Australians Mark Victor Trumper Day

Early national cricket captains were selected according to their background rather than their ability on the field of play. For the West Indies, this meant that he had to be white, the Indian had to secure the patronage of the princes, whereas for the English he had to be an amateur and gentleman.

Having the right sort was considered more significant, as performance had more to do with the instillation of key values than with winning.

Australia would provide an exception to this norm. When touring they had by custom chosen their own captain and manager, and even taken a share of the profits.

Jim Phillips, the umpire who had officiated in both England and Australia, told the magazine Cricket in 1899 that one of the reasons for Australia’s success was the democratic manner in which the captain was elected and behaved, and the rejection of the gentleman-player idea.

Off the field, an Australian captain receives the benefit of his comrades as if he were chairman of a board of directors, argued the umpire. “The average English captain is more of an autocrat. He rarely seeks advice from his men”.

The players’ ascendancy was challenged by the formation of an Australian Board of Control for International Cricket in 1905, which marked a realisation of both the commercial possibilities for cricket and the desire for a national organisation following federation just four years previously.

A constitution was drafted that gave the Board control and responsibility for tours, the appointment of umpires and decisions over laws.

When in 1912 the Board notified the team that it would now choose the tour manager, six of the chosen cricketers informed them that they would not now be available for selection unless their decision was reversed. By directly challenging the authority of the bureaucrats they were dumped from the team.

One of these rebels was Victor Trumper who was commemorated on Sunday 2nd November, with a special day to mark the anniversary of his birth. The first Victor Trumper Day in Sydney, Australia is a fitting tribute to a player who rivals Donald Bradman not only as the greatest to have played Test cricket, but as a cultural icon as well.

The Australian cricket team was partaking in international fixtures 25 years before the federation of Australia in 1901. It thus became a natural focus for cultural nationalism and a means by which the new nation could measure itself against England.

In Trumper Australia found a national hero, a batter of such abilities that he was spoken of in the same breath as England’s CB Fry and WG Grace.

Australian cricket in the late 19th century was a combination of affection for the "old country" alongside a sharply democratic "Jack’s as good as his master" attitude. Trumper very-much represented the latter school. Renowned for batting in crumpled shirts and baggy trousers, he cared little for ego and often chastised teammates who having scored a century would try for another.

A prolific run-scorer he was described by player turned author Jack Fingleton as “the greatest batsman who ever lived.” Neville Cardus wrote of Trumper’s natural elegance in comparison to Donald Bradman’s mechanistic dominance: an eagle contrasted to an aeroplane.

In celebrating Trumper’s life the Sydney cricket ground was transformed to remind people of what it was like at the turn of the 20th century.

For all the novelties of dressing up and the reproduction of popular dishes exists such an occasion which highlights the importance of cricket to Australian cultural life.