The First Eleven

We're in Cootamundra, land of the Wiradjuri people.

It's been too hot to do much more than sit under a tree and complain about the heat. And the town clock that dongs on the hour, day and night. There's been a bit of complaining about that too. But not too loudly - it's the pride and joy of all the locals who are saving up to hire an expert to come and stop it donging in the middle of the night.

We did manage a short stroll in a local park where there's a statue of Don Bradman, who was born here on 27 August 1908. Also in the park is the "Captains' Walk", a meandering path lined with the busts of all past test captains, their baggy greens decorated with several varieties of bird crap.

However the first statue in the line up is not that of a test captain but of an Indigenous man, Unaarrimim, who was also known as Johnny Mullagh. Unaarrimim was a Wotjobaluk man and a leading player in the Indigenous cricket team that toured England in 1868.

The team was comprised of Jardwadjali, Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk men who were employed as station hands and stockmen in Victoria's western districts.

William Hayman, owner of Lake Wallace station, was possibly the county's first sports promoter. With help from Tom Wills, who coached and played in the team, Hayman arranged a match between the Indigenous team and the Melbourne Cricket Club on Boxing Day 1867. The Indigenous team was thrashed but the game was watched by about 8000 spectators.

Encouraged by the interest in the game, Hayman and Wills arranged more matches, including a trip to Sydney, and the idea of a tour to England gained momentum. After the team's money was stolen in Sydney, Charles Lawrence, a former English player who stayed in Australia following the 1861-62 tour, came to the rescue and raised enough money for the stranded team to return home to Victoria. Lawrence stayed with the team as a coach and helped find financial backers to support the team's trip to England. This was the first organised sporting team to represent Australia in England.

They sailed from Sydney in February 1868 and arrived in May to play a busy schedule of 47 matches. They won 14, lost 14 and drew 19 of their matches against intermediate and amateur teams.

Unaarrimim excelled. He scored 1698 runs; bowled 1877 overs (including 831 maidens); took 245 wickets; and got four stumpings while standing in as wicket keeper. Not too shabby.

When they came back to Australia, most of the cricketers went back to working the stations. Sadly, the Aboriginal Protection Act in 1869 forced Aboriginal people onto reserves and they needed signed permission from the Protector of Aborigines to leave, making it hard for the cricketers to keep playing competitively.

But Unaarrimim kept playing and represented Victoria against England in a tour match in 1879. The Johnny Mullagh memorial trophy is named after him, as is the Johnny Mullagh Cricket Centre in Harrow, Victoria.

Good to see Unaarrimim included in the Cootamundra Captains' Walk along with the likes of Donald Bradman. Imagine what that team might have achieved if they'd been allowed.

The Labs posed with the Don (reluctantantly) and Stanley's best little mate, Paddy, was stalked by a red stool.