When Australian captain Pat Cummins received the Man of the Match honours at the MCG this week, he was presented with a unique award: the Johnny Mullagh Medal.
150 years before the skills of Scott Boland and Cummins graced the coliseum of cricket, it was Johnny Unaarimin Mullagh, Australia's first Aboriginal sporting legend, who was decimating opposition batting line ups.
A star of the Aboriginal side which toured England in 1868 - the first Australia touring team in any sport - "few contemporary cricketers better merited the title of all-rounder," according to biographer D.J. Mulvaney.
Playing 45 of the 47 matches on that historical tour, he captured 257 wickets at an average of ten with the ball, and scored 1698 runs at 23.65 with the bat, often batting high up in the order.
In one famous match at Burton-upon-Trent, Mullagh top scored for the visitors with 42. He then went and took 4 for 59 and caught a fifth, before donning the gloves. He proceeded to then stump the next five batsmen.
"Dropping on one knee to a fast rising ball, he would hold his bat over his shoulder and parallel to the ground," Mulvaney said of Mullagh in his book Cricket Walkabout.
"The ball would touch the blade, and shoot high over the wicket-keeper's head to the boundary."
Born a Jardwajali man near Harrow, Victoria, Mullagh was a fierce advocate for Aboriginal rights, refusing to live on the reserve he and many of team came home to.
In an era of horrific racial prejudice, Mullagh's cricketing "prowess apparently overcame racial barriers and he was widely respected," according to Mulvaney.
He was allowed to join the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) as a professional for part of the 1869–70 season, however this terminated shortly afterwards, reportedly due to a severe illness, just when he was about to be selected for the inter-colonial side.
He would never be selected for an inter-colonial side, but did represent Victoria in 1879 against an All-England team, where he scored 36.
An article appearing in The Australasian said of his appearance against Lord Harris' team of 1878-9 that he batted "beautifully".
"So pleased were the spectators at Mullagh's batting that a subscription was taken up on his behalf round the ground, Mullagh being presented with a gold watch as a memento of the occasion."
He played regularly with the Harrow Club up until 1890, before dying on August 14, 1891, in his camp at 'Johnny's dam' on Pine Hills station.
In an article in The Herald under the title 'Johnny Mullagh Aboriginal Champion,' one writer said Mullagh was "buried in the Harrow cemetery in the local club's colors [sic] and his cricketing gear was placed in the grave with him".
In his obituary the Hamilton Spectator described Mullagh as "the [W.G.] Grace of Aboriginal cricketers".
In 2012, he became one of the 20 inaugural inductees into the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll, whilst a memorial has been built in Harrow to honour the great all-rounder, with the local ground now known as Johnny Mullagh Oval.
In December 2020, Mullagh was inducted into the Australian cricket Hall of Fame.
Despite not being official test matches, the achievements of that first side paved the way for Australian touring teams.
"Johnny Mullagh and the 1868 Aboriginal team paved the way for so many future Australians to showcase their skill and talent on the world stage," Hall of Fame chairman, Peter King, said at the time.
A look through many of the articles about Mullagh and the side's achievement give a glimpse of the racial prejudice that existed at the time, with many surprised Aboriginal people were able to compete in sporting events, whilst others openly derided their participation.
150 years on, on the grandest of stages, it is the name of Johnny Unaarimin Mullagh that adorns the neck of Australia's latest cricketing superstar.
