Gordon cricketers made history in 1921 Ashes whitewash

Gordon District Cricket Club | January 17, 2025

With the 2025 Ashes series on the horizon, while a 5 nil whitewash may not be on the cards, we can always hope. 

The first Australian team to secure a 5 nil whitewash were the 1920/21 Australians, who were matched by the 1913-14 team led by Michael Clarke.

So, who were the 1920/21 Australians who defeated England in 5 Tests in Australia? Probably in a first for any Sydney Grade club, three of them were Gordon players, Charlie Macartney (pictured), Bert Oldfield and Johnny Taylor. The team was also managed by Sydney Smith a former Gordon player and at the time the Secretary of the Club.

The Gordon club is very fortunate to have stored away for safety a framed 91 x 75 cm photograph signed by all the members of the 1921 team who after the Test series travelled to England for another Ashes series in the England summer.  

The series was the first 'Ashes' series in Australia and of course followed the Great war.

In the first Test, the selectors placed seven Test debutants including Gordon's Bert Oldfield and Johnny Taylor under the captaincy of Warwick Armstrong. The Gordon captain Charlie Macartney was also in the team.

The team was:

Warwick Armstrong (captain), Warren Bardsley, Jack Ryder, Jack Gregory, Charles Kelleway, Arthur Mailey, Herbert Collins, Charles Macartney, Johnny Taylor, Clarence Pellew & Bert Oldfield,

The England touring party included Jack Russell, Jack Hobbs, "Young" Jack Hearne, Patsy Hendren, Frank Woolley, Johnny Douglas (captain), Wilfred Rhodes, Bill Hitch, Abe Waddington, Ciss Parkin and Bert Strudwick

Armstrong won his first of many tosses and decided to bat first, Australia making 267 on a pitch favouring the bowlers. England, on the second day crumbled being spun out for 190 and in reply Australia made 581, with centuries to Collins the opener and Armstrong the captain.

This meant England needed 658 on the last two days. Australia's superior bowling attack dismissed England for 281, 377 short. During the match Bert Oldfield stumped both their captain Johnny Douglas and Frank Woolley off the renowned Arthur Mailey. Johnny Taylor scored 34 and 51 while Macartney scored 19 and 69.

The second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was no closer. Australia batted first and made 499 with centuries to Pellew and Gregory. Gordon's Johnny Taylor scored 68. Australia then bowled England out for 251 with the inspirational Gregory taking 7/69. Enforcing the follow on, Australia's bowlers took advantage of the mental state of England and bundled them out for 157 winning by an innings and 91 runs. For some reason Charlie Macartney after his 69 in the first Test was left out of the team.

Charlie Macartney, small of stature but powerfully built, was dubbed the 'Governor-General' because of his imperious bearing and magisterial play. Macartney was a spectacular hitter who bludgeoned opposition attacks into submission. He was regarded as the best batsmen in the world from 1920 to 1926 and Sir Donald Bradman declared that he was the best number four batsman in history. He was also the Wisden 'cricketer of the year' in 1922. He must have been injured as he returned for the fifth Test.

The second Test was also famous for the fact that Roy Park's place in cricket history was secured by the legend of how his wife bent down to pick up her knitting and missed her husband's entire Test career - he was bowled first ball in his only innings and was dropped. In 1919-20 Park scored 586 runs at 83.71 for Victoria but after his Test appearance he played 12 times in four seasons before drifting out of the game.

The third Test was won by Australia in Adelaide with Johnny Taylor scoring 38 while Bert Oldfield picked up two more stumpings off Mailey.

The fourth Test in Melbourne is famous for Arthur Mailey taking an amazing 9/121 off 47, and single handedly dismissed England for 315. Australia won by eight wickets.

By the time the fifth Test came around it was a matter of whether Australia could rewrite the record books and become the first of the two teams to win all Test matches in a series. Inevitably it happened with a win by 9 wickets dismissing England for 204 and 280 and getting 392 and surpassing them at 1/93.

This Test saw the return of Charlie Macartney who celebrated his return with his highest Test innings of 170. The innings helped to give Australia a first innings lead of 188 and set up the victory.

For the record:

Charlie Macartney

From the time that he made his first appearance for Australia in 1907 till he ended his Test career in 1926, Macartney represented his country 35 times, scoring 2,132 runs, including seven centuries, average 41.80. His highest Test innings was 170 against England at Sydney in 1920-21.

He headed the Australian averages with 86.66 that season and also figured at the top in England in 1926 when, with the aid of innings of 151, 133 not out and 109, his average was 94.60. He took part in twelve Test partnerships of 100 or more, the biggest being 235 with W. M. Woodfull for the second wicket against England at Leeds in 1926.

Charlie played for Gordon from 1906 to 1934.

Bert Oldfield

Bert Oldfield played 54 Tests for Australia, scoring 1,427 runs at an average of 22.65, and taking 78 catches and 52 stumpings. His tally of 52 stumpings remains a Test career world record. In first-class cricket he played 245 matches, scoring 6,135 runs at an average of 23.77, and taking 399 catches and 263 stumpings.

Oldfield was small and wiry, with a quiet sense of humour and a genius for making friends. He had wonderfully quick reflexes, and, as an acquaintance said, "a mind like a compass needle." He was neat, efficient and unobtrusive in his movements. "You never knew he was there until he had you out" said Charlie Macartney.

The Test match career of Bert Oldfield might easily have finished before it had begun. A corporal in the 15th Field Ambulance, 15th Brigade, he was buried for several hours during the heavy bombardment of Polygon Wood in 1918 and was barely alive when rescued.

Bert played for Gordon until 1940 and our Killara Oval is of course named after him.

John "Johnny" Taylor was born in 1895 in Sydney and died in 1971. He played in 20 Tests between 1920 and 1926 scoring 997 runs at 35.60 with a top score of 108. Johnny still holds the Australian 10th wicket partnership record with Arthur Mailey, set in Sydney in 1924/25 against England. He scored 230 runs in the 1920/21 series with an average of 32.

Johnny played for Gordon from 1921 to 1931 with a short break playing for Sydney Uni in 1923.

Another piece of cricket folklore was that Sir Donald Bradman is claimed to have got his inspiration for wanting to play Test cricket from watching Charlie Macartney and Johnny Taylor play at the SCG in the fifth Test of the series as a young boy visiting from Bowral. Johnny Taylor also came from Bowral and was one of Sir Donald's childhood heroes and the young Don loved watching his fluent stroke play.

Autor: Paul Stephenson