commemorative cricket ball, which was presented to legendary player E.M Grace for excellent wicketkeeping in the second tour of Australia, which took place in 1863.

 

Players on the 1863 tour also travelled on the SS Great Britain and visitors to the exhibition will be able to read excerpts from E.M Grace’s personal diary, which describes life on the ship and the various exercises the players took part in to remain fit – including long jump, small games of cricket and running races.

 

The history of the 1861 tour 

 

The tour was the brainchild of two Melbourne-based businessmen, Felix William Spiers and Christopher Pond. Originally the pair had tried and failed to convince Charles Dickens to conduct a lecture tour of Australia, before turning their focus to cricket.

 

Twelve players signed up for the tour. Named ‘The Eleven of All England’ they each received and all-expenses paid first-class ticket and £150 for taking part, which would be worth about £7,000 today. The players on the tour came from the Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, Kent and Yorkshire county cricket clubs.

 

More than 10,000 people came to welcome the team when they arrived in Melbourne after a two-month voyage from England. The first match against the Eighteen of Victoria was spectated by over 15,000 people and was won easily by England.

 

The cricket mini exhibition is included in the price of entry, and tickets can be purchased at www.ssgreatbritain.org/tickets