The Invincibles: Australian Cricket Team's 1948 Tour of England

The 1948 Australian Cricket Team - 'the Invincibles' - Return From England: Official photograph of R.M.S.Orontes, on which the team travelling back to Australia after their hugely successful tour of England. Signed, primarily on the mount by the entire touring party as well as Bill O'Reilly, Jack Fingleton & Arthur Mailey, who were also on board. The Australians in England in 1948 were captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England. The team is famous for being the first Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of The Invincibles, and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. Including five Test matches, Australia played a total of 31 first-class fixtures, plus three other games, two of the non-first-class matches being played in Scotland. They had a busy schedule, with 112 days of play scheduled in 144 days, meaning that they often played every day of the week except Sunday. Their record in the first-class games was 23 won and 8 drawn, in all matches, they won 25 and drew 9, many of the victories were by large margins. They won the Test series 4?0 with one draw. Despite Australia's ruthless on-field dominance and a succession of one-sided victories, the touring team drew unprecedented levels of spectator and media interest. Bradman's dominant cricketing stature was a key factor in his team's popularity with the public, especially as it was known that it would be his last international campaign. A leading cricket writer of the time, R. C. Robertson-Glasgow, said 'we want him to do well. We feel we have a share in him. He is more than Australian. He is a world batsman.