Indigenous cricketer Johnny Mullagh was the captain of first Australian to tour overseas in 1868.
Cricket Australia has decided to pay tribute to the legendary Johnny Mullagh by awarding a medal in his name to the best player in the upcoming Boxing Day Test in Melbourne between Australia and India.
Unaarrimin, which later became Johnny Mullagh became the captain of the first Australian team to tour internationally when the team traveled to the United Kingdom for the first-ever indigenous tour in 1868. Mullagh played 45 out of the 47 matches that were played on the tour.
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Cricket Australia tweeted, "The best player in the Boxing Day Test will be awarded the Mullagh Medal, named after the legendary Johnny Mullagh, captain of the 1868 cricket team who became the first Australian sporting team to tour internationally! #AUSvIND"
The best player in the Boxing Day Test will be awarded the Mullagh Medal, named after the legendary Johnny Mullagh, captain of the 1868 cricket team who became the first Australian sporting team to tour internationally! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/3Ymx3QE4dS
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 21, 2020
The medal in the picture is recreated to what the players on the tour to the UK wore as belt buckles.
The threaded tweet also mentions the contribution of Mullagh on the 1868 tour. It reads that the all-rounder played 45 matches, scored 1698 runs in 71 innings, and bowled 1877 overs, out of which 831 were maidens. He picked up 257 wickets and also affected 4 stumpings on the tour.
With this tribute to the great man, Cricket Australia has continued to work on their process to involve the indigenous society with the game of cricket over the past few months. The Australian men's team also wore a specially designed jersey in the T20I jersey while the team stood barefoot in a circle along with the Indian team ahead of the first ODI as a mark of respect.