 James Lillywhite, a professional with Sussex CCC, led a team which had sailed on the P&O steamship Poonah on 21 September 1876.They played in Australia and then New Zealand before returning to Australia to play a combined Australian XI, for once on even terms of XI a side.The match, starting on 15 March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, came to be regarded as the first Test match, although none of its participants could have guessed at its significance at the time.