Lord Sheffield's 1891-92 Tour — Birth of the Sheffield Shield

Australian first-class cricket in 1891 was a series of inter-colonial matches without an organising trophy. Lord Sheffield, who had already stocked his Sussex home with Australian cricketers as guests, wanted to formalise the inter-colonial competition.

The 1891-92 tour was itself eventful — WG Grace's first as captain in Australia, and the vehicle for several of his more famous on-field gamesmanship moments.

Sheffield (Henry North Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield) was a Sussex aristocrat with a long interest in cricket. He had hosted the Australian tourists at Sheffield Park in 1882, 1884, 1888, and 1890, where the lawn match against the touring side became one of the social events of the cricket calendar. By 1891 he was wealthy enough to underwrite a private English team to Australia.

The tour was structured as a private commercial venture. WG Grace was paid £3,000 plus expenses to captain — an extraordinary sum that, again, made nonsense of his amateur status. The tour played three Tests; Australia won 2-1, but the cricket was less the point than the spectacle.

At the end of the trip, Lord Sheffield wanted to leave a lasting marker. He donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association with the specific instruction that it be used to commission a trophy for an annual three-colony first-class competition. The first Sheffield Shield season was 1892-93. NSW, Victoria and South Australia played each other home and away.

The trophy itself was designed by Phillip Blashki of Melbourne, a Polish-born silversmith — a 36-by-23-inch ornate silver shield, won that first season by Victoria. Queensland was added in 1926-27, Western Australia in 1947-48, Tasmania in 1977-78. The Sheffield Shield is now in its 134th season.

“The Sheffield Shield... will be a lasting memorial of his lordship's regard for Australian cricket.”

Lord Sheffield returned to Sussex and continued hosting touring sides at Sheffield Park (the matches there ended only in 1896). He died in 1909.

The Sheffield Shield expanded gradually: Queensland 1926, Western Australia 1947, Tasmania 1977. It became the prime selection ground for Australian Test cricket, producing every major Australian cricketer from Trumper through Bradman, Lillee, Warne and Smith.