The sixth Australia team, under the captaincy of
Percy McDonnell, toured England in 1888. The great team of 1882 under
Billy Murdoch had largely disintegrated, and under McDonnell, the team was largely dependent on the sensational bowling of
Turner and
Ferris. Their overall record of nineteen victories and fourteen defeats was a minor improvement on the 1886 team, but the absence of
Giffen weakened the batting in an exceptionally wet summer, whilst the support bowlers to Turner and Ferris, including the veteran
Harry Boyle, were used so little that they could never get into form. When the weather improved after a dreadful mid-summer, the batting was much too poor to compete with England and the team's results deteriorated with thrashings in the last two Test matches and poor results against the counties. Thanks mainly to the bowling of
Bobby Peel, well supported by Lohmann, Briggs and
Barnes,
England defeated Australia two tests to one to retain the Ashes. ==Notable events==