The second match of Dave Gregory’s Australians tour of 1878 might well have been accorded Test match status. Certainly, the MCC and Ground led by WG Grace was a full representative side and the fact that they were disposed of by Frederick ‘The Demon’ Spofforth and Harry Boyle in an afternoon’s play provided a stirring victory for the visitors. Participant Frank Allan argues in this account, written thirty-eight years later, that the game was a historic ‘turning point’ in Australian cricket history. My role in this was as publisher and author of an an introduction to Allan’s narrative.