Tom Kendall's 7 for 55 — Tasmanian Wins the First Test, March 1877

Kendall was the only Tasmanian in the All-Australian XI and a left-arm medium-pacer of the orthodox finger-spin variety. The Australians regarded him as their best change bowler.

England, set 154 in the fourth innings on a wearing Melbourne pitch, began the chase confidently. Harry Jupp and John Selby put on 40 for the first wicket before Kendall came on at the southern end.

Kendall had been born in Bedford in 1851 and emigrated to Hobart as a boy. By 1877 he was the most respected slow-medium left-armer in the Australian colonies. Picked for the All-Australian XI, he was given the new ball with Frank Allan unavailable. In the first innings he bowled tidily for 1/54. The second innings — England chasing 154 to win — was his moment. He removed Harry Jupp early, then ran through the middle order, taking the wickets of Charlwood, Greenwood, Selby, Emmett, Armitage and Lillywhite to finish with 7 for 55 in 33.1 four-ball overs. England, all out for 108, were beaten by 45 runs. Kendall played only one more Test, the Sydney rematch of January 1879, by which time his form had collapsed amid reports of heavy drinking. He moved back to Tasmania, where he played and umpired into the 1890s.

“Kendall bowled magnificently. The Englishmen could not get him away.”

Kendall was carried off the ground by Australian supporters and given a share of the gate money. He played for Australia again in January 1879 against Lord Harris's tourists, took 1/24, and never represented his country again. He died in Melbourne in 1924.