International cricket and the SS Great Britain at Brunel's SS Great Britain

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Step aboard to discover how the first All England team travelled internationally

Cricket teams from across the world will be flying to England and Wales for the Cricket World Cup and the Ashes in summer 2019. But 158 years ago, they would have travelled very differently…

Brunel’s SS Great Britain is celebrating the ship’s role in international cricket with a special exhibition. Before any sporting world cup events were established, the All England Cricket Team travelled to Australia aboard the SS Great Britain in 1861 and 1863.

EM Grace – brother of WG Grace, and one of the 1863 cricketers – kept a diary describing his two-month voyage. His diary, along with photographs and other objects telling the stories of the two cricket team tours, can be seen in a special exhibition. Visitors will be issued with replica boarding cards of some of those first international cricketers as they explore the world’s first great ocean liner. Sit in the First Class Dining Saloon and step inside the cabins where EM Grace and his teammates travelled.

There is even the chance to dress up as a Victorian passenger or climb the rigging in the footsteps of a sailor.