English cricket team in Australia in 1965–66
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M.J.K. Smith captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1965–66, playing as England in the 1965-66 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. The 5-Tests series ended in 1–1 draw. Although they failed to reclaim the Ashes this was not unexpected as the Australian press labelled them the weakest MCC team to arrive in Australia and the bookmakers were giving odds of 7/2 on their winning the series. These views rapidly changed as they set about winning their state matches with exciting, aggressive cricket and by the First Test the odds against them had been reduced to evens.[1] Lindsay Hassett said "other teams from England may have been better technically but none had tried so hard to make the game as interesting as possible".[2] Financially the tour's receipts were much lower than in 1962–63 due to the number of rain-affected games in a wet Australian summer and the general doldrums of the sixties.
In October, the team played two matches in Colombo during a stopover on the voyage to Australia, although this was the first England tour of Australia where the team travelled by air throughout the journey.[3] After leaving Australia in February, they played a three-match Test series in New Zealand and finally two matches in Hong Kong on the way home.[4]