Harry Musgrove was a dapper theatre manager until his Test debut for Australia

When the Aussie cricket team went on strike before a Test match with England, selectors were forced to field an unlikely side.

Harry Musgrove was a handy club cricketers but hardly Test standard.

If you think the dapper Harry Musgrove looks better suited to the theatrical stage than a Test cricket pitch, you’d be right.

But in a strange twist of fate, the Melbourne thespian was plucked from obscurity to play against England in a Test match, after the Aussie team pulled out amid a pay dispute.

Musgrove’s story is told in a new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters:

The tale appears in a new book, Ken Piesse’s ABC of Australian Cricket, the 86th book from the prolific sports writer.

With his brothers, Musgrove co-founded a theatrical management firm in Melbourne, which amalgamated with the successful JC Williamson’s theatre company.

Musgrove was a handy club cricketer who hit several centuries, but was by no means Test player material.

“He was very popular, he was a zappy dresser, a very dashing sort of figure, only 5 foot 5, 5 foot 6 (165-8cm) but very, very charismatic,” Piesse says.

“He loved cricket on Saturdays and he played for the old East Melbourne club.

“He was good enough once to play for Victoria – he made nought and three.”

Musgrove happened to be visiting Ballarat in December, 1884, promoting his new Melbourne show, The Silver King, when every club cricketer’s dream came true.

“WG Grace … who was maybe the greatest English cricketer of them all, had his team in town and they were doing the full tour,” Piesse says.

Cricket author Ken Piesse.

Ken Piesse's ABC of Australian Cricket.

“And when the old teams used to tour, they would not only go to the major capital cities, but they would go everywhere, over the bush, like it would be a 50-match tour.”

Musgrove met up with a cricketing mate from Melbourne for a drink. The mate asked if he’d like to join him playing for a Ballarat side against the visiting Englishmen.

In a remarkable stroke of good luck, Musgrove scored 109.

Meantime, the Australian cricket team were demanding half the gate takings in the upcoming Test match.

When authorities refused, the team withdrew, and Australia was left to find an entirely new Test XI.

Piesse says Musgrove was one of nine first-timers to make the cut, having impressed selectors with his century against England.

“He didn’t do any good, he didn’t make double figures in either of the innings, the Australians were thrashed, and five of the nine first-timers never played again, including Harry Musgrove,” Piesse says.

“He just went back and kept on playing his Saturday afternoon cricket with East Melbourne, and meanwhile doing very, very well in his thespian activities with JC Williamson, Garner and Musgrove, as they were in those days.”

To learn more, listen to the interview in the In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.