Australia 36 All Out — Edgbaston 1902, Rhodes 7-17 in 90 Minutes

Edgbaston was hosting its first Test in 1902 — Warwickshire had only recently been admitted to the County Championship. The pitch had been protected from rain in the days before the match but a heavy shower on the morning of day one left it tacky. MacLaren's decision to bat first looked vindicated by Tyldesley's 138.

Rhodes and Hirst were both 24, and although both had been in the England side before, neither had quite produced a defining Test moment.

Australia, captained by Joe Darling, were among the strongest sides ever to leave their country. Trumper, Hill, Noble and Trumble were all in the XI. The decision to follow on after 36 all out was reluctantly taken; Darling, with little choice, batted again himself.

The first Test of the 1902 Ashes series began at Edgbaston — the ground's first ever Test — on 29 May 1902. England, captained by Archie MacLaren, batted first and made 376 for 9 declared, with Johnny Tyldesley making 138 in 80 minutes. With the new ball MacLaren attacked from the off; Rhodes and Hirst, the Yorkshire pair, opened the bowling.

What followed was extraordinary. Rhodes, with his slow left-arm spin on the rain-affected pitch, took 7 for 17 in 11 overs. Hirst, with his swerve, took 3 for 15 in 12 overs. Australia were bowled out in 90 minutes for 36 — Trumper top-scoring with 18 — for nearly a century the lowest total in Test cricket, only surpassed (or equalled, depending on the source) by New Zealand's 26 in 1955. Two of the 23 overs were sent down by Lockwood, but the bowling figures were almost entirely Yorkshire's.

Following on, Australia were 46 for 2 (Trumper 50 in the second innings) when twelve hours of overnight rain made the pitch unplayable for the rest of the third day. The match was drawn. England were left to reflect that the most spectacular dismissal in Test history had brought no result; Australia escaped with the series score level.

“It took 90 minutes to bowl out Australia for 36, with Trumper making half of the total.”

The series moved to Lord's (drawn), then to Bramall Lane, Sheffield (Australia won), then to Old Trafford (Australia won by 3 runs), then to The Oval (Jessop's Match — England won by 1 wicket). Australia retained the Ashes 2-1.

The Edgbaston match raised the question, much debated since, of whether MCC's decision to begin the series at a ground new to Test cricket had been the right one. The lopsided rainfall — three of the five Tests were rain-affected — coloured the whole summer.