| Australian cricket team in New Zealand in 1945–46 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | ||
| New Zealand | Australia | ||
| Dates | 1 March 1946 – 30 March 1946 | ||
| Captains | Walter Hadlee | Bill Brown | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Australia won the 1-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Merv Wallace (24) | Bill Brown (67) | |
| Most wickets | Jack Cowie (6) | Bill O'Reilly (8) | |
TheAustralian national cricket team touredNew Zealand in March 1946, playing a singleTest match againstNew Zealand's national team.
The Test, played at theBasin Reserve,Wellington, was the first played between the two countries, and the first Test played after the conclusion ofWorld War II. The match was granted Test status only retrospectively.[1] The Australians opened the tour withfirst-class matches against the fourPlunket Shield teams, winning all by large margins, three of them by an innings.
Australia (captained byBill Brown), won the Test match by an innings and 103 runs, having bowled out New Zealand (captained byWalter Hadlee) twice in less than two days. The two national sides did not again meet in Tests until New Zealand touredduring the 1973–74 season.
Teams from the Australian colonies had visited New Zealand as early as the 1877–78 season, when acombined Australian team played several matches against New Zealand teams.[2] These tours persisted well into the early 20th century, with unofficial Test matches between national representative sides occurring during both the1909–10 and1913–14 tours.[3][4] However, no full internationals were played, owing to theAustralian Board of Control for International Cricket's perception of New Zealand as a second-class team.[5][6] Despite this, New Zealand played its first Test series whenan English team toured during the 1929–30 season.[7] Australia had not played an official Test series since its1938 tour of England, with New Zealand's last Test series occurring on itstour of England the previous season.[5]
A Test tour by Australia, planned for February and March 1940, was cancelled after the outbreak of the Second World War. An itinerary of 14 matches – three Tests, four first-class matches against Plunket Shield teams, and seven other matches – had been arranged, and it was expected thatDon Bradman would lead a strong team.[8][9][10]
Cricket during World War II had been severely limited in both countries, although anAustralian Services team, captained byLindsay Hassett, had played a series of "Victory Tests" during the1945 English season.[11]
The status of the match at the time was uncertain, and the game was not recognised as an official Test until March 1948.[12] Instead of the usualbaggy greens, the Australians wore caps and blazers marked "ABC" (for "Australian Board of Control").[5] Both teams included several debutants—of the twenty-two players in the match, thirteen were making their debut.[13] Australia's bestbatsman and usual captainDon Bradman declined to tour, having suffered from regular bouts offibrositis.[14]Queensland batsmanBill Brown was selected as captain in his place, althoughLindsay Hassett had also been suggested for the position.[15] New Zealand was skippered byOtago batsmanWalter Hadlee, with pre-war captainCurly Page having retired.[5] Australia included seven debutants for the Test, many of whom would go on to play large roles for the national side in later tours, including during the1948 "Invincibles" tour. The match was alsoBill O'Reilly's last at Test level.[15]
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