The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1956 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.
England won the series 2–1 with 2 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes.
The series is most notable for off-spinner Jim Laker's 46 wickets (a record for a 5-Test series) at an average of 9.60,Test Bowling Figures for England, 1956 Ashes including all ten wickets in the second innings of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, the first time this had been achieved in Test cricket. In that Test, known as Laker's Match, Laker took 19 wickets for 90 runs, still the best match bowling analysis achieved in both Test and all first-class cricket. Earlier in the summer, Laker had also taken ten wickets in an innings against the Australians in a tour match, playing for Surrey.
Test series 1st Test
2nd Test
3rd Test
4th Test
5th Test
References
Annual reviews Playfair Cricket Annual 1957 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1957
Further reading Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979 Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993 Ray Robinson, On Top Down Under, Cassell, 1975
External links CricketArchive – tour summaries