National Museum of Australia - The tied Test film: A fitting tribute

The tied Test film: A fitting tribute

After the thrilling tied Test at Brisbane in December 1960, Sir Donald Bradman and the Australian Cricket Board of Control decided to create a perpetual trophy to be awarded to the winner of Test series between Australia and the West Indies. They commissioned former Test cricketer and jeweller Ernie McCormick to make a trophy incorporating a ball used in the tied Test.

The trophy was named the Frank Worrell trophy in honour of the captain of the West Indian team. Worrell, known for his statesmanlike approach to the game, was the first black cricketer to lead the West Indian team.

A black and white photograph of two men standing on a terrace. Below the terrace can be seen a large crowd standing on a cricket field. The man on the left faces to the right of the photo. He is caucasian, wears a suit and holds a trophy in his right hand, at about stomach height. The trophy has a round base, cylindrical body and a globe mounted on top. The man on the right faces the camera. He is dark-skinned and also wears a suit. His left hand is just touching the trophy. He has his right arm held across his chest. He smiles while looking at something or someone above and behind the camera. Many people in the crowd are looking up at the two men.

Left: Australian captain Bill Lawry and West Indian captain Garry Sobers with the Frank Worrell trophy in Sydney in January 1969. Credit: National Archives of Australia, A1200 L38175.

A daytime colour photograph of two male cricketers with a trophy. The cricketers are to the left and right in the photo and hold the trophy aloft between them. They both wear white cricket clothes. The cricketer on the right wears a baggy green cap and sunglasses. He holds the trophy in both hands. The other cricketer holds the trophy with his left hand. Both are smiling broadly. Behind them stand many other people. Some are cricketers, while others appear to be officials. There are two dark-skinned men wearing what appear to be military or police uniforms. The trophy has a round base, on which sit three small columns, which in turn support a disc-like section. On this sits a recreation of a red cricket ball. In the right background is part of a seating stand. In the distance over the heads of the people in the photo can be seen some clouds and blue sky.

Left: Australian captain Mark Taylor and vice captain Ian Healy with the Frank Worrell trophy after the fourth Test in Jamaica in 1995. Australia won the series, regaining the trophy from the West Indies after 15 years. Photo: Shaun Botterill, Getty Images.

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