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When the First World War ended in November 1918, thousands of Australian servicemen were in Europe as members of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and many remained until the spring of 1919. In England, a new first-class cricket season was planned, the first since 1914, and an idea that came to fruition was the formation of an Australian touring side made up of servicemen. Agreement was reached with the Australian Corps HQ in London, commanded by Field Marshal William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, and the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI was formed, initially under the captaincy of pre-war Test player Charlie Kelleway. Kelleway departed after only six matches following a dispute about the fixtures list. A players' meeting elected future Test player Herbie Collins as team captain for the remainder of the tour, despite the fact that Collins' military rank was lance corporal and there were seven officers in the party. The bulk of the team remained intact for nearly nine months from May 1919, playing 33 matches in Great Britain, ten in South Africa on their way home and then another three in Australia itself before disbanding in February 1920. Of the 46 matches, 39 are adjudged first-class and the team had only four defeats, all of these in England. The players lived on their army pay and all profits from gate money went to an AIF Sports Control Board. The team toured Great Britain May to September 1919, playing 28 first-class matches with twelve wins, four defeats and twelve draws. Five minor matches were also played, three of these in Scotland, the Australians winning two and drawing three. The AIF team toured South Africa October to December on their way home and were undefeated in ten matches, eight of which were first-class. Two unofficial "Tests" were played at the Old Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, Australia winning both comfortably. Jack Gregory relished the conditions in South Africa while the local newspapers acclaimed Collins as the finest player in the team. On arrival home January 1920 in Australia, the team played three first-class matches, defeating both the reigning Sheffield Shield champions New South Wales and their main challengers Victoria. A likely victory against Queensland was frustrated by torrential rain. The results in Australia demonstrated the strength of the AIF team and within a few months of the team's dissolution, five players would make their Test débuts: batsmen Collins, Johnny Taylor and Nip Pellew; wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield and fast bowling all-rounder Gregory. ==Preliminaries== During 1917 and 1918, at the height of the First World War, charity matches were occasionally staged between teams of servicemen, including many players of first-class standard. On 14 July 1917, there was a one-day match at Lord's between teams representing the British Army and the First Australian Imperial Force. It was played in aid of St Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Sailors and Soldiers. The AIF scored 130 and the Army were all out for 162 just before the match ended in a draw. The game, a great success, featured notable players including Colin Blythe in his last-ever cricket match, Patsy Hendren, Pelham Warner and Percy Fender for the British Army. The Australian team included Charlie Kelleway, Charlie Macartney, Cyril Docker and Bill Stirling. It was the first match involving a team representative of the AIF.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕 The match was later summarised in the Sydney newspaper, ''The Referee''. In August, an Australian Services XI played against an Indian Gymkhana XI at Lord's.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕 Later in the month, a combined Australian and South African XI played a British Army and Royal Navy team, also at Lord's, both matches to raise money for wartime charities.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕 There were a couple of games involving Australian XIs in 1918 but the main events were three matches played at Lord's and The Oval between an England XI and a Dominions XI which included a number of Australian players such as Kelleway, Docker, Nip Pellew, Johnny Taylor, Ed Long and Allie Lampard who were all to play for the AIF team in 1919.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕 All three games were of one-day duration and all were drawn.〔Harte, p. 268.〕 Following the cessation of hostilities on 11 November 1918, the Australian Army Corps HQ in London had to think of ways to entertain the thousands of servicemen waiting to be sent home. An AIF Sports Control Board was formed and, notice having been taken of the success of the wartime charity matches, issued 31 January 1919 an AIF Order 1539 to all ranks:〔Harte, p. 269.〕 The following proposals for the formation of an AIF Board of Control to encourage sport in all units and supervise organisation and selection of representative teams. The Board to consist of a president, two representatives from units in France, one from AIF depots in the United Kingdom, one from London, and one representative of the Australian Comforts Fund. The AIF Sports Control Board was fully supported by the Australian Board of (Cricket) Control which appointed Major Gordon Campbell, the former South Australia wicketkeeper, as its representative in meetings about a proposed AIF team and tour.〔 The Board of Control retained control of the team and awarded first-class status to most of its matches but much of the practical organisation, especially of fixtures, was undertaken by Surrey County Cricket Club and their representative Howard Lacey became the team manager.〔 Lacey had organised a charity match in August 1918 between his own invitation XI and an Australian XI.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=CricketArchive )〕 The Sports Board began trials in February 1919 and there was an enthusiastic response from many servicemen with first-class or grade cricket experience. Despite the fact that some of the players still carried war injuries, the Sports Board was able to form a strong team which came to be billed as the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI.〔 Given the large number of applicants, the AIF formed a second eleven which toured the minor cricket circuit in England, playing against league clubs, county club colts and public schools teams. The second eleven played 55 matches and lost only eleven but few of its members ever played more than first-grade club cricket when they returned to Australia.〔Harte, pp. 269–270.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Australian Imperial Force Touring XI」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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