February 2, 1892. Fred Spofforth and Billy Bates had done it earlier, but this was the first hat-trick outside Melbourne. And it was also the first in a defeat.

At Sydney, after conceding a hefty lead, Alick Bannerman and John Lyons had driven the Englishmen out of their wits, even forcing skipper WG Grace to turn his arm over, something he had not done in a long while. Bannerman, specifically, stuck around for 448 minutes for his 91, scoring 67 during the course of an entire day.

On more than one occasion, Johnny Briggs had come close to being killed on his first tour of Australia in 1884-85. He had been thrown off the back of a horse, nearly kicked off a cliff by another, and his pipe stem had got stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Now, on his third visit, his quick blows provided some anodyne to a tired England attack. Walter Giffen was bowled, captain Jack Blackham leg before and Sydney Callaway caught by a much relieved WG.

Nevertheless, Australia triumphed by 72 runs.

Text: Arunabha Sengupta

Illustration: Maha